A “delightfully seriocomic memoir”(New York Times) from the celebrated science fiction writer that summons up a mischievous boyhood in Poland just before World War II. Translated by Michael Kandel.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A stream-of-consciousness childhood memoir by Polish novelist Lem.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The author of Peace on Earth (LJ 8/94) and many other works of science fiction reflects on his childhood in Lvov between the two world wars. Characteristically, Lem focuses more on objects than on people?his toys (and his destructive impulses toward them), the sights of the town, its sweet shops, his classes and teachers, and Highcastle (the part of town where the children luxuriated in their freedom when classes were canceled). The memoir takes a fascinating, unexpected direction when Lem meditates on the first manifestations of his artistic impulses and the nature of art (especially modern): his creation of many false passports, identification papers, and other bureaucratic documents ("a kingdom of universal permission"), and his building of many pseudo radio apparatuses. These thoughts are counterbalanced by bittersweet descriptions of the meticulous (and useless) military training the young men were given in the last years of the gymnasium. An intelligent, evocative examination of youth and memory; for literary collections.
-?Richard Kuczkowski, Dominican Coll., Blauvelt,
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
-?Richard Kuczkowski, Dominican Coll., Blauvelt,
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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More About the Author
Stanislaw Lem is the most widely translated and best known science fiction author writing outside of the English language. Winner of the Kafka Prize, he is a contributor to many magazines, including the New Yorker, and he is the author of numerous works, including Solaris.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A favorite for the bedside,
By Phoebus Franca "thebuffer" (San Francisco Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Highcastle: A Remembrance (Hardcover)
Stanislaw Lem's writing is beautiful in this brief work. Fans of his science fiction will surely want to read this to get behind the artifice and learn about the writer. But those who are not familiar with his work will also enjoy this as a meditation on memory, growing up in Poland, and this writer's power to evoke meaning. I read it mostly before falling asleep and it gave me wonderful dreams.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
DO YOU REMEMBER the inventory of mysterious things that the Lilliputians found in Gulliver's pockets? Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jesuit Garden, Eastern Fair, Sand Mountain, Stryjski Park, Uncle Fritz, Academic Street, Smolka Square, Jagiellonska Street, Legions Street New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
DO YOU REMEMBER the inventory of mysterious things that the Lilliputians found in Gulliver's pockets? Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jesuit Garden, Eastern Fair, Sand Mountain, Stryjski Park, Uncle Fritz, Academic Street, Smolka Square, Jagiellonska Street, Legions Street New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 17
books:
See all 17 books this book cites
4
books
cite this book:
- The Chain of Chance by Stanislaw Lem in Front Matter
- Imaginary Magnitude by Stanislaw Lem in Front Matter
- Hospital Of The Transfiguration by Stanislaw Lem in Front Matter
- Mortal Engines by Stanislaw Lem in Front Matter
- More Tales Of Pirx The Pilot (Harvest Book) by Stanislaw Lem in Front Matter
See all 17 books this book cites
- Peace on Earth by Stanislaw Lem in Front Matter
- Solaris by Stanislaw Lem in Front Matter
- Writing Your Life: Putting Your Past on Paper by Lou W. Stanek in Back Matter
- The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem in Front Matter
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