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Solaris by Lem Stanislaw
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Solaris (original 1961; edition 1976)

by Lem Stanislaw

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6,5131551,461 (3.86)1 / 275
"When psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he finds himself confronting a painful memory embodied in the physical likeness of a past lover. Kelvin learns that hs is not alone in this, and that other crews examining the planet are plagued with their own repressed and newly real memories. Could it be, as Solaris scientists speculate, that the ocean may be a massive neural center creating these memories, for a reason no one can identify? Long considered a classic, Solaris asks the question: Can we understand the universe around us without first understanding what lies within?"--Back cover.… (more)
Member:MEStaton
Title:Solaris
Authors:Lem Stanislaw
Info:Berkley (1976), Paperback
Collections:Your library
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Work Information

Solaris by Stanisław Lem (Author) (1961)

  1. 80
    Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky (S_Meyerson)
  2. 30
    Ubik by Philip K. Dick (seojen)
  3. 30
    His Master's Voice by Stanisław Lem (TMrozewski)
    TMrozewski: Both deal with the Otherness of extraterrestrial life.
  4. 20
    Blindsight by Peter Watts (deTerrence)
  5. 10
    Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (bertilak)
    bertilak: Monsters from the id! (Just like in Forbidden Planet, kids).
  6. 10
    Sunshine: A Screenplay by Alex Garland (dtw42)
    dtw42: Another exploration of the theme of weird things in space causing psychological damage to isolated travellers.
  7. 10
    Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (ShelfMonkey)
  8. 00
    Lupus by Frederik Peeters (kinsey_m)
  9. 00
    The Disestablishment of Paradise by Phillip Mann (AlanPoulter)
    AlanPoulter: Both novels portray alien contact as truly strange and unknowable
  10. 00
    Last Days of an Immortal by Fabien Vehlmann (kinsey_m)
    kinsey_m: communication problems with alien intelligent beings
  11. 00
    The Explorer by James Smythe (jonathankws)
  12. 03
    Sphere by Michael Crichton (labrick)
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Group TopicMessagesLast Message 
 Science Fiction Fans: New English translation of Lem's Solaris105 unread / 105mikewilliams64, February 2013

» See also 275 mentions

English (126)  Spanish (7)  Italian (5)  Dutch (3)  German (3)  French (2)  Danish (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Catalan (1)  Slovak (1)  Hungarian (1)  Russian (1)  All languages (152)
Showing 1-5 of 126 (next | show all)
Very mixed feelings about this book. In close up the prose is excellent, both lyrical and evocative descriptions of one of the most alien aliens I have ever encountered.
On the other hand, the narrative arc never really engaged me and there were places where I was all at sea (pun intended). May well benefit from a re-read at some point. ( )
  CraigGoodwin | Jan 20, 2024 |
elaboration of mourning ( )
  postsign | Dec 28, 2023 |
Got it much better than the movie, although I can appreciate now what the movie was trying to do (somewhat successfully even). Respect Clooney for a damned good attempt, even a good movie given a little context. The unintended tormenters bit was fascinating, the descriptions of geological phenomena less so. ( )
  emmby | Oct 4, 2023 |
Its one of those classics that you always hear mentioned and talked about as something influential, I always expect this kind of book or movie to have a size to it, a sense of large scale, and its always so surprising when its not. I didn't anything about it, havent seen either movie, and its intimacy and smallness of scale made it feel like a book I discovered in the back of a library instead of it being a pillar of the genre.

I love when an artist (author, writer, music etc) creates something that feels like it was exactly what they wanted to make, that isn't bound by popular conventions or genre, or constricted by the money. This kind of creation is always unique and interesting, it also means that there will be chapters in the book that are so fucking boring and out of place, there are chapters in the middle and at the end of this book that feature the protagonist going to a library and reading about the fake research history of this fake planet. I love lore, and worldbuilding, but it needs to be slow and incremental, dotted throughout the plot that I'm actually engaged with, not a sudden 15 page chunk of information about mimoids and symmetriads and asymmetriads. this is the other issue with how Lem wrote this expostion, he gets to a point where there is too much detail for it be interesting or for me to really take any of it in, It takes away from such an ethereal and esoteric setting, information overload ruins that feeling partially, especially if you need to visualise everything you read like me, it will make for a slower read.

I get the impression that Stanislaw Lem was a nerdy man who was obsessed with history, especially science history. Maybe because of this and the time and place he grew up in, women didn't appear as complete human beings to him, and I'm not saying that because the women in Solaris are literally objects to the main created for the main characters, but because that is purpose they serve. Sometimes when I'm reading or watching something, its easy to forget that people and events don't just happen like they do in real life, I have to remind myseld that every character and every action was a descision made by the author, so when this mans wife who died at 19 comes back to him 10 years later without aging a day and the only thing she wants to do is be near him, thats a bit strange, but not horrible, just something to think about. Also the first woman you see in the book is black and the only reason I know that is because she is introduced as a "negress". not necessary and weird.

I read solaris and it will be a long time before I read it again if I ever do, because it's one of those ones that leaves and impact as soon as close it, and impact that would be lessened by coming back to it. I think it was beautiful, and it took me to a beatiful place, Lem can be so visual in the world that he constructed. There is a feeling of a history and a world that is so much larger than one person, and larger than one person could normally comprehend and i think that the book, especially the last few chapters, is about coming to terms with something so overwhelming, and it has helped me come to terms with that a feeling a little more then I was able to before solaris. ( )
1 vote BAGGED_RAT | Sep 6, 2023 |
Worth reading for the concept of the 'ocean' but a bit dated with some of the tech and language. ( )
  lieblbiz | Aug 30, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 126 (next | show all)
Hoewel "Solaris" schitterend is verfilmd, is het boek zelf niet overdreven goed. De hoofdpersoon is een psycholoog met weinig verstand van psychologie, die probeert fysische problemen op te lossen, waar hij - en met hem de schrijver - nog minder verstand van heeft. Het gegeven is veelbelovend. De planeet is bedekt met een oceaan die leeft en zichzelf en zijn zonnestelsel kan manipuleren. De onderzoekers en de oceaan proberen met elkaar in kontakt te komen. De onhandige oceaan zaait daardoor dood en verderf. De mogelijkheden om de armoedige "science" te compenseren met spannende "fiction" worden om zeep geholpen door lange pseudo-wetenschappelijke verklaringen over de fysiologie van de planeet, wat de indruk wekt dat een kort verhaal is uitgerekt tot een boek.
added by karnoefel | editNBD / Biblion
 

» Add other authors (75 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Lem, StanisławAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bolzoni, E.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cox, SteveTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Johnston, BillTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Juliani, AlessandroNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kannosto, MattiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kilmartin, JoannaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Malm, JohanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Olszewski, JanuszCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Suvin, DarkoAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Swahn, Sven ChristerTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Zimmermann-Göllheim… IrmtraudTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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At 19.00 hours, ship's time, I made my way to the launching bay.  The men around the shaft stood aside to let me pass, and I climbed down into the capsule.
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"When psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he finds himself confronting a painful memory embodied in the physical likeness of a past lover. Kelvin learns that hs is not alone in this, and that other crews examining the planet are plagued with their own repressed and newly real memories. Could it be, as Solaris scientists speculate, that the ocean may be a massive neural center creating these memories, for a reason no one can identify? Long considered a classic, Solaris asks the question: Can we understand the universe around us without first understanding what lies within?"--Back cover.

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