Customer Reviews

Investigation

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For years I'd heard a lot about Stanislaw Lem as a great Polish science fiction writer, maybe one of the world's greats in that field, but I hadn't ever read him. Therefore, when I saw a book of his at a yard sale, I bought it. The price was certainly right. But, I must report that I still haven't read any of his science-fiction because THE INVESTIGATION turns out to be one of his few works in other genres. But what genre is this ? You might say it's a detective novel, but "metaphysical detective fiction" would describe it better. How many other books fit into the same field ? Good question. Here we find bodies removed from graveyards and mortuaries; sometimes they turn up elsewhere, sometimes not. Gregory, a suspicious policeman, is assigned to catch the perpetrator. But is there a perpetrator ? Discussions of statistics and probability, as well as mysterious speculations, pepper this novel, which takes place in cold, foggy, rainy or snowy conditions in England, a country that does not emerge very realistically from the background. I was constantly reminded of Ismail Kadare's novel "Doruntine" by the similar philosophical nature of the writing which marks both books, by the rain and cold, and even by the names of characters-Stres in the Albanian book, and Sciss (the statistician) in Lem's. I can't say that this is a characteristic Lem novel because it's the first I ever read. But a detective novel that asks "what if everything that exists is fragmentary, incomplete, aborted, events with ends but no beginnings, events that only have middles, things that have fronts or rears, but not both, with us constantly making categories..... ?" cannot be considered average. Lem's novel may not be to everyone's taste---especially if you are looking for sex, violence, or lots of action---but it is unusual and well-written.

As every detective and scientist should know, objectively there are facts and relationships between facts. Sometimes there are causal relationships between facts, and the facts are correlated; sometimes there are no causal connections between facts, and the facts may or may not show some statistical correlation. The situation where the facts display at least chance correlations but may not be linked causally provides the leitmotiv for Stanislaw Lem's "The Investigation" (and his "Chain of Chance" for that matter).

Correlated facts are suggestive, but when the number of facts does not amount to a meaningful statistical sample the correlation may be an artifact, and then sound inductive reasoning often gives way to wild speculation. In "The Investigation", lieutenant Gregory of Scotland Yard desperately tries to puzzle out a consistent explanation for a bizarre series of disappearing corpses while receiving input from a scientist, a doctor, and fellow detectives --- each with his own ideas. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be enough solid evidence to decide whether the facts of the case have causal structure or whether they simply form "fortuitous patterns". Hmmm.

The category of "science fiction" is usually reserved for whimsical flights of fancy, but here we have a book that breathes fictional life into part of the intellectual apparatus that is at the very heart of science --- the empirical, or scientific, method. No pedantic statement is made about the empirical method, it's darker corners simply serve as a compelling thematic backdrop for a detective story. "The Investigation" is not a detective novel in the traditional sense though, and the ending will throw Agatha Christie enthusiasts for a disconcerting loop...but, an enjoyable one.

The narrative style is pleasingly "cinematic" in that, with few exceptions, only things that can be seen and heard are described --- it reads something like a well-written screenplay. This narrative approach is nothing new, though, and its lack of originality kept me from getting too excited; but, my fetish for stylistic originality is probably not shared by most readers. The book is also intellectually provocative without being didactic in that the story conjures up a small whirlwind of intriguing questions, not a parade of dubious and facile answers. Most importantly, it's a fun and engaging story. I really liked this one.

This is a wonderful thriller; at times surreal, at times resolvable and at times resolved. But there is a great sense of the unknowable in the face of the 'randomness' of events around us. 'What if life is like a soup with all kinds of things floating in it, and from time to time some of them get stuck together by chance to make some kind of whole?' Yes, this is my experience of life and it comforts me that there are unexplainable things - things that I cannot explain and in a real sense can never be explained. The principal character in this novel carries my own name - Gregory - and that bonded me a bit. But it is the statistician, Sciss, who says 'I don't have any illusions. That's pretty awful you know ....' I identify most of all with that statement, if not Sciss himself.

Recommended other reading:
'Limiting Factor' by Clifford D Simak (this is a short story)
'Under Western Eyes' by Joseph Conrad (he comments on illusions too)

In fitting with the theme of this book: It was a Friday afternoon, and my wife and I stopped by the main library in our city. I had my mind of checking out two particular books. I gathered the two books and then proceeded to walk through the stacks in the fiction area. As I walked, this work (with an odd late 1980s cover, at the end of a row) caught my eye. I checked it out on a whim, not knowing anything about it.

From start to finish this floored me. The tension between order and randomness -- light and dark -- is thrilling and makes for a sensational reading experience. Lem also creates setting (dark restaurants, bars with women in bare shoulders) in magnificent ways. His ability to keep a complex tale simple also is admirable because this is a book with deceptively heavy themes. Finally, unlike a lot of books with similar themes, the ending here is perfect, in that, often humans are left crying in the wilderness.

Dead bodies are inexplicable moving around the London area, and Scotland Yard is on the case.

Mixing mystery with science, the book ultimately leaves much unexplained. It makes use of the statistical analysis and the scientific method in the earlier chapters. Then intuition, and latching onto the 'possible but unlikely' in the later chapters. The moral is 'some events don't have a conventionally scientific explanation, but life goes on'.

An unsatisfying novel which takes great mental energy as the reader attempts to use the multitude of details to puzzle out the case. The book is dense and rich in minutiae, for example pages 151-155 are a single paragraph.

Only read if you love both mysteries and unexplained phenomena, want something different, and don't mind half-hearted resolutions. Reminded me of reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's "House of the Seven Gables".

I feel G.K. Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday" would be the appropriate companion piece to read with "The Investigation". Both books are filled with the ominious, the unaswerable, both are philosophical and haunting. The mystery here is the mystery of existence. This book is the great sonata of life "living the questions". Besides, the atmosphere is rich, dark and foggy - it is the England we all stereotypically imagine in our minds. Read this book because you want great literature. It's not just "another mystery". It's beyond that.

Lem also has a book called _The Invincible_ that is sci-fi. This book, _The Investigation_ is not sci-fi at all, it's a mystery. But true to Lem's style it is like no other mystery. You're never sure if the missing corpses are actually getting up and walking away or if the whole thing is just some epic scheme. I loved it but I have to admit it's not for everyone and not an easy read.

A mystery story involving, of course, dead bodies.

The spirit of the novel is best contained in the statistician's remarks on gravity. The word "Gravity" doesn't really explain anything, rather it gives a name to the tendency of objects to fall toward the center of the earth. If something like that happens every day, we give it a name of some sort and accept it as normal. If something like that seldom happens, then it's exceptional and warrants investigation.

Although I was dissatisfied with the ending, the reasoning employed along the way there is pretty engrossing. The story is also strange enough in places to be bleakly humorous. Maybe an extra half-star, for being different.

Lem was one of the most imaginative science fiction writers ever. He was the most widely read sci-fi authors in Europe. Lem was a doctor who wrote more as a past time, (like William Carlos Williams). Some of Tarkovsky's great films were taken from Lem's stories - Stalker, Solaris, (NOT that American abomination), to name two. The Investigation takes place in and around London, and concerns rather bizarre happenings, bordering on the supernatural, at area morgues. Detective Gregory of Scotland Yard is assigned to solve the mystery.

This is not a very long book, but very well worthwhile a mystery.

Sci-fi thriller. Very nicely written, good plot, surprising twists. Could have easily been one of the Asimov's "I Robot"-cycle stories. However, not really ourstanding or especially original.