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Ijon Tichy #2
袛薪械胁薪懈泻, 薪邪屑械褉械薪 胁褗胁 胁邪薪邪
袨褌 械褉邪褌邪 薪邪 薪械芯谐械薪邪 械 芯褋褌邪薪邪谢芯 褋邪屑芯 械写薪芯 褋胁懈写械褌械谢褋褌胁芯 鈥� 薪邪屑械褉械薪懈褟褌 胁褗胁 胁邪薪邪 写薪械胁薪懈泻 薪邪 械写懈薪 褌邪械薪 邪谐械薪褌, 褌褉褗谐薪邪谢 锌芯 褋谢械写懈褌械 薪邪 袠薪褋褌褉褍泻褑懈褟褌邪, 芯褌 泻芯褟褌芯 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 褉邪蟹斜械褉械 泻邪泻胁邪 械 胁褗蟹谢芯卸械薪邪褌邪 屑褍 袦懈褋懈褟. 袨褌 褋褌邪褟 胁 褋褌邪褟, 芯褌 械褌邪卸 薪邪 械褌邪卸 懈 芯褌 泻芯褉懈写芯褉 胁 泻芯褉懈写芯褉 胁 褉邪蟹锌芯谢芯卸械薪 写褗谢斜芯泻芯 锌芯写 蟹械屑褟褌邪 锌褉邪胁懈褌械谢褋褌胁械薪 泻芯屑锌谢械泻褋 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹胁邪褔褗褌 褋械 芯泻邪蟹胁邪 褍胁谢械褔械薪 胁 械写薪邪 锌邪褉邪薪芯懈褔薪邪 邪薪褌懈褍褌芯锌懈褟, 胁 泻芯褟褌芯 薪懈褖芯 薪械 械 褌邪泻芯胁邪, 泻邪泻胁芯褌芯 懈蟹谐谢械卸写邪, 薪懈褌芯 泻邪泻胁芯褌芯 薪械 懈蟹谐谢械卸写邪. 袙褋懈褔泻芯 械 褋胁褉褗褏褋械泻褉械褌薪芯, 胁褋械泻懈 锌芯写芯蟹懈褉邪 胁褋械泻懈谐芯, 胁褉邪谐芯胁械褌械 褋邪 泻芯谢泻芯褌芯 胁械蟹写械褋褗褖懈, 褌芯谢泻芯胁邪 懈 薪械懈蟹胁械褋褌薪懈. 袙 褌芯蟹懈 胁褉邪卸写械斜械薪 褋胁褟褌 褑邪褉懈 褏邪芯褋, 褕锌懈芯薪芯屑邪薪懈褟, 写胁褍褋屑懈褋谢懈械 懈 懈蟹屑邪屑邪, 邪 胁邪薪邪褌邪 械 械写懈薪褋褌胁械薪芯褌芯 褍斜械卸懈褖械 薪邪 写芯泻邪褉邪薪懈褟 写芯 谐褉邪薪懈褑懈褌械 薪邪 斜械蟹褍屑懈械褌芯 谐械褉芯泄. 小 鈥炐斝叫敌残叫感�, 薪邪屑械褉械薪 胁褗胁 胁邪薪邪鈥� 谐芯谢械屑懈褟褌 泻谢邪褋懈泻 薪邪 薪邪褍褔薪邪褌邪 褎邪薪褌邪褋褌懈泻邪 懈蟹谢懈蟹邪 懈蟹胁褗薪 褉邪屑泻懈褌械 薪邪 卸邪薪褉邪, 褋褗蟹写邪胁邪泄泻懈 械写懈薪 褋屑褉邪蟹褟胁邪褖, 泻芯褕屑邪褉械薪 褋胁褟褌, 锌芯写芯斜械薪 薪邪 胁褗芯斜褉邪蟹械薪懈褟 芯褌 袣邪褎泻邪 懈 袘芯褉褏械褋, 褋胁褟褌 褋 写褗谢斜芯泻 锌芯写褌械泻褋褌 懈 褍卸邪褋褟胁邪褖懈 锌褉械锌褉邪褌泻懈, 胁 泻芯泄褌芯 胁褋褟泻芯 懈屑械 薪邪锌芯屑薪褟 写褉褍谐芯 懈屑械 懈 胁褋褟泻芯 写械泄褋褌胁懈械 锌芯褉邪卸写邪 薪械锌褉械写胁懈写械薪芯 锌褉芯褌懈胁芯写械泄褋褌胁懈械.
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
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About the author
Stanis艂aw Lem
449听books4,309听followersStanis艂aw Lem (sta藞刹iswaf l蓻m) was a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer of Jewish descent. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of Solaris, which has twice been made into a feature film. In 1976, Theodore Sturgeon claimed that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world.
His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humankind's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult and multiple translated versions of his works exist.
Lem became truly productive after 1956, when the de-Stalinization period led to the "Polish October", when Poland experienced an increase in freedom of speech. Between 1956 and 1968, Lem authored 17 books. His works were widely translated abroad (although mostly in the Eastern Bloc countries). In 1957 he published his first non-fiction, philosophical book, Dialogi (Dialogues), one of his two most famous philosophical texts along with Summa Technologiae (1964). The Summa is notable for being a unique analysis of prospective social, cybernetic, and biological advances. In this work, Lem discusses philosophical implications of technologies that were completely in the realm of science fiction then, but are gaining importance today鈥攍ike, for instance, virtual reality and nanotechnology. Over the next few decades, he published many books, both science fiction and philosophical/futurological, although from the 1980s onwards he tended to concentrate on philosophical texts and essays.
He gained international fame for The Cyberiad, a series of humorous short stories from a mechanical universe ruled by robots, first published in English in 1974. His best-known novels include Solaris (1961), His Master's Voice (G艂os pana, 1968), and the late Fiasco (Fiasko, 1987), expressing most strongly his major theme of the futility of mankind's attempts to comprehend the truly alien. Solaris was made into a film in 1972 by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and won a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972; in 2002, Steven Soderbergh directed a Hollywood remake starring George Clooney.
He was the cousin of poet Marian Hemar.
His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humankind's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult and multiple translated versions of his works exist.
Lem became truly productive after 1956, when the de-Stalinization period led to the "Polish October", when Poland experienced an increase in freedom of speech. Between 1956 and 1968, Lem authored 17 books. His works were widely translated abroad (although mostly in the Eastern Bloc countries). In 1957 he published his first non-fiction, philosophical book, Dialogi (Dialogues), one of his two most famous philosophical texts along with Summa Technologiae (1964). The Summa is notable for being a unique analysis of prospective social, cybernetic, and biological advances. In this work, Lem discusses philosophical implications of technologies that were completely in the realm of science fiction then, but are gaining importance today鈥攍ike, for instance, virtual reality and nanotechnology. Over the next few decades, he published many books, both science fiction and philosophical/futurological, although from the 1980s onwards he tended to concentrate on philosophical texts and essays.
He gained international fame for The Cyberiad, a series of humorous short stories from a mechanical universe ruled by robots, first published in English in 1974. His best-known novels include Solaris (1961), His Master's Voice (G艂os pana, 1968), and the late Fiasco (Fiasko, 1987), expressing most strongly his major theme of the futility of mankind's attempts to comprehend the truly alien. Solaris was made into a film in 1972 by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and won a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972; in 2002, Steven Soderbergh directed a Hollywood remake starring George Clooney.
He was the cousin of poet Marian Hemar.
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July 30, 2024
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub is an absurdist dystopia鈥�
The beginning of the novel brings to memory The Castle by Franz Kafka鈥�
However the chronicler finds the Commander in Chief soon enough鈥� And instead of the castle he enters the headquarters of the Cosmic Command鈥� Which is also a vehicle of the cosmic bureaucracy鈥�
At once he is assigned to the special most secret mission鈥� But he doesn鈥檛 know what mission it is鈥� And nobody can tell him鈥� Spies and counterspies, agents and counteragents are everywhere鈥�
He starts roaming the maze鈥� He can enter any door鈥� But everywhere he finds nothing but absurd dead ends鈥� The inanimate bureaucratic system attempts to destroy any individuality鈥�
The webs of red tape are no less dangerous than a pernicious quagmire.
The beginning of the novel brings to memory The Castle by Franz Kafka鈥�
鈥 couldn鈥檛 seem to find the right room 鈥� none of them had the number designated on my pass. First I wound up at the Department of Verification, then the Department of Misinformation, then some clerk from the Pressure Section advised me to try level eight, but on level eight they ignored me, and later I got stuck in a crowd of military personnel 鈥� the corridors rang with their vigorous marching back and forth, the slamming of doors, the clicking of heels, and over that martial noise I could hear the distant music of bells, the tinkling of medals.
However the chronicler finds the Commander in Chief soon enough鈥� And instead of the castle he enters the headquarters of the Cosmic Command鈥� Which is also a vehicle of the cosmic bureaucracy鈥�
I had suspected for some time now that the Cosmic Command, obviously no longer able to supervise every assignment on an individual basis when there were literally trillions of matters in its charge, had switched over to a random system. The assumption would be that every document, circulating endlessly from desk to desk, must eventually hit upon the right one.
At once he is assigned to the special most secret mission鈥� But he doesn鈥檛 know what mission it is鈥� And nobody can tell him鈥� Spies and counterspies, agents and counteragents are everywhere鈥�
An endless white labyrinth lay in wait out there, I knew, and an equally endless wandering. The net of corridors, halls and soundproof rooms, each ready to swallow me up鈥�
He starts roaming the maze鈥� He can enter any door鈥� But everywhere he finds nothing but absurd dead ends鈥� The inanimate bureaucratic system attempts to destroy any individuality鈥�
鈥淥nly a worm can play the worm鈥︹€�
The webs of red tape are no less dangerous than a pernicious quagmire.
April 10, 2023
鈥淲hen you jump for joy, beware that no one moves the ground from beneath your feet.鈥�
鈥� Stanis艂aw Lem
If you are up for writing with ample helpings of the polyglotomatic and metapsychodelic, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, Stanislaw Lem鈥檚 1961 novel of screwball bureaucratic misadventure will most certainly stir your brainwaves and set your neural neurons fizzing.
