SOLARIS, A NOVEL BY STANISLAW LEM (READING RECOMMENDATION)

 Hello readers! Have you ever heard of Solaris? That's what I shall be talking about day. I'll explain in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, I must inform you that I suffered a shoulder injury a few days ago and it's not getting better, so I will probably be a bit absent in the immediate future and slow to answer to comments. I cannot use my right hand, so  typing is difficult. The new year hasn't started too well for me. On a more positive note, I did listen to a lovely audio-book. 

“How do you expect to communicate with the ocean, when you can’t even understand one another?” quoted from the novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem.

Therefore, today I'll share a book review. The book in question is a philosophical science fiction classic Solaris. Written by Polish author of Jewish origin Stanislaw Lem and published in 1961, Solaris has remained popular to this day. This novel has been a subject of many adaptations in various media, from radio dramas, a play, a TV serial, several films to even ballet (in different countries and languages).  Solaris also inspired songs, music and multimedia projects. What is the secret of Solaris' success? First of all, it is a beautifully complex work, philosophical science fiction at its best. Secondly, the themes it explores are still relevant and interesting. Thirdly, the novel is well written and plotted. Fourthly, it is a book that inspired reader's interest and imagination. Finally, it is a book that asks all the right kind of questions, engaging both the heart and the mind of its reader. Scroll down to read a more detailed review (that might include some minor spoilers). 

“We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors. We don't know what to do with other worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but we can't accept it for what it is.”

This is a novel that I have heard much about. When I finished it, I remember thinking to myself: ' So, Solaris really is a masterpiece. ' My reading experience was quite intense. While listening to an audio version of this book, I felt like I was myself trapped on Solaris planet. Throughout the novel, there is much talk about the planet Solaris and the research being conducted there, giving the setting an authentic feel. 

“For some time there was a widely held notion (zealously fostered by the daily press) to the effect that the 'thinking ocean' of Solaris was a gigantic brain, prodigiously well-developed and several million years in advance of our own civilization, a sort of 'cosmic yogi', a sage, a symbol of omniscience, which had long ago understood the vanity of all action and for this reason had retreated into an unbreakable silence.”

The philosophical aspect of the book is well developed and the characters are interesting. Although as readers, we have insight only in the mind of the protagonist, the other characters remain somewhat shred in mystery- a writing choice that makes sense as it adds to the overall lonely and isolated emotion and atmosphere captured by the book.

“Man has gone out to explore other worlds and other civilizations without having explored his own labyrinth of dark passages and secret chambers, and without finding what lies behind doorways that he himself has sealed.”

“On the surface, I was calm: in secret, without really admitting it, I was waiting for something. Her return? How could I have been waiting for that? We all know that we are material creatures, subject to the laws of physiology and physics, and not even the power of all our feelings combined can defeat those laws. All we can do is detest them. The age-old faith of lovers and poets in the power of love, stronger than death, that finis vitae sed non amoris, is a lie, useless and not even funny. So must one be resigned to being a clock that measures the passage of time, now out of order, now repaired, and whose mechanism generates despair and love as soon as its maker sets it going? Are we to grow used to the idea that every man relives ancient torments, which are all the more profound because they grow comic with repetition? That human existence should repeat itself, well and good, but that it should repeat itself like a hackneyed tune, or a record a drunkard keeps playing as he feeds coins into the jukebox...

Must I go on living here then, among the objects we both had touched, in the air she had breathed? In the name of what? In the hope of her return? I hoped for nothing. And yet I lived in expectation. Since she had gone, that was all that remained. I did not know what achievements, what mockery, even what tortures still awaited me. I knew nothing, and I persisted in the faith that the time of cruel miracles was not past.”

Kris Kelvin is the protagonist of this philosophical SF novel. As soon as Kelvin arrives aboard Solaris Station, he finds chaos as one member of the crew killed himself. The two scientist on this research station (located near the surface of the living ocean) seem to be going mad. When going mad seems like an easy way out, you know things are dire. 

Kris Kelvin soon realizes they are not mad, but rather the 'victims' of unknown forces. Kelvin is a psychologist and his profession is well chosen on part of the writer, as it makes his theories about what is happening well articulated. His knowledge of human psychology, however, doesn't make Kelvin immune to the strange affects of Solaris planet. He cannot be a therapist in these conditions, he has to endure the strange conditions and adapt as best as he can.

The overwhelming mystery of the perplexing ocean planet is a always in the background, fulling the feeling of claustrophobia. Many have described the book as claustrophobic and it is in many ways. The book hints at the limitations of human kind, both in the scientific, intellectual and emotional sense. Solaris, the planet ocean that so little is known about, haunts not just the individuals but on some level the collective human kind, reminding it that it still knows so little about itself, reminding it of its loneliness.

Solaris is one of the most captivating SF novels I read. A true classic. As far as I understand, the author Stanislaw Lem voiced his disappointment with both movie versions. Lem's vision of his novel wasn't that of a love story- and he made that clear. I do see why, because Solaris is not only about that. The writer had a pessimistic view of our ability to communicate with aliens. This novel does express it- the ultimate futility of attempted human communications with the extraterrestrial life. In addition, Lem wrote other novels centering around failed first contact, so that was obvious a subject he cared about.

