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erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I started listening to this audiobook alongside the paperback that I was given by my brother about 20 years ago. The translation is different and it was kind of fun until I gave up because my eyes were causing me issues (the reason I predominantly listen to Audiobooks). Each paragraph meant basically the same thing, but the wording was slightly different, which felt a bit like reading subtitles when they don't quite match how I interpret the original language. Fun.. but a bit exhausting.
Out in the vastness of space there is most likely intelligent life, and this is the story of what happens when humans encounter alien life so vast and different to our own that communicating with it, or even being noticed by it, becomes a spur for entirely new fields of science and philosophy. The premise of the plot is that instead of life developing, pluralising, and leaving the ocean, it has stayed in the ocean and become it, organising into what appears to act like one ever-seething organism. This organism extrudes matter from itself in forms that scientists have been observing for decades, trying to make sense of the ever changing landscape.
When Kris Kelvin lands on Solaris, only to be told that his once mentor has recently died, he has to figure out what is going on. When he runs into another person, who should not be there, walking in the corridor, he starts to understand the warning of his fellow who begged him not to engage with any strangers.
This story is at times spooky, horrific and maddening, and lumbers at a frustrating pace through hypotheses and tests, as the scientists try to figure out the shapes and human forms that the planet is making for them, that (in Bradbury-esque fashion) seem to be patterned on their own deepest memories. Together they try to overcome their own stress and cabin-fever, and strive to understand the nature of, and perhaps communicate with, the life-form of the planet.
In the discussion of morality, spirituality and godforms, it doesn't escape me that they speak of humans being limited by our animal perceptions of the environment around us, so that perhaps the only type of life we can truly communicate with has to be human-like. Is the life on Solaris trying to interact with humans by sending humanlike synthetic things, or are we again in a trap of anthropomorphising and presuming that our own mythologies are fact?..
Out in the vastness of space there is most likely intelligent life, and this is the story of what happens when humans encounter alien life so vast and different to our own that communicating with it, or even being noticed by it, becomes a spur for entirely new fields of science and philosophy. The premise of the plot is that instead of life developing, pluralising, and leaving the ocean, it has stayed in the ocean and become it, organising into what appears to act like one ever-seething organism. This organism extrudes matter from itself in forms that scientists have been observing for decades, trying to make sense of the ever changing landscape.
When Kris Kelvin lands on Solaris, only to be told that his once mentor has recently died, he has to figure out what is going on. When he runs into another person, who should not be there, walking in the corridor, he starts to understand the warning of his fellow who begged him not to engage with any strangers.
This story is at times spooky, horrific and maddening, and lumbers at a frustrating pace through hypotheses and tests, as the scientists try to figure out the shapes and human forms that the planet is making for them, that (in Bradbury-esque fashion) seem to be patterned on their own deepest memories. Together they try to overcome their own stress and cabin-fever, and strive to understand the nature of, and perhaps communicate with, the life-form of the planet.
In the discussion of morality, spirituality and godforms, it doesn't escape me that they speak of humans being limited by our animal perceptions of the environment around us, so that perhaps the only type of life we can truly communicate with has to be human-like. Is the life on Solaris trying to interact with humans by sending humanlike synthetic things, or are we again in a trap of anthropomorphising and presuming that our own mythologies are fact?..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol and Sexism
captainfez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Apparently this wasn’t the first time I’d read Solaris.
After I’d finished this Kindle edition – one with the Lem-approved translation, executed by Bill Johnston – I discovered an older, dog-eared copy of the work on my shelves. I must have read that version from the time in university when I had a Russian partner who was interested in getting me into Russian literature, to the extent that I wrote some essays for her. (On Goncharov, I think? I can’t quite remember.)
Anyway, being unable to remember treading those star-paths before seemed to be very in keeping with the work itself, and I assume Lem would approve.