What a polyglot and metaphysician was our author - fluent in Polish, Latin, German, French, English, Russian, Ukrainian, Lem鈥檚 expertise ranged from medicine and biology, physics and astronomy, mathematics and robotics to philosophy, literature and linguistics. And added to this intellectual mix, such a protean imagination 鈥� numerous collections of highly provocative essays, dozens of short stories and seventeen science fiction novels, many judged among the best within the genre.
A twelve page Introduction (part of the novel) written hundreds of years into the future outlines how this manuscript, Notes from the Neogene, or its more commonly known title, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, is a precious relic from Earth鈥檚 ancient past, "a period of decline which directly preceded the great Collapse," a time when paper was used extensively for writing. Among the numerous documented facts alluded to by this archaeologist of the future in his quest to discover the reasons behind the demise of that paper centered, bathroom centered, ancient civilization is a thriving cult revolving around Kap-Eh-Taahl, a deity denied supernatural existence. Yes, Kap-Eh-Taahl is 鈥淐apital,鈥� one example of how the Introduction, scholarly and authoritative in tone, is a Stanislaw Lem-ish tour de force of word play, word blending, punning, spoonerisms, neologisms, double entendre, tongue-twisters and tongue-in-cheek.
Nevertheless these introductory remarks are picture-perfect as a set up to frame the narrative that follows, an extensive firsthand report authored by a newly assigned secret agent caught in an unending network of offices, corridors, stairs, elevators and bathrooms forming part of a vast underground military compound. If this strikes you as a Kafkaesque parable of little guy versus big bureaucracy, you hit the bulls-eye 鈥� much of the spirit of Lem's novel is captured in the above Jaroslav Rona sculpture located in Prague with natty Franz Kafka atop a headless, handless giant.
In the very first paragraph our disoriented narrator tells us he can鈥檛 locate the proper room amid multiple levels of departments and offices in this Pentagon-like Building as he attempts to press through crowds of marching military personnel, disguised agents and preoccupied secretaries. Kafka鈥檚 An Imperial Message comes immediately to mind, a tale where a messenger sent by the Emperor is trying to bring a special message for you alone but the messenger must push through a solid mass of humanity in an outer courtyard only to find another horde of people in the next courtyard blocking his way and so it continues, such that, alas, you will never receive your message. Anybody who has ever been obliged to deal with a bloated administrative system will hear a familiar ring.
The narrator wends his way to the office of powerfully built, bald, old General Kashenblade, Commander in Chief, only to be given an unidentified special mission. The more questions he asks about the specifics of his mission, the more indecipherable the explanations, even moving out to the stars, as when the old man pontificates, 鈥淎nd the spiral nebulae?! Well?! Don鈥檛 tell me you don鈥檛 know what that means! SPY-ral!! And the expanding universe, the retreating galaxies! Where are they going? What are they running from? And the Doppler shift to the red!! Highly suspicious 鈥� no more! A clear admission of guilt!!鈥�
Such decidedly cerebral passages are reminiscent of another classic where imagination and erudite fancy mix with elements of physics, mathematics, astronomy and other sciences - t zero by Italo Calvino. Lem鈥檚 polyglot background frequently shines through with a light touch, a real treat for readers who enjoy heady subjects and brain teasers mixed in with their fiction.
Next stop, we follow our earnest special agent, now a man on a mission, to the main office where he is approached by a young officer who introduces himself as Lieutenant Blanderdash, the Chief鈥檚 undercover aide. Whoa, Stanislaw! Was that Blanderdash or Balderdash? Blanderdash proceeds to ask the agent if he yawns or snores (the department lost many people by snoring) before leading him to the Department of Collections to view, along with a multitude of other absurdities, cabinets with millions of cuff links and glass cases filled with artificial ears, noses, bridges, fingernails, warts, eyelashes, boils and humps.
Given such a display (no pun intended) of government and military intelligence brings to mind Moscow 2042 and other comic masterpieces by Vladimir Voinovich. Such a sharp satirical needle 鈥� too bad the archaeologist examining these memoirs assumes the narrator is entirely serious and completely reliable! He鈥檚 missing out on much of the irony and dark humor.
I鈥檓 reminded yet again of another author, Lewis Carroll and his Alice in Wonderland, most especially the Mad Hatter鈥檚 tea party. For the more I turned the pages, the more I had the feeling special agent Undereavesdropper Blassenkash (in Chapter 2 he answers to this title and name) is trapped in a building filled with a stream of Mad Hatters spouting sheer indecipherable nonsense. I actually found this one of the more amusing and more telling aspects of the tale since the madness is accentuated by our unfortunate narrator forever remaining the serious, formal straight man.
Perhaps agent Blassenkash finally comes to understand the underlying meaning of what鈥檚 going on: either all of this is a test for him to pass in his capacity as agent, or - fanfare tooted by Alice's White Rabbit on his tiny trumpet - everyone is a raving lunatic. Or, maybe he has been misled by enemy spies that have infiltrated the Building. Or, then again, his very presence in the Building is, in fact, his mission. Or a dozen other possibilities.
You will have to read for yourself to decipher the code. However, be aware 鈥� there could be more than one code. As a head Building official explains, 鈥淣ow, there are calling codes, stalling codes, departmental codes, special codes, and 鈥� you鈥檒l like this,鈥� he grinned, 鈥渢hey鈥檙e changed every day. Each section, of course, has its own system, so the same word or name will have a different meaning on different levels.鈥�
Stanis艂aw Lem, age 50, at his typewriter in Krak贸w, Poland, 1971
May 17, 2012
Madness... it's ALL madness.
I imagine all fans of this book to look something like this:
The question now becomes, am I a fan?
I really don't know how to rate this book. After finishing this book I wanted to chuck it out the window. "2 days wasted!" I thought. Nothing but madness and more madness.... Then today more of it made sense, by of course, not making sense. (you're picturing the crazy cat as my face now, aren't you?)
I do understand the book however, and I suppose this is why I am writing this review: I felt no one has understood it deeply enough, only barely skimming the surface.
This is the point in this review where you raise your left eye brow, look at me and ask "oh really now smarty pants? what is the meaning then??".
I'll tell you what it is.
*Looks around paranoid and whispers*:
"there is no spoon".
In the movie The Matrix Neo enters the apartment of the Oracle, where he spots a child bending spoons with its mind. When Neo picks up the spoon, the child says:
"Do not try to bend the spoon, that's impossible. Instead...try to realize the truth. ... There is no spoon. Then you will see that it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."
"Huh?" I hear you say?
"Exactly" *I nod.* "keep reading my friend."
__________________________________________________________
The Plot
The plot on the surface is quite simple yet completely maddening. It is a story of a confined universe, aka The Building, an underground secret facility where all the American elites and their body guards (the army)have hid themselves following a world crisis.(Humourously, Lem writes this "world stopping crisis" as a disintegration of all paper in the world, but it could very well have been a plague, an economic collapse, or a revolution. I'm glad he's chosen paper, it makes the book a bit less heavy than it could have been.) Being completely closed off and forgotten, the people in the building became a universe onto itself, a world within a world.
Naturally, because they were paranoid their paranoia in a confined space begins to consume itself, like a snake eating its tail, the Ouroboros of total insanity and claustrophobic madness.
The protagonist of this mad world is a nameless person, most likely a man who's spy adventures and misadventures we follow throughout the building. The man's mission is so secret that even he himself doesn't know what it is. He attempts to unravel the mystery but he cannot, as everyone is a spy like him, on a senseless mission to keep everyone occupied.
At the end of the book .
____________________________________________________________
What does it all mean??
When I say that there is no spoon, I mean that the point of this book is that there is no meaning. The point is that all there is, is items and we are trapped in this world, making our own meaning out of it.
"Do not try to bend the spoon [find meaning], that's impossible. Instead...try to realize the truth. ... There is no spoon.[meaning]".
Only when we understand that meaning is all interpretation, a completely individual experience, then we realize that there is no meaning because it's all made up individually as we go along based on our assumptions and experiences (much like the missions in The Building). Only then can we abandon the search for meaning, which is the only liberation from the madness of meaning itself and hence, the world.
What I think happens...
Interesting Stray Observations
- I think this book is not about cold war, it's too easy to say that.
- I think it's interesting how women are like furniture in this book or probably more like coffee makers in skirts.
- I didn't like the analogies to nature. I felt these people were trapped in this enormous bunker for a long time, most likely even born there, hence they would not be able to relate to this living world.
But then again, what do I know? After all, there is no spoon. :)
I imagine all fans of this book to look something like this:
The question now becomes, am I a fan?
I really don't know how to rate this book. After finishing this book I wanted to chuck it out the window. "2 days wasted!" I thought. Nothing but madness and more madness.... Then today more of it made sense, by of course, not making sense. (you're picturing the crazy cat as my face now, aren't you?)
I do understand the book however, and I suppose this is why I am writing this review: I felt no one has understood it deeply enough, only barely skimming the surface.
This is the point in this review where you raise your left eye brow, look at me and ask "oh really now smarty pants? what is the meaning then??".
I'll tell you what it is.
*Looks around paranoid and whispers*:
"there is no spoon".
In the movie The Matrix Neo enters the apartment of the Oracle, where he spots a child bending spoons with its mind. When Neo picks up the spoon, the child says:
"Do not try to bend the spoon, that's impossible. Instead...try to realize the truth. ... There is no spoon. Then you will see that it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself."
"Huh?" I hear you say?
"Exactly" *I nod.* "keep reading my friend."
__________________________________________________________
The Plot
The plot on the surface is quite simple yet completely maddening. It is a story of a confined universe, aka The Building, an underground secret facility where all the American elites and their body guards (the army)have hid themselves following a world crisis.(Humourously, Lem writes this "world stopping crisis" as a disintegration of all paper in the world, but it could very well have been a plague, an economic collapse, or a revolution. I'm glad he's chosen paper, it makes the book a bit less heavy than it could have been.) Being completely closed off and forgotten, the people in the building became a universe onto itself, a world within a world.