“We take off into the cosmos, ready for anything: for solitude, for hardship, for exhaustion, death. Modesty forbids us to say so, but there are times when we think pretty well of ourselves. And yet, if we examine it more closely, our enthusiasm turns out to be all a sham. We don't want to conquer the cosmos, we simply want to extend the boundaries of Earth to the frontiers of the cosmos. For us, such and such a planet is as arid as the Sahara, another as frozen as the North Pole, yet another as lush as the Amazon basin. We are humanitarian and chivalrous; we don't want to enslave other races, we simply want to bequeath them our values and take over their heritage in exchange. We think of ourselves as the Knights of the Holy Contact. This is another lie. We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but we can't accept it for what it is. We are searching for an ideal image of our own world: we go in quest of a planet, a civilization superior to our own but developed on the basis of a prototype of our primeval past. At the same time, there is something inside us which we don't like to face up to, from which we try to protect ourselves, but which nevertheless remains, since we don't leave Earth in a state of primal innocence. We arrive here as we are in reality, and when the page is turned and that reality is revealed to us - that part of our reality which we would prefer to pass over in silence - then we don't like it anymore.”

“The human mind is only capable of absorbing a few things at a time. We see what is taking place in front of us in the here and now, and cannot envisage simultaneously a succession of processes, no matter how integrated and complementary. Our faculties of perception are consequently limited even as regards fairly simple phenomena. The fate of a single man can be rich with significance, that of a few hundred less so, but the history of thousands and millions of men does not mean anything at all, in any adequate sense of the word. The symmetriad is a million—a billion, rather—raised to the power of N: it is incomprehensible. We pass through vast halls, each with a capacity of ten Kronecker units, and creep like so many ants clinging to the folds of breathing vaults and craning to watch the flight of soaring girders, opalescent in the glare of searchlights, and elastic domes which criss-cross and balance each other unerringly, the perfection of a moment, since everything here passes and fades. The essence of this architecture is movement synchronized towards a precise objective. We observe a fraction of the process, like hearing the vibration of a single string in an orchestra of supergiants. We know, but cannot grasp, that above and below, beyond the limits of perception or imagination, thousands and millions of simultaneous transformations are at work, interlinked like a musical score by mathematical counterpoint. It has been described as a symphony in geometry, but we lack the ears to hear it.”

Nevertheless, there is a sort of a love story within Solaris- and the novel is better for it because it gives it complexity. Once Kelvin wakes up and founds his ex Harley (that committed suicide because he left her), a love story (of some kind) begins. There is talk of love between them and Kelvin does develop an emotional relationship with the second version of the' guest' (as these beings are sometimes called).

The moral dilemma considering guests (creations created by the ocean) is fascinating. Are they not human if they have been created by planet? If you cut them, do they not bleed? The Harey replica seems to feel emotions just as much as humans do. Now, the love story and the moral debate over whether 'guests' can be considered human or not, it is not the central theme of the book, but it is one of the themes. It is there. Perhaps the human to guest relationship (Kevin- Harvey) encompass about 30 percent of the novel, whereas the rest is all about Solaris and our inability to communicate with a different life form but it is there. At times, it is hard to separate one theme from another, the moral dilemma from the love story and the main philosophical question at hand.

“We take off into the cosmos, ready for anything: for solitude, for hardship, for exhaustion, death. Modesty forbids us to say so, but there are times when we think pretty well of ourselves. And yet, if we examine it more closely, our enthusiasm turns out to be all a sham. We don't want to conquer the cosmos, we simply want to extend the boundaries of Earth to the frontiers of the cosmos. For us, such and such a planet is as arid as the Sahara, another as frozen as the North Pole, yet another as lush as the Amazon basin. We are humanitarian and chivalrous; we don't want to enslave other races, we simply want to bequeath them our values and take over their heritage in exchange. We think of ourselves as the Knights of the Holy Contact. This is another lie. We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. A single world, our own, suffices us; but we can't accept it for what it is. We are searching for an ideal image of our own world: we go in quest of a planet, a civilization superior to our own but developed on the basis of a prototype of our primeval past. At the same time, there is something inside us which we don't like to face up to, from which we try to protect ourselves, but which nevertheless remains, since we don't leave Earth in a state of primal innocence. We arrive here as we are in reality, and when the page is turned and that reality is revealed to us - that part of our reality which we would prefer to pass over in silence - then we don't like it anymore.”

It doesn't surprise me that the film version seem to center on love story as it is easier to adapt to film then the philosophical aspect of the novel. That being said, I cannot seem to remember anything from the newer movie version I saw years ago and I haven't seen the Russian adaptation (although from what I understand, it is a rather long one and brings new elements into the story). I think the issue is not so much directors focusing on the love story, but on not presenting a wider perspective of it. I myself found the entire book quite fascinating. I particularly enjoyed the long descriptions of the planet, something that I imagine won't be interesting to everyone but it serves a purpose in making the planet seem real. I happen to share the author's pessimistic view of a possible contact with alien culture.

