Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
The novel is a psychological exploration of human limitations and failures set against the backdrop of space exploration. When a psychologist arrives at a research station orbiting a distant planet covered entirely by a sentient ocean, he discovers the crew in disarray, haunted by physical manifestations of their subconscious fears and desires. As he grapples with the ocean's inscrutable nature and its unsettling ability to materialize human thoughts, he is forced to confront his own guilt and regret, embodied by the apparition of his deceased wife. The story is a philosophical meditation on the impossibility of truly understanding alien intelligence and the painful isolation of the human condition.
The 327th greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1961
- Nationality
- Polish
- Length
- Short
- Pages
- 190-300
- Original Language
- Polish
- Avg User Rating
-
(4.2)
- Alternate Titles
- - Soliaris
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This book is on the following 17 lists:
- 53rd on Top 200 Science Fiction Books (Pre-2000) (Sci-Fi Lists)
- 72nd on 100 Best Novels, in Translation, Since 1900 (CounterPunch)
- 94th on The 100 Best Books from 1900 to the Present (Yedioth Ahronoth)
- 305th on Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 100 Main Fantasy and Science-Fiction Books (www.mirf.ru (Russian))
- 12 Polish Books You Have to Read (In Your Pocket)
- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- 501 Must-Read Books (LibraryThing)
- 50 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels That Everyone Should Read (Flavor Wire)
- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher (Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- The 100 Best Novels in Translation by Boyd Tonkin (Book)
- The 100 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time (Tor)
- The 50 Best Sci-Fi Books for Every Kind of Reader (Men's Health)
- Zeit Literaturkanon (https://www.librarything.com/award/335/ZEIT-Literaturkanon)