Solaris (Faber Fiction Classics) [Import] [Paperback]

Stanislaw Lem (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Faber and Faber; New Ed edition (April 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571209483
• ISBN-13: 978-0571209484
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,332,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What WAS it?, October 13, 2004

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Solaris (Mass Market Paperback)

Solaris was a planet, but it also was a mystery. For hundreds of years mankind has been trying to understand if the ocean was a intelligence or just organic soup. Kris Kelvin, a researcher from Earth, must try to understand WHAT is happening, because the planet has done something. Something wonderful, amazing and very, very scary.
The book forces us to think about what we define as intelligence, what we define as human and, even, what we define as God. Wonderful, truly a classic. A must read!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND..., May 4, 2008

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Solaris (Mass Market Paperback)

Having seen the film that starred George Clooney and was based upon this book, and having found it wanting, I decided to go to the source. I am glad that I did, as it is certainly better as a book than it is as a film. It is also far more profound than the film, which concentrated on the love story.

This book is much more than that, covering many themes. It is, first and foremost, about contact with an alien entity and communication of a type beyond our comprehension. Is it friend or foe? Who can say, as the source of the communication makes its pitch based upon an individual's memories, some good, and some bad? What it is communicating remains unfathomable. Still, the book provides much food for thought.