Naturally, because they were paranoid their paranoia in a confined space begins to consume itself, like a snake eating its tail, the Ouroboros of total insanity and claustrophobic madness.
The protagonist of this mad world is a nameless person, most likely a man who's spy adventures and misadventures we follow throughout the building. The man's mission is so secret that even he himself doesn't know what it is. He attempts to unravel the mystery but he cannot, as everyone is a spy like him, on a senseless mission to keep everyone occupied.
At the end of the book .
____________________________________________________________
What does it all mean??
When I say that there is no spoon, I mean that the point of this book is that there is no meaning. The point is that all there is, is items and we are trapped in this world, making our own meaning out of it.
"Do not try to bend the spoon [find meaning], that's impossible. Instead...try to realize the truth. ... There is no spoon.[meaning]".
Only when we understand that meaning is all interpretation, a completely individual experience, then we realize that there is no meaning because it's all made up individually as we go along based on our assumptions and experiences (much like the missions in The Building). Only then can we abandon the search for meaning, which is the only liberation from the madness of meaning itself and hence, the world.
What I think happens...
Interesting Stray Observations
- I think this book is not about cold war, it's too easy to say that.
- I think it's interesting how women are like furniture in this book or probably more like coffee makers in skirts.
- I didn't like the analogies to nature. I felt these people were trapped in this enormous bunker for a long time, most likely even born there, hence they would not be able to relate to this living world.
But then again, what do I know? After all, there is no spoon. :)
July 12, 2009
Kafka on Prozac
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub by Stanslaw Lem follows the adventures of an agent-in-training as he wanders in search of a mission through the vast bureaucracy of a purposeless intelligence agency.
The agent is anonymous. But we can call him K - because the story, the style, and the absurdist message are drawn directly from Kafka (esp. The castle]. K is an everyman, and his agency is an allegory for society. Ostensibly, the agency is the post-apocalyptic remnant of America, but it feels entirely European.
The theme of the Memoirs is that one's search for individual identity (i.e. the mission) is distracted by reflections of the self in other people. Social interaction discloses layer upon layer of identity (like the numberless floors of the agency's building) but no essential purpose. Such a search wraps the individual tighter and tighter in a web of conformity.
In the end, K can no longer imagine leaving the building. He becomes incapable of even attempting a mission, should he ever find one. Even his human rebelliousness turns into tragically reflexive conformity.
Lem's narrative style conveys serious ideas using a simple narrative prose and pervasive, but understated humor. In this respect, Lem writes like Kafka on Prozac - with clearer ideas, faster pace, and more fun. For me, this is the best aspect of the book.
The worst aspect of the book is the introduction. I advise the reader to skip it; with the intro included, my recommendation drops by at least one star. It places the Memoirs in a sophomoric (and entirely unnecessary) SciFi context and draws the connection with America. I speculate that the introduction was added to satisfy censors in 1961 Poland.
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub by Stanslaw Lem follows the adventures of an agent-in-training as he wanders in search of a mission through the vast bureaucracy of a purposeless intelligence agency.
The agent is anonymous. But we can call him K - because the story, the style, and the absurdist message are drawn directly from Kafka (esp. The castle]. K is an everyman, and his agency is an allegory for society. Ostensibly, the agency is the post-apocalyptic remnant of America, but it feels entirely European.
The theme of the Memoirs is that one's search for individual identity (i.e. the mission) is distracted by reflections of the self in other people. Social interaction discloses layer upon layer of identity (like the numberless floors of the agency's building) but no essential purpose. Such a search wraps the individual tighter and tighter in a web of conformity.
In the end, K can no longer imagine leaving the building. He becomes incapable of even attempting a mission, should he ever find one. Even his human rebelliousness turns into tragically reflexive conformity.
Lem's narrative style conveys serious ideas using a simple narrative prose and pervasive, but understated humor. In this respect, Lem writes like Kafka on Prozac - with clearer ideas, faster pace, and more fun. For me, this is the best aspect of the book.
The worst aspect of the book is the introduction. I advise the reader to skip it; with the intro included, my recommendation drops by at least one star. It places the Memoirs in a sophomoric (and entirely unnecessary) SciFi context and draws the connection with America. I speculate that the introduction was added to satisfy censors in 1961 Poland.
September 1, 2007
This book blew my mind. I had to scream after I put it down! It is the story of a man who doesn't know his mission, who is on the outside of an inside joke. Everything is in code, even the code is in code, and everybody is a double, triple, quadruple or more agent. Or maybe they just make up their jobs and go about doing them-there is no way to know.
This book is a tragedy in the sense that it is a comedy about someone who ultimately fails. In comedy, the hero always succeeds at the end, in greek theater.
Highbrow science fiction, so far beyond genre that it is actually literature.
This book is a tragedy in the sense that it is a comedy about someone who ultimately fails. In comedy, the hero always succeeds at the end, in greek theater.
Highbrow science fiction, so far beyond genre that it is actually literature.
February 25, 2021
"Anything enormous, immense beyond belief or reckoning, has to be serious. -- Size, how we worship size. -- Believe me, if there were a turd the size of a mountain, its summit hidden in the clouds, we would bend the knee in reverence."
Indeed. The bigger the edifice, whether building, organization, or the universe itself, the more impossible our belief that it might ever fail.
I swear, this book may appear to be a far-future edifice of rampant spy-vs-spy rampant paranoia where every little thing is a code within a code, from farts to sighs to the shape of a wart on an old man's neck, but it's really a testament of human psychology.
We grew into ourselves always looking into the dark forest looking for tiny details to conflate into huge conspiracies, whether it is a tiger, a snake, or a defector in our own ranks. Stanislaw Lem's far-future edifice of absolutely meaningless betrayals and sextuplet counter-betrayals made me think I was reading a massive nod to and a million spy thrillers as written by one of the most fantastic SF authors of our time.
And I enjoyed it immensely. I even laughed my ass off several times. The wordplay is so smart and crazy and the sheer size of this little masterpiece of conspiracy fiction made me chortle to no end.
"I am a man of the cross and the double-cross. No nails, no thorns, no spear in the side... only the boss gets a little cross."
Indeed. The bigger the edifice, whether building, organization, or the universe itself, the more impossible our belief that it might ever fail.
I swear, this book may appear to be a far-future edifice of rampant spy-vs-spy rampant paranoia where every little thing is a code within a code, from farts to sighs to the shape of a wart on an old man's neck, but it's really a testament of human psychology.
We grew into ourselves always looking into the dark forest looking for tiny details to conflate into huge conspiracies, whether it is a tiger, a snake, or a defector in our own ranks. Stanislaw Lem's far-future edifice of absolutely meaningless betrayals and sextuplet counter-betrayals made me think I was reading a massive nod to and a million spy thrillers as written by one of the most fantastic SF authors of our time.
And I enjoyed it immensely. I even laughed my ass off several times. The wordplay is so smart and crazy and the sheer size of this little masterpiece of conspiracy fiction made me chortle to no end.
"I am a man of the cross and the double-cross. No nails, no thorns, no spear in the side... only the boss gets a little cross."
January 2, 2014
this book is fucked up. i don't usually say that about books but this one is wicked fucked up. i listened to an audiobook version that left the introduction out and that made it even weirder. basically this dude comes into existence in a cold war era underground government bunker and has to find out what his mission is but he's stuck in the place that drives you mad from that asterix movie so he just runs around for a while trying to navigate the insane mazes of political intrigue before realizing that the structure of the building has completely sealed it off from the world and nothing within the bunker relates to anything outside at all and nothing that anyone says has any particular meaning. i listened to most of this on a train in germany and at the end of the trip i wanted to throw myself on the tracks. 4/5
May 13, 2024
Es una obra poco conocida de Lem y m谩s que CF, nos presenta una din谩mica kafkiana llevada al extremo. Las memorias del t铆tulo son un pretexto para relatar una aventura circular en una especie de Pent谩gono subterr谩neo, que es todo lo que queda de una civilizacion amenazada por la extinci贸n del papel. Entre sus paredes e interminables pasillos, llenos de despachos sim茅tricos, el absurdo campa a sus anchas y el protagonista, al cual se le asigna una extra帽a misi贸n, va rebotando entre altos mandos a cual m谩s estramb贸tico.
La lectura puede resultar bastante densa, ya que nada parece tener sentido, auque el humor aligera el texto y hay momentos especialmente divertidos. En conjunto, es una s谩tira de la burocracia y la guerra fr铆a, muy acorde con el esp铆ritu de su tiempo, ya que se public贸 en 1961.
La lectura puede resultar bastante densa, ya que nada parece tener sentido, auque el humor aligera el texto y hay momentos especialmente divertidos. En conjunto, es una s谩tira de la burocracia y la guerra fr铆a, muy acorde con el esp铆ritu de su tiempo, ya que se public贸 en 1961.
April 1, 2024
04/2013
This is the most dreamlike book I ever remember reading. Or nightmare like. A study in bureaucracy and paranoia. Including coded camouflage and artificial body parts and much much more. My American paperback is from 1971 but apparently the original is from 1961.
This is the most dreamlike book I ever remember reading. Or nightmare like. A study in bureaucracy and paranoia. Including coded camouflage and artificial body parts and much much more. My American paperback is from 1971 but apparently the original is from 1961.
November 7, 2016
With the Futurological Congress the most outlandish and grotesque novel of Lem i have read and perhaps the most of all i have read in my life.
What a mix,surpassing all them,of Lewis Carroll,Kafka and Dick,he takes the logic to the absurd extreme as Caroll,builds a grotesque senseles burocratic world as Kafka and transmits a sense of nigmarish irreality as Dick,a real irreality without the need od drugs
After a ancient plague that have destroyed all the paper and by that the histhory records ,in near the 4000 year the histhorians have a fragmentary record of the near to day civilization named the Neogene.
