[Lem about Solaris] [Bibliography] [A fragment of Solaris A fragment of Solaris] 

 

  Solaris is the most famous of Lem's works which made him a world-famous writer.  In its genre it ranks higher than almost all Polish literary works:  it is considered to be a classic, its title can be found in all basic science fiction compendia among books by Wells, Stapledon and Dick.  Solaris probably owes its success to the masterly combination of the serious problem of contact with an emotional, romantic plot.

  Solaris is one of the most philosophically sophisticated science fiction works...  Most commentators considered this book to be a "Metascience Fiction" - an example of a profound critique of the genre and an exploration of the potential of science fiction....
 Solaris leaves room for a few parallel and even contradictory interpretations;  one can see it as a Swift-satire, a tragic romance, an existentialist parabola in Kafka-style, a metafictional parody of hermeneutics, an ironic tale of knights reminding of Cervantes or a Kantian meditation about the nature of the human mind.

 Gallery of Covers

Ediciones Minotauro, Barcelona 1985

  

  Below, the Ocean - the planet's only inhabitant, organic, sentient, unimaginably powerful, profoundly indifferent to humanity. 
  Above, the space station set from Earth, pathetically hovering over Solaris in an attempt to fathom some of the oceans mysteries, to tap a little of its knowledge.
Newest arrival at the station is Kelvin, psychologist, principal character of a science fiction novel which has all the makings of a classic.
  This station is all but deserted, its crew reduced to a couple of half-crazed, furtive creatures, who are men of high repute among their fellow scientists.
Are there but the three of them on board? Kelvin soon finds out, or thinks he does, when he is visited in the middle of the night by a lady bearing an uncanny resemblance to his long dead wife. 
  This is a dense and profound book, a parable and a thriller written at several levels and yielding more at each examination, yet it remains extremely readable throughout.

John Hartridge, Oxford Mail

 

  

 

  When I led Kelvin to the Solaris station and made him see the frightened, drunken Snaut, I did not know myself what made him so anxious. I had no idea why Snaut was so afraid of a totally innocent stranger. At that time I didn't know - but soon I was to find out, because I kept on writing...

  It is rather difficult to comment on this book. I think I managed to express what I intended. This work seems quite satisfactory in my eyes. I can only add that it became a juicy food for the reviewers. I read reviews so profound I barely understood them... Starting from the obvious Freudian interpretation... One American reviewer made a fatal mistake in that he was unaware of the fact that the idioms of the Polish original are different - hence they do not allow such conclusions.

  I never really liked Tarkovsky's version of Solaris. Now 21st Century Fox is in the phase of preparations for a remake.


 

  

 
 

 

Solaris

  At 19.00 hours, ship's time, I made my way to the launching bay. The men around the shaft stood aside to let me pass, and I climbed down into the capsule.

  Inside the narrow cockpit, there was scarcely room to move. I attached the hose to the valve on my space suit and it inflated rapidly. From then on, I was incapable of making the smallest movement. There I stood, or rather hung suspended, enveloped in my pneumatic suit and yoke to the metal hull.

  I looked up; through the transparent canopy I could see a smooth, polished wall and, far above, Moddard's head leaning over the top of the shaft. He vanished, and suddenly I was plunged in darkness: the heavy protective cone ahead been lowered into place. Eight times I heard the hum of the electric motors which turned the screws, followed by the hiss of the shock-absorbers. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dark, I could see the luminous circle of the solitary dial.

  A voice echoed in my headphones:

  "Ready, Kelvin?"

  "Ready, Moddard," I answered.

  "Don't worry about a thing. The Station will pick you up in flight. Have a good trip!"

  There was a grinding noise and the capsule swayed. My muscles tensed in spite of myself, but there was no further noise or movement.

  "When is lift-off?" As I asked, I noticed a rustling outside, like a shower of fine sand.

  "You are on your way, Kelvin. Good luck!" Moddard's voice sounded as close as before...

 

 

Translated by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Fox, Harcourt Brace

 



 

Bibliography

 Polish Editions:

  • Warszawa, MON 1961, 1962, 1963
  • Warszawa MON
  • Wydawnictwo Literackie 1968
  • Czytelnik 1974
  • Czytelnik 1976
  • Iskry 1982
  • Wydawnictwo Literackie 1986, 1994
  • InterArt 1995
  • Świat Książki 1997
  • PIW 1997; Kraków
  • Wydawnictwo Literackie 1999
 

First Foreign Editions

  • Armenian: Solaris, transl. M. Grocholskaja, V. Vasilijan, Erewan 1965
  • Belorussian: Saljaris, M. Waloszka, Mińsk 1994Bulgarian: Solaris, transl. A. Radeva, Sofia 1965
  • Catalan: Solaris, transl. A. Siewierska, Barcelona 1988
  • Czech: Solaris, transl. B. Kremenak, Prague 1972
  • Danish: Solaris, transl. P. Tvermoes, R.-M. Tvermoes, Kopenhagen 1973
  • Dutch: Solaris, transl. C.C.W. Bakker-Offers, Utrecht 1972
  • English: Solaris, transl. J. Kilmartin, S. Cox, New York 1970
  • Estonian: Solaris, transl. A. Puu, Tallin 1989
  • Finnish: Solaris, transl. M. Kannosto, Helsinki 1973
  • Flemish: Solaris, transl. C.C.W. Bakker-Offers, Antwerp 1984
  • French: Solaris, transl. J.M. Jasienko, Paris 1966
  • Georgian: Soljaris, transl. N. Kartvelisvilli, Tbilisi 1979
  • German: Solaris, transl. I. Zimmermann_Goellheim, Hamburg 1972
  • Greek: Solaris, transl. R. Sokou, Athens 1978
  • Hebrew: Solaris, Tel Aviv 1981
  • Hungarian: Solaris, transl. B. Muranyi, Budapest 1968
  • Italian: Solaris, transl. E. Bolzoni, Milan 1973
  • Japanese: Sorarisu-no yo-no moto-ni, transl. I. Norikazu, Tokio 1965
  • Latvian: Solaris, transl. Z. Trenka, 1970
  • Lithuanian: Soliaris, G. Juodvalkyte, 1978
  • Macedonian: Solaris, transl. G. Popovski, Skopje 1989
  • Moldavian: Soljaris, transl. I. Myneskurte, Kiszyniov 1981
  • Norwegian: Solaris, transl. J. Bing, T. Age Bringsvaerd, O. Ihlen Sopp, Oslo 1974
  • Portuguese: Solaris, transl. R. Guarany, Rio de Janeiro 1984
  • Romanian: Solaris, transl. A. Rogoz, T. Roll, Bukarest 1967
  • Russian: Soljaris, transl. D. Bruskin, Moscow 1973
  • Serbo-Croatian: Solaris, transl. P. Vujicić, Belgrade 1972
  • Slovak: Solaris, H. Lerchova,  1964
  • Spanish:  Solaris, transl. M. Horme, F. A., Barcelona 1978
  • Spanish: Solaris, transl. M. Bustamante, Buenos Aires 1977
  • Swedish: Solaris, transl. S. Ch. Swahn, Malmo 1973
  • Ukrainian: Soljaris, transl. D. Andrychova, 1987
       

English Editions
 

  • F&F Walker, New York, Berkeley,1970
  • Faber& Faber, London 1971
  • Berkley Medallion Books, New York 1971,1972
  • Walker & Co., New York, 1976
  • Penguin Books, 1981, 1985
  • Harcourt Brace, 1987
  • Faber & Faber, London, 1991