The novel details the journey of a scientist, Kris Kelvin, as he travels to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris. His mission? To understand what the fuck’s going on up there. The other scientists he’s dropping in on have been acting strangely (to the point of suicide ) and the plug’s about to be pulled.
Oh yeah, and the planet is home to a sentient ocean that likes to build fractal architecture and garden models in its spare time.
When I was at school, thanks to facts discovered later, Solaris was widely regarded as a planet endowed with life—but with only a single inhabitant…
While there’s a certain element of Cold War paranoia at work – the floating in my tin can vibe of the times – the story isn’t really about space bugs or high opera. It’s about the possibility – or more appropriately, the impossibility – of communicating. Ostensibly it’s about communicating with the living ocean below the station, but really the novel looks more closely at interpersonal communications, and ultimately at the way we communicate with ourselves through memory and experience, no matter how much we distract ourselves with star-striving, exploration and achievement.
To read the rest of the review, consider visiting https://captainfez.com/2023/01/03/book-and-movie-review-solaris/
To read the rest of the review, consider visiting https://captainfez.com/2023/01/03/book-and-movie-review-solaris/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
magicshop's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
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.
you should read this book if...
- you enjoy very imaginative and complex sci fi. and i mean complex. things will go over your head at times for most people, so be ready for that too 😅
- you're into solipsism and existential themes
- you're prepared to deal with quite a bit of pervasive sexism and misogynoir
the good
- ultimately a deep exploration of the human psyche and how it deals with grief, how it sabotages itself, lies to itself, and continuously hopes for the impossible against all odds. how can we be sure we exist ― that anything exists? how can we explore the unknown without first working to understand ourselves and each other? and much more that'll definitely entertain you if you enjoy philosophy and psychology.
- the concept/premise itself is undeniably interesting and attractive to anyone who enjoys space-related sci fi, and the book manages to deliver on it, albeit convolutedly (more on this further below).
the bad
- cringe-worthy racism and sexism, especially the latter since it takes up a big part of the story. basically one very minor character is a huge stereotype of black women, and is perceived by the main character with clear repulsion and even disgust most of the time. another female character, who is quite important to the plot,
not only has no real personality aside from on-and-off self-hatred and suicidal intent, but actually ends up dying three times ― twice to suicide, and mostly in order to benefit the main male character's plot. do keep in mind that this is a book from the 60s and a degree of these elements is almost to be expected, but i still wouldn't blame anyone for wanting to avoid it like the plague based on this stuff alone. - the book is entirely about the plight of a bunch of white dudes stuck together in a space station. this combined with the above... i rest my case 🙄
the complicated
- reads like a fictional textbook at times ― the pacing is really kind of.......Bad. lem switches between plot and long (and i mean long) scientific explanations about the planet at the drop of a hat, with no rhyme or reason, and you need a lot of patience and/or enjoyment of the subject matter to get through most of it (i was mostly the latter since i'm obsessed with space and alien life, but even then a lot of things went over my head for being far too technical with way too many made-up words).
- the ending paragraph is a banger, but the ending itself was
very open-ended and kind of unsatisfying to me. i just personally needed more closure than we got, but that might be a me thing, so it doesn't go in the bad section. - the main relationship is between people around 10 years apart in age, which to me is not a problem in itself, except that
the woman is a "clone" of the dude's girlfriend when she was 19, so he's basically dating someone who's mentally stuck at age 19 and has a different idea of who he is than who he actually is after growing up. that kind of irks me personally (it comes off as him taking advantage of her innocence and lack of knowledge at certain points) so i thought i'd put it here in case anyone else has trouble with that kind of thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicide
piplodocus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
To me, this book is torn between two stories, that of the Station, and that of Solaris. In my opinion, I really enjoyed the Station's story, however I found that too much detail was placed into the context of Solaris, which lacks any personal frame to ground the intricate and complicated details provided about the planet. However, the story on the Station is engaging and interesting, with an interesting concept.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
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