After a hilarant historian satyra over the ideologic fight between capitalism and comunism the histhorians find in a big bunker in the Rocky Mountains named the Last Pentagon flooded by magma a memoirs written by a inhabitant of the building closed to the rest of the world in a claustrophobic militaristic extreme burocratic society.Narrated in first person by a man without name in a unfrutuous search of the class and meaning of a mission ordered to him, he makes a narration of a world where the characters each one more absurd ,each one in search of his existential meaning,in a chaotic organization.
Lem carries the reality to the most extreme senseles,create delirant neologisms,create outlandish concepts as the desemantizacion of the words,the nested layers of encripted normal languaje,the nested layers of truth and spy in a paranoic esquizofrenic paradise.
There is a duality beween the Building and a next Antibuilding with simetric interchangeable roles with perhaps a deeper open meaning.The building is the absolut maze where the characters are lost in search of his existential meaning.
The book is open to several interpretations,possibly a alegoria of the despersonaliced , paranoic and senseles world of his sovietic orbit natal Poland.
A unique original, nigmarish,grotesque and full of bleak humor postapocaliptic distopia.
A strongly recomended masterwork in its genre
What a mix,surpassing all them,of Lewis Carroll,Kafka and Dick,he takes the logic to the absurd extreme as Caroll,builds a grotesque senseles burocratic world as Kafka and transmits a sense of nigmarish irreality as Dick,a real irreality without the need od drugs
After a ancient plague that have destroyed all the paper and by that the histhory records ,in near the 4000 year the histhorians have a fragmentary record of the near to day civilization named the Neogene.
After a hilarant historian satyra over the ideologic fight between capitalism and comunism the histhorians find in a big bunker in the Rocky Mountains named the Last Pentagon flooded by magma a memoirs written by a inhabitant of the building closed to the rest of the world in a claustrophobic militaristic extreme burocratic society.Narrated in first person by a man without name in a unfrutuous search of the class and meaning of a mission ordered to him, he makes a narration of a world where the characters each one more absurd ,each one in search of his existential meaning,in a chaotic organization.
Lem carries the reality to the most extreme senseles,create delirant neologisms,create outlandish concepts as the desemantizacion of the words,the nested layers of encripted normal languaje,the nested layers of truth and spy in a paranoic esquizofrenic paradise.
There is a duality beween the Building and a next Antibuilding with simetric interchangeable roles with perhaps a deeper open meaning.The building is the absolut maze where the characters are lost in search of his existential meaning.
The book is open to several interpretations,possibly a alegoria of the despersonaliced , paranoic and senseles world of his sovietic orbit natal Poland.
A unique original, nigmarish,grotesque and full of bleak humor postapocaliptic distopia.
A strongly recomended masterwork in its genre
January 23, 2019
Funnier than Kafka, more flippant than Heller, Lem mocks and satirizes a bloated bureaucratic military complex where nobody knows what anybody is doing, not even themselves. All told, it's a pretty brilliant solution to prevent espionage: if everything is misinformation, then nothing can fall into the enemy's hands. Right?
So . . . I had considered myself the center of the universe, the bull's-eye, so to speak, for all the slings and arrows the Building had to offer鈥攁nd all along I was nothing, just one of a series, another copy, a stereotype, trembling in all the places my predecessors trembled, repeating like a record player exactly the same words, feelings, thoughts. My melodramatic actions, the sudden impulses, false starts, surprises, moments of inspiration, each successive revelation鈥攁ll of it, chapter and verse, including this present moment, was in the instructions鈥攏o longer my instructions, they weren't made for me . . . So if this was neither a test nor a Mission, nor chaos鈥攚hat was left? ... Were they all crazy? Were they out to make me crazy too? Then everything would be fine, for if everyone's crazy, no one's crazy . . . But where was it all heading? (124)5 stars out of 5. Yeah, it's a little bit juvenile, mostly goofy, and very over-the-top. And the whole "paper blight" introduction didn't really need to be there. But if you think about it you'll realize it's really a secretly coded message about life and living in an over-informed, media-saturated society (I swear). And all that stuff is right up my alley.
December 18, 2023
Caos, caos e ancora caos. Illogicit脿, intrighi, strani corridoi e dipartimenti, ascensori, uffici, sottobicchieri, bagni con vasca, mosche metalliche, dietrologie, Shakespeare ai raggi X (beh, non proprio ai raggi X, diciamo piuttosto che 猫 come la storia dei dischi dei Beatles al contrario...), pasti saltati, bevute colossali in compagnia, preti nascosti negli armadi che compilano verbali, filosofia, spionaggio e controspionaggio, congiure, anticamere, porte socchiuse e porte chiuse, archivi, biblioteche, macabre esposizioni di mani mozzate, interrogatori, suicidi e omicidi, sparatorie, messaggi cifrati, vite cifrate, codici segreti improbabili (o forse troppo evidenti?), missioni segrete, buoni pasto.
E chi pi霉 ne ha pi霉 ne metta. In breve: tutta l'assurdit脿 di un impianto burocratico ossessivo e opprimente. La sua inutilit脿 come chiave per la sua persistenza in vita. Anche qui c'猫 un golem che vuole vivere.
E chi pi霉 ne ha pi霉 ne metta. In breve: tutta l'assurdit脿 di un impianto burocratico ossessivo e opprimente. La sua inutilit脿 come chiave per la sua persistenza in vita. Anche qui c'猫 un golem che vuole vivere.
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August 23, 2021小褌褉邪薪薪邪 泻薪懈谐邪, 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪邪 褋 谐芯谢褟屑邪 写芯蟹邪 褌褉械褋泻邪胁邪 褎邪薪褌邪蟹懈褟 懈 屑薪芯卸械褋褌胁芯 懈蟹屑懈褋谢械薪懈 锌芯薪褟褌懈褟( 薪邪锌褉懈屑械褉 袦芯谢斜懈谢邪薪褌褉懈泻褋- 褋褌褉 28). 袦芯谐邪 写邪 褋懈 锌褉械写褋褌邪胁褟 泻芯谢泻芯 械 斜懈谢芯 褌褉褍写薪芯 写邪 褋械 锌褉械胁械写械 薪邪 斜褗谢谐邪褉褋泻懈.
袧邪 谐谢邪胁薪懈褟褌 谐械褉芯泄 屑褍 械 胁褗蟹谢芯卸械薪邪 屑懈褋懈褟. 孝褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 薪邪屑械褉懈 薪械褖芯 胁 袟写邪薪懈械褌芯, 邪 薪邪褋芯泻懈褌械 褋邪 褉邪蟹锌褉褗褋薪邪褌懈 薪邪胁褋褟泻褗写械. 孝芯泄 褋械 谢褍褌邪 懈蟹 泻芯褉懈写芯褉懈褌械 懈 械褌邪卸懈褌械 泻邪褌芯 胁 谢邪斜懈褉懈薪褌 懈 褋褟泻邪褕 胁褋褟泻芯 屑邪谢泻芯 薪械褖芯 械 泻邪褌芯 泻芯写 胁 泻芯写邪 蟹邪 褉邪蟹褕褉懈褎褉芯胁邪薪械 薪邪 蟹邪谐邪写泻邪褌邪. 袩褉懈谢懈褔邪 薪邪 褕锌懈芯薪褋泻懈 褌褉懈谢褗褉 胁 写邪谢械褔薪芯褌芯 斜褗写械褖械, 胁 泻芯泄褌芯 械 胁泻邪褉邪薪 懈 褖褍褉 褏褍屑芯褉.
袧褟屑邪 写邪 褋谢邪谐邪屑 芯褑械薪泻邪, 蟹邪褖芯褌芯 褌邪蟹懈 泻薪懈谐邪 褋械 芯泻邪蟹邪 锌褉械泻邪谢械薪芯 胁懈褋芯泻邪 褌芯锌泻邪 蟹邪 锟斤拷械薪 懈 褋械 芯锌邪褋褟胁邪屑, 褔械 薪械 屑芯卸邪褏 写邪 胁薪懈泻薪邪 胁 薪械泄薪邪褌邪 褋褗褖懈薪邪.
袧邪 谐谢邪胁薪懈褟褌 谐械褉芯泄 屑褍 械 胁褗蟹谢芯卸械薪邪 屑懈褋懈褟. 孝褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 薪邪屑械褉懈 薪械褖芯 胁 袟写邪薪懈械褌芯, 邪 薪邪褋芯泻懈褌械 褋邪 褉邪蟹锌褉褗褋薪邪褌懈 薪邪胁褋褟泻褗写械. 孝芯泄 褋械 谢褍褌邪 懈蟹 泻芯褉懈写芯褉懈褌械 懈 械褌邪卸懈褌械 泻邪褌芯 胁 谢邪斜懈褉懈薪褌 懈 褋褟泻邪褕 胁褋褟泻芯 屑邪谢泻芯 薪械褖芯 械 泻邪褌芯 泻芯写 胁 泻芯写邪 蟹邪 褉邪蟹褕褉懈褎褉芯胁邪薪械 薪邪 蟹邪谐邪写泻邪褌邪. 袩褉懈谢懈褔邪 薪邪 褕锌懈芯薪褋泻懈 褌褉懈谢褗褉 胁 写邪谢械褔薪芯褌芯 斜褗写械褖械, 胁 泻芯泄褌芯 械 胁泻邪褉邪薪 懈 褖褍褉 褏褍屑芯褉.
袧褟屑邪 写邪 褋谢邪谐邪屑 芯褑械薪泻邪, 蟹邪褖芯褌芯 褌邪蟹懈 泻薪懈谐邪 褋械 芯泻邪蟹邪 锌褉械泻邪谢械薪芯 胁懈褋芯泻邪 褌芯锌泻邪 蟹邪 锟斤拷械薪 懈 褋械 芯锌邪褋褟胁邪屑, 褔械 薪械 屑芯卸邪褏 写邪 胁薪懈泻薪邪 胁 薪械泄薪邪褌邪 褋褗褖懈薪邪.
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July 15, 2022Maddening story, but that's quite the point.
