Conceptual Fiction: Solaris by Stanisław Lem

Conceptual Fiction is a regular feature, contributed by Ted Gioia, focusing on major works of fantasy, science fiction, magical realism and alternate history. These books are celebrated in recognition that literary experimentation with ways of conceptualizing reality has been as important as experimentation with language in creating fiction of lasting value. Dismissing these books as genre or escapist works has created a blind-spot in literary studies that this feature aims, in some small part, to rectify.

The science fiction establishment has gradually learned to love Stanisław Lem. But Lem hardly returned the favor. He dismissed most science fiction as poorly written, ill conceived and too focused on the clichés of adventure stories. The “Lem affair,” as the resulting controversy came to be known, grew so heated that the author was expelled from the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1976.

But sci-fi guru Philip K. Dick was even harsher in his critique. He sent a letter to the FBI denouncing Lem, and accusing him of being a Communist party functionary and a “composite committee rather than an individual.” In all fairness to Dick, he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time, and may have had his own psychological composite committees with which to contend. But his heated antagonism toward the brilliant Polish writer was shared by many colleagues.

With the passing of the years, and with Lem’s own passing—he died of heart failure in 2006 at the age of 84—tempers have calmed, and the sci-fi world can appreciate this masterful writer who deservedly ranks among the finest half-dozen authors of speculative fiction in modern times. In a series of works, Lem cut through the stale formulas of the genre. In time, his reputation would also transcend the sci-fi label—usually avoided like the triffids by authors who hope that their work will be taken seriously—and as a result Lem earned awards and attracted admirers who would hardly acknowledge Heinlein or Asimov, Sturgeon or Clarke.

Solaris is Lem’s most famous work, and an excellent starting-point for readers who want to make the acquaintance of this seminal writer. What would happen, Lem asks, if an encounter with intelligent alien life took place on a biological level beyond our comprehension? What if the life form was so different that it no longer matched our pre-conceptions of how organisms look and act?

Article Author: Ted Gioia

Ted Gioia is a writer and musician. He is the author of Delta Blues, The History of Jazz and, most recently, The Birth (and Death) of the Cool.

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