Present Books Conducive To The Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy (Ijon Tichy #1)
| Original Title: | Dzienniki gwiazdowe |
| ISBN: | 0156849054 (ISBN13: 9780156849050) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://english.lem.pl/ |
| Series: | Ijon Tichy #1 |
| Characters: | Ijon Tichy |
Stanisław Lem
Paperback | Pages: 286 pages Rating: 4.27 | 6369 Users | 274 Reviews
Identify Epithetical Books The Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy (Ijon Tichy #1)
| Title | : | The Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy (Ijon Tichy #1) |
| Author | : | Stanisław Lem |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 286 pages |
| Published | : | June 26th 1985 by Mariner Books (first published 1971) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Short Stories. Humor |
Commentary Supposing Books The Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy (Ijon Tichy #1)
Although Solaris is Stanislaw Lem’s most esteemed work, I believe The Star Diaries—the contemporaneous memoirs of star-pilot Ijon Tichy—to be a better representative of his genius, for it is ambitious in scope, inventive, and often profound.
The Star Diaries, a series of interplanetary adventures ranging in size from mere vignette to long novella, was written over a period of twenty years, and therefore--no surprise!—these pieces vary considerably in seriousness and depth, moving from the playful to the satiric and eventually the philosophical. Yet even the earliest, like “The Twenty-Second Voyage”—the numbering bears no relation to the date of composition—are often surprising and memorable (part of its plot resurfaced, more than a decade later, in Borges’ “The Gospel According to Mark”).
Although these stories are remarkably original, they also show a clear progression of influences. Ijon Tichy, who begins as the Baron Munchausen of space travel, soon resembles Swift’s Gulliver more closely as he begins to comment on the hypocrisies of society, but eventually Lem’s tone darkens and deepens as Tichy becomes less a star-pilot and more like the disembodied narrative voice of Stapledon’s Starmaker.
The Star Diaries contains excellent examples of each type of story. “The Twenty-Second Voyage,” for example, is a very Munchausen-like tale, organized around Tichy’s search through the planets for his missing pipe. “The Eleventh Voyage,” a satire of the totalitarian state in which people dressed as robots inform on other people dressed as robots, is Lem in his classic Swiftian mode. Even better, though, are the later Swiftian tales where Tichy, still a hero, begins to explore more philosophical topics: “The Seventh Voyage” (a hilarious send-up of time travel tales in general, where Tichy attempts to travel back in time to help himself fix his damaged spacecraft), and “The Eighth Voyage” (in which Tichy, delegate to The United Planets, represents earth, a candidate for admission).
Also worthy of attention are the later tales, of which a quintessential example is “The Twenty-First Voyage,” the last in order of composition and also the longest. I’ll admit I found it rough-going in places, but the startling difference between the two peoples presented here—nonreligious human consumed with a fad for body-engineering contrasted with robot monks who reverence the classic human form—was haunting and thought-provoking. It presented elements of the “pro-choice” and “right to life” philosophical positions in an extremely different context, and gave me much to think about.
If you love science fiction, you must read this book. It is a classic of the genre, crowded with invention and full of ideas.
Rating Epithetical Books The Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy (Ijon Tichy #1)
Ratings: 4.27 From 6369 Users | 274 ReviewsAssessment Epithetical Books The Star Diaries: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy (Ijon Tichy #1)
Struggled through about 2/3 before giving up. I think I'll finally get around to reading Gulliver's Travels instead.The Star Diaries by Stanislav Lem is a group of short stories that the author wrote over a time period from 1950s and expanded and reissued in 1971. The stories are travel logs of space traveler, Ijon Tichy and translated by Michael Kandel from the polish in 1976. The Introduction and Introduction to the Expanded Edition are really a part of the book as well and not truly Introductions as can be gatthered from "The press tells us that Tichy used a ghost-writer, or that he never even existed, his
Although Solaris is Stanislaw Lems most esteemed work, I believe The Star Diariesthe contemporaneous memoirs of star-pilot Ijon Tichyto be a better representative of his genius, for it is ambitious in scope, inventive, and often profound.The Star Diaries, a series of interplanetary adventures ranging in size from mere vignette to long novella, was written over a period of twenty years, and therefore--no surprise!these pieces vary considerably in seriousness and depth, moving from the playful to
I love this collection of short-stories about the adventures of astronaut-adventurer Ijon Tichy. The stories are often Swiftian and usually very funny. My favorite involves Tichy in a time-loop in which he argues with a series of past and future selves to try to repair his space-ship. It is an early exploration of themes that are played out more fully in The Time Traveler's Wife. Great summer reading: it's funny and playful but still thought-provoking.
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog. What a fantastic book! One of the best ones that I have read this year!!! If you have not read it, and I assume that is the situation, I highly recommend it! "I sat at my desk today, to write, and the chair said to me: 'What a strange world this is!" I will put this bluntly: I am highly aware that the English speaking world generally neglects the literature of the rest of the world, which is the idea behind the Reading the World challenge to begin with.
I didn't expect to like this book so much but this has everything I want in a sci-fi book. This is a collection of stories following Ijon Tichy's adventures across the galaxy. I loved the one about the mutant potatoes: "Thus far observations show that man has mashed potatoes millions of times, but it is not inconceivable that one time in a billion the situation could reverse itself, that a potato could mash a man." People in Poland must really like this one, too.
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