So one must be resigned to being a clock that measures the passage of time, now out of order, now repaired, and whose mechanism generates despair and love as soon as its maker sets it going? Are we to grow used to the idea that every man relives ancient torments, which are all the more profound because they grow comic with repetition? That human existence should repeat itself, well and good, but that it should repeat itself like a hackneyed tune, or a record a drunkard keeps playing as he feeds coins into the jukebox...”

 As humans, we often cannot effectively communicate with one another within the same culture. As humans we have failed to comprehend each others. We find it impossible to communicate with someone from a culture radically different from our own. How could we possibly hope to communicate with alien beings? But at the same time- wouldn't we just have to try? That answers the question to me why these scientist cannot leave the station even when the planet seems to torture them. They just have to try.

“Each of us is aware he's a material being, subject to the laws of physiology and physics, and that the strength of all our emotions combined cannot counteract those laws. It can only hate them. The eternal belief of lovers and poets in the power of love which is more enduring that death, the finis vitae sed non amoris that has pursued us through the centuries is a lie. But this lie is not ridiculous, it's simply futile. To be a clock on the other hand, measuring the passage of time, one that is smashed and rebuilt over and again, one in whose mechanism despair and love are set in motion by the watchmaker along with the first movements of the cogs. To know one is a repeater of suffering felt ever more deeply as it becomes increasingly comical through a multiple repetitions. To replay human existence - fine. But to replay it in the way a drunk replays a corny tune pushing coins over and over into the jukebox?”

MORE WORKS BY STANISLAW LEM

FABLES FOR ROBOTS BY STANISLAW LEM  It's a collection of short stories about robots. Some stories feature the same protagonists but they are mostly independent one from another. They feature a wide cast of robot characters:  kings, queens, princes, princesses, ministers, wise man, engineers and the regular robot folk. This book turned out quite different from what I imagined it to be, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

 THE MAGELLANIC CLOUD, A NOVEL BY STANISLAW LEM 5/5

The Magellanic Cloud by Stanislaw Lem was a 5/5 novel for me. Its original title (in Polish) is Obłok Magellana. The title of the book refers to dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky way galaxy.  As the title would imply, this book is about space travel and as such it falls into the science fiction genre.  

EDEN, A NOVEL BY STANISLAW LEM 4/5

 Eden is a first contact novel, first published in 1959. A starship crew consisting of six men crashes on an alien planet they name Eden. Lem had a pessimistic view of first contact and this book reflects that. As the six scientist crew explores the surface of Eden, they are faced with many perplexing puzzles. I remember distinctly one scene where two characters (members of the crew) are arguing. One asks the other: "And what is not a hypothesis here?" and the other answers: "Our presence here". That part of the dialogue got stuck in my head. Indeed, the crew's mere presence on Eden implies moral responsibility, but how can they help the native residents if they don't know what is exactly going on? 

THE INVINCIBLE, A  NOVEL  BY STANISLAW LEM 4.4/5

Published in 1964, The Invincible  is simply ideal for a science fiction reader that enjoys thought-provoking but dynamic novels. Indeed, The Invincible is in many ways a page turner, a book filled with mystery, a space thriller. Nevertheless, at the same time this novel is filled with so many interesting philosophical and scientific concepts that are still relevant. The novel is named after a space ship that takes a crew to a surface of a planet they haven't visited before. Like many of Stanislaw Lem's work, this novel is a first contact story. Nevertheless, there is a different twist to it as the contact is not with 'biological' life. The Invincible is another work of Lem that makes its characters think hard. Similar to Lem's novels Eden and Solaris, the crew landing on this planet Regis III encounters a planet they do not understand. 

RETURN FROM THE STARS, A NOVEL BY STANISLAW LEM, 5/5

Published in 1961, this novel tells a story of an astronaut returning home to Earth after more than a century.The writing is absolutely captivating. What particularly impressed me is how it felt like several novels within one novel. The protagonist of this novel is an astronaut who has returned to Earth from the starts (meaning the outer space) after a period of more than a hundred years. Hal, a former astronaut, finds the Earth greatly changed. So, changed that Hal experiences severe cultural shock. Tennessee Williams said it best- Time is the greatest distance. Lem excelled at both creating this new world and describing Hal Bregg's reaction to it. 

* EDIT (28.1) In this post, I reviewed the  Stanislaw Lew's SF classic Solaris. What I forgot to write down was that the photographs from my last post were taken in a local café in Mostar. Although, it seem that I do own every book that was on that shelf in the background (expect for the Harry Potter one) so no wonder I felt at home there. Those hardcover classical editions that were on the shelf of that Aldi café  are pretty standard editions, something most Croatian families own. Another note: I have never actually finished reading a Harry Potter novel, although I started reading quite a few of them but always abandoned them before the end. I actually prefer the film versions to the novels. Not that there is anything wrong with the novels, but the film versions are so visually stunning and so well casted that the books seem a bit pale in comparison. However, for the time being I won't talk the Harry Potter series (that I hope to actually read in full some day) so I've just wanted to clarify that. 

As always, thank you for reading and stopping by. Have a nice day and take care!