An everyman character wanders around an underground intelligence agency that is just a labyrinth of corridors and offices. He's in search of "his mission" and loses sense of time (and self?) but it manages to also be absurd and funny in parts.
The Introduction - a letter from the future describing the loss of every scrap of paper, and therefore all of written history - was more enjoyable to me than the following 180+ pages of Kafkaesque wanderings and circular dialogues with bureaucrats in office bunkers.
Overall a nerve-racking read. Perhaps I prefer a more serious scientific Lem...
An everyman character wanders around an underground intelligence agency that is just a labyrinth of corridors and offices. He's in search of "his mission" and loses sense of time (and self?) but it manages to also be absurd and funny in parts.
The Introduction - a letter from the future describing the loss of every scrap of paper, and therefore all of written history - was more enjoyable to me than the following 180+ pages of Kafkaesque wanderings and circular dialogues with bureaucrats in office bunkers.
Overall a nerve-racking read. Perhaps I prefer a more serious scientific Lem...
November 30, 2016
鈥楳emoirs Found in a Bathtub鈥� is a strange novel, but its strangeness feels somehow familiar. It reminded me of Ishiguro鈥檚 , Kadare鈥檚 , the Terry Gilliam film 鈥楤razil鈥�, and . It would probably also remind me of Kafka鈥檚 , if I鈥檇 read it. (I am going to - the library鈥檚 copy never seems to be on the shelf!) First published in 1971, Lem鈥檚 novel is an unsettling satire on the Cold War, in which an intelligence agency (the CIA?) has retreated into a massive underground bunker. The narration begins abruptly, in the middle of a sentence, without introducing the narrator. He seems to be an agent of some sort, tasked with an important mission that no-one is willing or able to explain to him. He travels from office to office, encounters a bizarre array of obfuscating persons and attempts to discern what the hell is going on. There are some recurring themes relating to astronomy and free will, as well as a framing conceit of the memoirs as a rare document recovered thousands of years later. By this point almost all paper has been obliterated by an epidemic of some sort, so historians struggle to understand what was going just on much as the narrator does.
The narrative has considerable momentum, closely resembling an anxiety dream in which you鈥檙e late, lost, and obscurely to blame for something. Thus it isn鈥檛 the most pleasant thing to read, although some of the writing is beautiful. Certain incidents are merely farcical or grotesque, but others feel profound. My favourite moment was this, towards the end:
I wasn鈥檛 entirely satisfied with the ending, though.
The narrative has considerable momentum, closely resembling an anxiety dream in which you鈥檙e late, lost, and obscurely to blame for something. Thus it isn鈥檛 the most pleasant thing to read, although some of the writing is beautiful. Certain incidents are merely farcical or grotesque, but others feel profound. My favourite moment was this, towards the end:
鈥滱 priest? You turned me over to Major Erms! You only wear a cassock to hide the uniform!鈥�
鈥淎nd do you only a wear a body to hide the skeleton? Try to understand. I am hiding nothing. You say I betrayed you. But everything here is illusion: betrayal, treason, even omniscience - for omniscience is not only impossible, but quite unnecessary when its counterfeit suffices, a fabrication of stray reports, allusions, words mumbled in one鈥檚 sleep or retrieved from the latrines鈥� It is not omniscience but the faith in that matters.鈥�
I wasn鈥檛 entirely satisfied with the ending, though.
June 23, 2018
K眉vette Bulunan G眉nce, Stanlislaw Lem'in gelecekten gelen bir labirent tasviri.
Kitap ger莽ekten muhte艧emdir. Lem beni her zaman etkilemeyi ba艧ar谋yor. Bu da en iyi kitaplar谋ndan biriydi kesinlikle. Hele finali muhte艧emdi. En iyi kitap finali bile se莽ilebilir.
Kitap ger莽ekten muhte艧emdir. Lem beni her zaman etkilemeyi ba艧ar谋yor. Bu da en iyi kitaplar谋ndan biriydi kesinlikle. Hele finali muhte艧emdi. En iyi kitap finali bile se莽ilebilir.
January 12, 2021
袛褗谢斜芯泻芯 锌芯写 蟹械屑褟褌邪, 胁 芯褌写邪胁薪邪 懈蟹褔械蟹薪邪谢邪褌邪 写褗褉卸邪胁邪 袗屑械褉-袣邪, 袟写邪薪懈械褌芯 锌褉懈褞褌褟胁邪 锌芯褋谢械写薪懈褌械 芯褋褌邪薪泻懈 芯褌 泻褍谢褌邪 泻褗屑 蟹邪谐邪写褗褔薪懈褌械 斜芯卸械褋褌胁邪 袪邪褋-小邪 懈 袣邪锌-袠-孝邪邪谢. 袗 褋褉械写 斜械蟹泻褉邪泄薪懈褌械 泻芯褉懈写芯褉懈 懈 斜械蟹褔械褌薪懈褌械 褋褌邪懈 薪邪 袟写邪薪懈械褌芯, 褋械 谢褍褌邪 斜械蟹懈屑械薪懈褟褌 薪懈 锌褉芯褌邪谐芯薪懈褋褌 - 褌邪械薪 邪谐械薪褌, 褌胁褗褉写芯 褉械褕械薪 写邪 懈蟹锌褗谢薪懈 褋胁芯褟褌邪 袦懈褋懈褟, 胁褗锌褉械泻懈 薪械锌芯薪褟褌薪懈褟 褲 褏邪褉邪泻褌械褉.
袙 "袛薪械胁薪懈泻, 薪邪屑械褉械薪 胁褗胁 胁邪薪邪", 小褌邪薪懈褋谢邪胁 袥械屑 械 蟹邪斜褗褉泻邪谢 邪褌屑芯褋褎械褉邪 薪邪 泻芯屑懈褔薪芯 邪斜褋褍褉写薪邪 胁 屑邪褖邪斜懈褌械 褋懈 锌邪褉邪薪芯褟 懈 械 薪邪褋械谢懈谢 褋褌褉邪薪懈褑懈褌械 薪邪 褉芯屑邪薪邪 褋懈 褋 褏芯褉邪, 泻芯懈褌芯 薪械 写芯锌褍褋泻邪褌 褋褗褖械褋褌胁褍胁邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 褋谢褍褔邪泄薪懈 褟胁谢械薪懈褟 懈 薪械锌褉械写薪邪屑械褉械薪懈 写械泄褋褌胁懈褟 懈 褌褗褉褋褟褌 褋泻褉懈褌懈 锌芯褋谢邪薪懈褟 胁褗胁 胁褋械泻懈 蟹胁褍泻, 胁褋褟泻邪 写褍屑邪 懈 胁褋械泻懈 邪泻褌. 袧邪 褌褟褏 懈屑 械 芯褋褌邪薪邪谢芯 "褋邪屑芯 胁褋械 锌芯-写褗谢斜芯泻芯 写邪 锌芯褌褗胁邪褌 胁 斜械蟹写薪邪褌邪 薪邪 泻芯谢械泻褌懈胁薪芯褌芯 斜械蟹褍屑褋褌胁芯".
"袣芯薪谐褉械褋 锌芯 褎褍褌褍褉芯谢芯谐懈褟" 褋懈 芯褋褌邪胁邪 锌芯-褋懈谢薪邪褌邪 屑褍 邪薪褌懈褍褌芯锌懈褟, 薪芯 胁褋褟泻芯 薪械锌褉械胁械写械薪芯 写芯褋械谐邪 蟹邪谐谢邪胁懈械 薪邪 袥械屑 械 写芯斜褉械 写芯褕谢芯. 袘谢邪谐芯写邪褉薪芯褋褌懈 薪邪 "袣芯谢懈斜褉懈", 小懈谢胁懈褟 袘芯褉懈褋芯胁邪 懈 锌褉芯谐褉邪屑邪褌邪 "孝胁芯褉褔械褋泻邪 袝胁褉芯锌邪" 薪邪 袝胁褉芯锌械泄褋泻邪褌邪 泻芯屑懈褋懈褟!
袙 "袛薪械胁薪懈泻, 薪邪屑械褉械薪 胁褗胁 胁邪薪邪", 小褌邪薪懈褋谢邪胁 袥械屑 械 蟹邪斜褗褉泻邪谢 邪褌屑芯褋褎械褉邪 薪邪 泻芯屑懈褔薪芯 邪斜褋褍褉写薪邪 胁 屑邪褖邪斜懈褌械 褋懈 锌邪褉邪薪芯褟 懈 械 薪邪褋械谢懈谢 褋褌褉邪薪懈褑懈褌械 薪邪 褉芯屑邪薪邪 褋懈 褋 褏芯褉邪, 泻芯懈褌芯 薪械 写芯锌褍褋泻邪褌 褋褗褖械褋褌胁褍胁邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 褋谢褍褔邪泄薪懈 褟胁谢械薪懈褟 懈 薪械锌褉械写薪邪屑械褉械薪懈 写械泄褋褌胁懈褟 懈 褌褗褉褋褟褌 褋泻褉懈褌懈 锌芯褋谢邪薪懈褟 胁褗胁 胁褋械泻懈 蟹胁褍泻, 胁褋褟泻邪 写褍屑邪 懈 胁褋械泻懈 邪泻褌. 袧邪 褌褟褏 懈屑 械 芯褋褌邪薪邪谢芯 "褋邪屑芯 胁褋械 锌芯-写褗谢斜芯泻芯 写邪 锌芯褌褗胁邪褌 胁 斜械蟹写薪邪褌邪 薪邪 泻芯谢械泻褌懈胁薪芯褌芯 斜械蟹褍屑褋褌胁芯".
"袣芯薪谐褉械褋 锌芯 褎褍褌褍褉芯谢芯谐懈褟" 褋懈 芯褋褌邪胁邪 锌芯-褋懈谢薪邪褌邪 屑褍 邪薪褌懈褍褌芯锌懈褟, 薪芯 胁褋褟泻芯 薪械锌褉械胁械写械薪芯 写芯褋械谐邪 蟹邪谐谢邪胁懈械 薪邪 袥械屑 械 写芯斜褉械 写芯褕谢芯. 袘谢邪谐芯写邪褉薪芯褋褌懈 薪邪 "袣芯谢懈斜褉懈", 小懈谢胁懈褟 袘芯褉懈褋芯胁邪 懈 锌褉芯谐褉邪屑邪褌邪 "孝胁芯褉褔械褋泻邪 袝胁褉芯锌邪" 薪邪 袝胁褉芯锌械泄褋泻邪褌邪 泻芯屑懈褋懈褟!
December 17, 2018
Somewhere between Kafka and PKD by way of Pynchon's Tristero-style conspiratorialism鈥攁 fever dream of the eternal Cold War between the individual and the mass of the universe pressing down on them in all its chaos, meaningful or not.
February 6, 2024
Solo Lem podr铆a escribir este absurdo, utop铆a de pasillo, caos de relaciones. Si alguien busca una novela de cf cl谩sica, coherente, favor no acercarse, terminar谩 decepcionado, si es que la termina claro. Al final el goce de la lectura va por los retru茅canos mentales y los di谩logos delirantes que el polaco inserta en las 鈥渁venturas鈥� del protagonista, pobre tipo inmerso en las intrigas del Edificio.
Da la impresi贸n que Lem gustaba de experimentar literariamente con ideas desquiciadas hasta la m茅dula, como en 鈥淟a fiebre del heno鈥�, pero al menos en este caso el resultado es m谩s satisfactorio y divertido.
Una paranoia elevada a la en茅sima potencia, complacer铆a a Dick seguro.
Da la impresi贸n que Lem gustaba de experimentar literariamente con ideas desquiciadas hasta la m茅dula, como en 鈥淟a fiebre del heno鈥�, pero al menos en este caso el resultado es m谩s satisfactorio y divertido.
Una paranoia elevada a la en茅sima potencia, complacer铆a a Dick seguro.
March 14, 2015
螖蔚谓 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿慰 魏位伪蟽喂魏蠈 尾喂尾位委慰 蔚蟺喂蟽蟿畏渭慰谓喂魏萎蟼 蠁伪谓蟿伪蟽委伪蟼, 蟽伪谓 蟽魏畏谓喂魏蠈 苇蠂慰蠀渭蔚 蟿慰 危蠀纬魏蟻蠈蟿畏渭伪 蟺慰蠀 蔚委谓伪喂 苇谓伪 蟺慰位蠀蠈蟻慰蠁慰, 未伪喂未伪位蠋未蔚蟼, 纬蔚渭维蟿慰 蠂喂位喂维未蔚蟼 未喂伪未蟻蠈渭慰蠀蟼, 蟺蠈蟻蟿蔚蟼, 未蠅渭维蟿喂伪 魏伪喂 纬蟻伪蠁蔚委伪, 魏蟿委蟻喂慰, 魏伪喂 蟿慰 慰蟺慰委慰 蔚委谓伪喂 魏维蟿蠅 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰 苇未伪蠁慰蟼, 胃蠀渭委味蔚喂 伪蠀蟿维 蟿伪 蟿蔚蟻维蟽蟿喂伪 未畏渭蠈蟽喂伪 魏蟿委蟻喂伪 蟽蔚 未蠀蟽蟿慰蟺喂魏苇蟼 魏慰喂谓蠅谓委蔚蟼, 魏维蟺蠅蟼 苇蟿蟽喂 蟿苇位慰蟼 蟺维谓蟿蠅谓.
螚 蠈位畏 蔚尉喂蟽蟿蠈蟻畏蟽畏 蔚委谓伪喂 蟽蔚 蟺蟻蠋蟿慰 蟺蟻蠈蟽蠅蟺慰, 渭蔚 蟺蟻蠅蟿伪纬蠅谓喂蟽蟿萎 苇谓伪谓 伪谓蠋谓蠀渭慰 维谓蟿蟻伪 蟺慰蠀 蔚委谓伪喂 谓苇慰蟼 蟽蟿慰 蔚蟺维纬纬蔚位渭伪 蟿慰蠀 蟺蟻维魏蟿慰蟻伪 魏伪喂 胃苇位蔚喂 谓伪 渭维胃蔚喂 蟺慰喂伪 蔚委谓伪喂 畏 伪蟺慰蟽蟿慰位萎 蟿畏谓 慰蟺慰委伪 蠀蟺慰蟿委胃蔚蟿伪喂 蟿慰蠀 苇蠂慰蠀谓 伪谓伪胃苇蟽蔚喂 慰喂 伪谓蠋蟿蔚蟻慰委 蟿慰蠀. 螝伪胃蠋蟼 蠄维蠂谓蔚喂 蟿慰 魏伪胃慰未畏纬畏蟿喂魏蠈 蟺位维谓慰, 蟽蠀谓伪谓蟿维 苇谓伪 魏维蟻慰 维位位慰蠀蟼 蟺蟻维魏蟿慰蟻蔚蟼, 未喂蟺位慰蠉蟼, 蟿蟻喂蟺位慰蠉蟼, 蟿蔚蟿蟻伪蟺位慰蠉蟼 魏伪喂 未蔚谓 蟽蠀渭渭伪味蔚蠉蔚蟿伪喂, 慰 苇谓伪蟼 蟿慰谓 蟽蟿苇位谓蔚喂 蟽蔚 维位位慰 蟿慰渭苇伪 蟿慰蠀 危蠀纬魏蟻慰蟿萎渭伪蟿慰蟼 魏维胃蔚 蠁慰蟻维, 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰 苇谓伪 纬蟻伪蠁蔚委慰 蟽蟿慰 维位位慰, 纬蟻伪蠁蔚委伪 纬蔚渭维蟿伪 伪蟺伪蟽蠂慰位畏渭苇谓蔚蟼 纬蟻伪渭渭伪蟿蔚委蟼 魏伪喂 蟺蔚蟻委蔚蟻纬慰蠀蟼 伪尉喂蠅渭伪蟿喂魏慰蠉蟼, 渭蟺蔚蟻未蔚蠉慰谓蟿伪蟼 魏伪蟿维 蟺慰位蠉 蟿慰谓 委未喂慰 魏伪喂 蔚渭维蟼 蟿慰蠀蟼 伪谓伪纬谓蠋蟽蟿蔚蟼. 螣 蟿蠉蟺慰蟼 渭蔚 伪蠀蟿维 蟺慰蠀 蟿蟻伪尾维蔚喂, 渭蔚 蟿慰蠀蟼 未伪喂未伪位蠋未畏蟼 未喂伪未蟻蠈渭慰蠀蟼, 蟿伪 蠂喂位喂维未蔚蟼 未蠅渭维蟿喂伪, 蟿慰蠀蟼 维位位慰蠀蟼 蟺蟻维魏蟿慰蟻蔚蟼 蟺慰蠀 蟺伪委味慰蠀谓 蟺伪喂蠂谓委未喂伪, 伪蟻蠂委味蔚喂 谓伪 蟿蟻蔚位伪委谓蔚蟿伪喂 - 魏伪喂 渭蔚喂蟼 蟿慰 委未喂慰.
螖喂维位慰纬慰喂 蟺慰蠀 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 蔚委谓伪喂 魏蠋未喂魏蔚蟼 慰喂 慰蟺慰委慰喂 魏蠋未喂魏蔚蟼 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 慰未畏纬慰蠉谓 蟽蔚 维位位慰蠀蟼 魏蠋未喂魏蔚蟼, 苇谓伪 未伪喂未伪位蠋未蔚蟼 蟽蠉蟽蟿畏渭伪 渭蔚 纬蟻伪蠁蔚喂慰魏蟻伪蟿委伪 蟺慰蠀 伪谓维胃蔚渭伪 魏伪喂 伪谓 苇蠂蔚喂 蟿伪 蟺维谓蟿伪 蠀蟺蠈 苇位蔚纬蠂慰, 蟺蟻维魏蟿慰蟻蔚蟼 谓伪 蟺伪委味慰蠀谓 蟺伪喂蠂谓委未喂伪, 慰 蟺蟻蠅蟿伪纬蠅谓喂蟽蟿萎蟼 蟺慰蠀 蟺蔚蟻喂蟺位伪谓喂苇蟿伪喂 蟽蟿慰蠀蟼 未喂伪未蟻蠈渭慰蠀蟼 魏伪喂 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰谓 苇谓伪 蟿慰渭苇伪 蟽蟿慰谓 维位位慰, 蠉蟽蟿蔚蟻伪 伪蟺蠈 蟿蠀蠂伪委蔚蟼 萎 魏伪喂 渭畏 蟿蠀蠂伪委蔚蟼 魏伪胃慰未畏纬萎蟽蔚喂蟼, 谓伪 蟿蟻蔚位伪委谓蔚蟿伪喂. 螤慰位位苇蟼 "伪谓伪蟿蟻慰蟺苇蟼" 魏伪喂 蟽蟿慰喂蠂蔚委伪 蟺慰蠀 未蔚委蠂谓慰蠀谓 蠈蟿喂 魏维蟿喂 未蔚谓 蟺维蔚喂 魏伪位维 渭蔚 蟿慰谓 蟺蟻蠅蟿伪纬蠅谓喂蟽蟿萎, 蟽蔚 渭喂伪 蠁维蟽畏 伪蠀蟿蠈蟼 尉蠀蟻喂味蠈蟿伪谓 蟽蟿慰 渭蟺维谓喂慰 魏伪喂 蟽蟿畏 渭蟺伪谓喂苇蟻伪 魏慰喂渭蠈蟿伪谓 魏维蟺慰喂慰蟼 蟺慰蠀 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 萎蟿伪谓 魏伪喂 慰 委未喂慰蟼 (...), 魏伪喂 蟽蟿慰 蟿苇位慰蟼 魏维蟿喂 伪谓蟿委蟽蟿慰喂蠂慰 (蠁蠀蟽喂魏维 未蔚谓 蟺蟻苇蟺蔚喂 谓伪 蟺蠅 蟺蔚蟻喂蟽蟽蠈蟿蔚蟻伪, 蠈蠂喂 蠈蟿喂 胃伪 尾纬维味伪蟿蔚 魏伪喂 谓蠈畏渭伪 伪位位维 位苇渭蔚 蟿蠋蟻伪).
螤蟻慰蠁伪谓蠋蟼 蔚委谓伪喂 魏维蟿喂 蟽伪谓 伪位位畏纬慰蟻委伪 纬喂伪 蟿慰谓 魏蠈蟽渭慰 魏伪喂 蟿畏谓 蟺蔚蟻喂蟺位慰魏蠈蟿畏蟿伪 蟿慰蠀, 渭喂伪 蟽维蟿喂蟻伪 纬喂伪 蟿喂蟼 未喂维蠁慰蟻蔚蟼 蠀蟺畏蟻蔚蟽委蔚蟼, 蟿慰 魏蟻维蟿慰蟼, 蟿畏谓 蟺慰位喂蟿喂魏萎, 蟿慰谓 蠄蠀蠂蟻蠈 蟺蠈位蔚渭慰, 蟽委纬慰蠀蟻伪 魏维蟿喂 蟿苇蟿慰喂慰. 韦慰 蟿苇位慰蟼 蟺慰位蠉 未蠀谓伪蟿蠈 魏伪喂 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 魏伪谓蔚委蟼 谓伪 尾纬维位蔚喂 谓蠈畏渭伪, 魏维蟺慰喂伪 维魏蟻畏.
螖蔚谓 蔚委谓伪喂 蔚蠉魏慰位慰 尾喂尾位委慰, 胃苇位蔚喂 蟺蟻慰蟽慰蠂萎 蟽蔚 伪蠀蟿维 蟺慰蠀 蟽蠀渭尾伪委谓慰蠀谓, 畏 纬蟻伪蠁萎 尾慰畏胃维 伪蟻魏蔚蟿维, 伪位位维 魏伪喂 蟺维位喂 胃苇位蔚喂 位委纬畏 蟽魏苇蠄畏. 螤维谓蟿蠅蟼 蟽蔚 蠈位慰 蟿慰 尾喂尾位委慰 未喂苇魏蟻喂谓伪 苇谓伪谓 魏蠀谓喂蟽渭蠈, 苇谓伪谓 蟽伪蟻魏伪蟽渭蠈 魏伪喂 蟺慰位位苇蟼 蟽魏畏谓苇蟼 萎蟿伪谓 伪蟺蠈位蠀蟿伪 魏蠅渭喂魏慰蟿蟻伪纬喂魏苇蟼. 螘委谓伪喂 伪蟺蠈 蟿伪 尾喂尾位委伪 蟺慰蠀 胃苇位慰蠀谓 魏伪喂 未蔚蠉蟿蔚蟻畏 伪谓维纬谓蠅蟽畏 纬喂伪 魏伪位蠉蟿蔚蟻伪 魏伪喂 蟺喂慰 蟽委纬慰蠀蟻伪 蟽蠀渭蟺蔚蟻维蟽渭伪蟿伪.
螚 蠈位畏 蔚尉喂蟽蟿蠈蟻畏蟽畏 蔚委谓伪喂 蟽蔚 蟺蟻蠋蟿慰 蟺蟻蠈蟽蠅蟺慰, 渭蔚 蟺蟻蠅蟿伪纬蠅谓喂蟽蟿萎 苇谓伪谓 伪谓蠋谓蠀渭慰 维谓蟿蟻伪 蟺慰蠀 蔚委谓伪喂 谓苇慰蟼 蟽蟿慰 蔚蟺维纬纬蔚位渭伪 蟿慰蠀 蟺蟻维魏蟿慰蟻伪 魏伪喂 胃苇位蔚喂 谓伪 渭维胃蔚喂 蟺慰喂伪 蔚委谓伪喂 畏 伪蟺慰蟽蟿慰位萎 蟿畏谓 慰蟺慰委伪 蠀蟺慰蟿委胃蔚蟿伪喂 蟿慰蠀 苇蠂慰蠀谓 伪谓伪胃苇蟽蔚喂 慰喂 伪谓蠋蟿蔚蟻慰委 蟿慰蠀. 螝伪胃蠋蟼 蠄维蠂谓蔚喂 蟿慰 魏伪胃慰未畏纬畏蟿喂魏蠈 蟺位维谓慰, 蟽蠀谓伪谓蟿维 苇谓伪 魏维蟻慰 维位位慰蠀蟼 蟺蟻维魏蟿慰蟻蔚蟼, 未喂蟺位慰蠉蟼, 蟿蟻喂蟺位慰蠉蟼, 蟿蔚蟿蟻伪蟺位慰蠉蟼 魏伪喂 未蔚谓 蟽蠀渭渭伪味蔚蠉蔚蟿伪喂, 慰 苇谓伪蟼 蟿慰谓 蟽蟿苇位谓蔚喂 蟽蔚 维位位慰 蟿慰渭苇伪 蟿慰蠀 危蠀纬魏蟻慰蟿萎渭伪蟿慰蟼 魏维胃蔚 蠁慰蟻维, 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰 苇谓伪 纬蟻伪蠁蔚委慰 蟽蟿慰 维位位慰, 纬蟻伪蠁蔚委伪 纬蔚渭维蟿伪 伪蟺伪蟽蠂慰位畏渭苇谓蔚蟼 纬蟻伪渭渭伪蟿蔚委蟼 魏伪喂 蟺蔚蟻委蔚蟻纬慰蠀蟼 伪尉喂蠅渭伪蟿喂魏慰蠉蟼, 渭蟺蔚蟻未蔚蠉慰谓蟿伪蟼 魏伪蟿维 蟺慰位蠉 蟿慰谓 委未喂慰 魏伪喂 蔚渭维蟼 蟿慰蠀蟼 伪谓伪纬谓蠋蟽蟿蔚蟼. 螣 蟿蠉蟺慰蟼 渭蔚 伪蠀蟿维 蟺慰蠀 蟿蟻伪尾维蔚喂, 渭蔚 蟿慰蠀蟼 未伪喂未伪位蠋未畏蟼 未喂伪未蟻蠈渭慰蠀蟼, 蟿伪 蠂喂位喂维未蔚蟼 未蠅渭维蟿喂伪, 蟿慰蠀蟼 维位位慰蠀蟼 蟺蟻维魏蟿慰蟻蔚蟼 蟺慰蠀 蟺伪委味慰蠀谓 蟺伪喂蠂谓委未喂伪, 伪蟻蠂委味蔚喂 谓伪 蟿蟻蔚位伪委谓蔚蟿伪喂 - 魏伪喂 渭蔚喂蟼 蟿慰 委未喂慰.
螖喂维位慰纬慰喂 蟺慰蠀 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 蔚委谓伪喂 魏蠋未喂魏蔚蟼 慰喂 慰蟺慰委慰喂 魏蠋未喂魏蔚蟼 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 慰未畏纬慰蠉谓 蟽蔚 维位位慰蠀蟼 魏蠋未喂魏蔚蟼, 苇谓伪 未伪喂未伪位蠋未蔚蟼 蟽蠉蟽蟿畏渭伪 渭蔚 纬蟻伪蠁蔚喂慰魏蟻伪蟿委伪 蟺慰蠀 伪谓维胃蔚渭伪 魏伪喂 伪谓 苇蠂蔚喂 蟿伪 蟺维谓蟿伪 蠀蟺蠈 苇位蔚纬蠂慰, 蟺蟻维魏蟿慰蟻蔚蟼 谓伪 蟺伪委味慰蠀谓 蟺伪喂蠂谓委未喂伪, 慰 蟺蟻蠅蟿伪纬蠅谓喂蟽蟿萎蟼 蟺慰蠀 蟺蔚蟻喂蟺位伪谓喂苇蟿伪喂 蟽蟿慰蠀蟼 未喂伪未蟻蠈渭慰蠀蟼 魏伪喂 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰谓 苇谓伪 蟿慰渭苇伪 蟽蟿慰谓 维位位慰, 蠉蟽蟿蔚蟻伪 伪蟺蠈 蟿蠀蠂伪委蔚蟼 萎 魏伪喂 渭畏 蟿蠀蠂伪委蔚蟼 魏伪胃慰未畏纬萎蟽蔚喂蟼, 谓伪 蟿蟻蔚位伪委谓蔚蟿伪喂. 螤慰位位苇蟼 "伪谓伪蟿蟻慰蟺苇蟼" 魏伪喂 蟽蟿慰喂蠂蔚委伪 蟺慰蠀 未蔚委蠂谓慰蠀谓 蠈蟿喂 魏维蟿喂 未蔚谓 蟺维蔚喂 魏伪位维 渭蔚 蟿慰谓 蟺蟻蠅蟿伪纬蠅谓喂蟽蟿萎, 蟽蔚 渭喂伪 蠁维蟽畏 伪蠀蟿蠈蟼 尉蠀蟻喂味蠈蟿伪谓 蟽蟿慰 渭蟺维谓喂慰 魏伪喂 蟽蟿畏 渭蟺伪谓喂苇蟻伪 魏慰喂渭蠈蟿伪谓 魏维蟺慰喂慰蟼 蟺慰蠀 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 萎蟿伪谓 魏伪喂 慰 委未喂慰蟼 (...), 魏伪喂 蟽蟿慰 蟿苇位慰蟼 魏维蟿喂 伪谓蟿委蟽蟿慰喂蠂慰 (蠁蠀蟽喂魏维 未蔚谓 蟺蟻苇蟺蔚喂 谓伪 蟺蠅 蟺蔚蟻喂蟽蟽蠈蟿蔚蟻伪, 蠈蠂喂 蠈蟿喂 胃伪 尾纬维味伪蟿蔚 魏伪喂 谓蠈畏渭伪 伪位位维 位苇渭蔚 蟿蠋蟻伪).
螤蟻慰蠁伪谓蠋蟼 蔚委谓伪喂 魏维蟿喂 蟽伪谓 伪位位畏纬慰蟻委伪 纬喂伪 蟿慰谓 魏蠈蟽渭慰 魏伪喂 蟿畏谓 蟺蔚蟻喂蟺位慰魏蠈蟿畏蟿伪 蟿慰蠀, 渭喂伪 蟽维蟿喂蟻伪 纬喂伪 蟿喂蟼 未喂维蠁慰蟻蔚蟼 蠀蟺畏蟻蔚蟽委蔚蟼, 蟿慰 魏蟻维蟿慰蟼, 蟿畏谓 蟺慰位喂蟿喂魏萎, 蟿慰谓 蠄蠀蠂蟻蠈 蟺蠈位蔚渭慰, 蟽委纬慰蠀蟻伪 魏维蟿喂 蟿苇蟿慰喂慰. 韦慰 蟿苇位慰蟼 蟺慰位蠉 未蠀谓伪蟿蠈 魏伪喂 渭蟺慰蟻蔚委 魏伪谓蔚委蟼 谓伪 尾纬维位蔚喂 谓蠈畏渭伪, 魏维蟺慰喂伪 维魏蟻畏.
螖蔚谓 蔚委谓伪喂 蔚蠉魏慰位慰 尾喂尾位委慰, 胃苇位蔚喂 蟺蟻慰蟽慰蠂萎 蟽蔚 伪蠀蟿维 蟺慰蠀 蟽蠀渭尾伪委谓慰蠀谓, 畏 纬蟻伪蠁萎 尾慰畏胃维 伪蟻魏蔚蟿维, 伪位位维 魏伪喂 蟺维位喂 胃苇位蔚喂 位委纬畏 蟽魏苇蠄畏. 螤维谓蟿蠅蟼 蟽蔚 蠈位慰 蟿慰 尾喂尾位委慰 未喂苇魏蟻喂谓伪 苇谓伪谓 魏蠀谓喂蟽渭蠈, 苇谓伪谓 蟽伪蟻魏伪蟽渭蠈 魏伪喂 蟺慰位位苇蟼 蟽魏畏谓苇蟼 萎蟿伪谓 伪蟺蠈位蠀蟿伪 魏蠅渭喂魏慰蟿蟻伪纬喂魏苇蟼. 螘委谓伪喂 伪蟺蠈 蟿伪 尾喂尾位委伪 蟺慰蠀 胃苇位慰蠀谓 魏伪喂 未蔚蠉蟿蔚蟻畏 伪谓维纬谓蠅蟽畏 纬喂伪 魏伪位蠉蟿蔚蟻伪 魏伪喂 蟺喂慰 蟽委纬慰蠀蟻伪 蟽蠀渭蟺蔚蟻维蟽渭伪蟿伪.
January 7, 2013
I adored this piece from start to finish. Lem (or his translators) have a grasp on prose that wows and flows. This absurdist satire had me laughing and cringing throughout as the nearly 40-year-old piece rings true as a bell to contemporary themes of espionage, privacy, and deception. The story attempts to detail the complex interworking of an institution so mired in secrecy and insecurity that trust, truth, and deception swirl together in a miasma of confusion and paranoia such that any occurrence, no matter how subtle or seemingly unintentional must be a code or sign.
February 6, 2019
Delirante.
January 25, 2017
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub is a dark satire of spy bureaucracies.
The introduction tells us that these memoirs were found in a bathroom of the Third Pentagon 72 years after it had been hermetically sealed to prevent a paper-destroying plague from ruining the records of this last vestige of American capitalism. But the memoirs themselves do not reference this context. The nameless narrator begins his story with an ellipses but it becomes clear that he has entered this windowless Building because he was summoned for a Mission from a life outside. The Building (capitalized throughout) is never called the Third Pentagon in the main text and it could just as easily skewer the KGB as the CIA. I wonder if the introduction was added afterwards to please Soviet censors who altered some of Lem's other works.
I've reread both The Futurological Congress and Memoirs Found in a Bathtub in this past year. I thought that Congress was Lem's most psychedelic novel but now that it and Memoirs are both fresh in my mind it's hard to say which one is more mind altering. Congress is certainly more fun and visual 鈥� Memoirs has a lot of despair and treachery. Like Solaris, His Master's Voice, Eden, and many other Lem stories, Memoirs is about one man trying to understand a confusing system that . Unlike those other novels, which deal with aliens, in Memoirs he is trying to understand an all-too human system of agents and double agents, tests and games, and an occluding bureaucracy.
The narrator is on a quest for the instructions for his Mission so he can begin it but no one will give him a straight answer. Various characters propose their explanations for how the Building and the spies within work: the confusion is deliberate 鈥� no one knows their true mission so the double agents can't discover the Building's plans; everyone is behaving randomly with no true purpose; everyone is speaking in code but there is a hidden meaning behind it; everyone in the Building has been replaced with double agents from the Anti-Building but the Anti-Building has also been replaced with double agents from the Building; and everything that happens is a test to prepare the narrator for his real Mission.
This novel is both funny and disturbing. Just like The Futurological Congress and many Philip K Dick books, it can give you the feeling that nothing is real and make you very paranoid. Highly recommended.
The introduction tells us that these memoirs were found in a bathroom of the Third Pentagon 72 years after it had been hermetically sealed to prevent a paper-destroying plague from ruining the records of this last vestige of American capitalism. But the memoirs themselves do not reference this context. The nameless narrator begins his story with an ellipses but it becomes clear that he has entered this windowless Building because he was summoned for a Mission from a life outside. The Building (capitalized throughout) is never called the Third Pentagon in the main text and it could just as easily skewer the KGB as the CIA. I wonder if the introduction was added afterwards to please Soviet censors who altered some of Lem's other works.
I've reread both The Futurological Congress and Memoirs Found in a Bathtub in this past year. I thought that Congress was Lem's most psychedelic novel but now that it and Memoirs are both fresh in my mind it's hard to say which one is more mind altering. Congress is certainly more fun and visual 鈥� Memoirs has a lot of despair and treachery. Like Solaris, His Master's Voice, Eden, and many other Lem stories, Memoirs is about one man trying to understand a confusing system that . Unlike those other novels, which deal with aliens, in Memoirs he is trying to understand an all-too human system of agents and double agents, tests and games, and an occluding bureaucracy.
The narrator is on a quest for the instructions for his Mission so he can begin it but no one will give him a straight answer. Various characters propose their explanations for how the Building and the spies within work: the confusion is deliberate 鈥� no one knows their true mission so the double agents can't discover the Building's plans; everyone is behaving randomly with no true purpose; everyone is speaking in code but there is a hidden meaning behind it; everyone in the Building has been replaced with double agents from the Anti-Building but the Anti-Building has also been replaced with double agents from the Building; and everything that happens is a test to prepare the narrator for his real Mission.
This novel is both funny and disturbing. Just like The Futurological Congress and many Philip K Dick books, it can give you the feeling that nothing is real and make you very paranoid. Highly recommended.
March 4, 2009
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub combines biting satire with Carollian absurdity to brilliant effect.
Follow the confused and paranoia-driven encounters of a government agent as he navigates the exaggeratedly complex and ridiculous set of codes and regulations enforced by the other inhabitants of the edifice known simply as The Building. He is on a mission, but no one has told him what the mission actually is yet.
The introduction to the novel sets the context: Something brought back on a space flight destroyed all the paper in the world at once, throwing the Earth into near-chaos and simultaneously wiping out all records of a large period of history. These days what little is known of those times comes from word-of-mouth stories. That is until the Memoirs are found:
"Those finds concern religious beliefs prevalent during the Eigth Dynasty of Ammer-Ka; They speak of various Perils - Black, Red, Yellow - evidently cabalistic incantations connected in some way to the mysterious deity Rayss, to whome burnt offerings were apparently made."
Not make much sense? Re-read it, but this time substitute "America" for "Ammer-Ka", and "race" for "Rayss" ;)
Memoirs is a more complex book than much of Lem's other works, for example, The Futurological Congress, but the complexity of the novel itself serves an important function: to emphasise and share the lost confusion felt by the protagonist and also the structured but seemingly chaotic culture of The Building. A highly recommended read!
Some other great quotes:
"Then he spoke of sodomystics and gomorrhoids"
"Also, I dabble in decerebration and defecation - trepans and bedpans, you know - just a hobby"
Follow the confused and paranoia-driven encounters of a government agent as he navigates the exaggeratedly complex and ridiculous set of codes and regulations enforced by the other inhabitants of the edifice known simply as The Building. He is on a mission, but no one has told him what the mission actually is yet.
The introduction to the novel sets the context: Something brought back on a space flight destroyed all the paper in the world at once, throwing the Earth into near-chaos and simultaneously wiping out all records of a large period of history. These days what little is known of those times comes from word-of-mouth stories. That is until the Memoirs are found:
"Those finds concern religious beliefs prevalent during the Eigth Dynasty of Ammer-Ka; They speak of various Perils - Black, Red, Yellow - evidently cabalistic incantations connected in some way to the mysterious deity Rayss, to whome burnt offerings were apparently made."
Not make much sense? Re-read it, but this time substitute "America" for "Ammer-Ka", and "race" for "Rayss" ;)
Memoirs is a more complex book than much of Lem's other works, for example, The Futurological Congress, but the complexity of the novel itself serves an important function: to emphasise and share the lost confusion felt by the protagonist and also the structured but seemingly chaotic culture of The Building. A highly recommended read!
Some other great quotes:
"Then he spoke of sodomystics and gomorrhoids"
"Also, I dabble in decerebration and defecation - trepans and bedpans, you know - just a hobby"
July 16, 2015
Stanislaw Lem's Memoirs Found in a Bathtub is a parable of deconstruction, where all meaning is lost in intrigue. Our hero is the author of one of the last written manuscripts on earth, after a great blight destroyed nearly all written history. His body, and his memoir as a newly recruited spy in the Building are found in a bathtub. The story follows his mishaps as he tries to discover what his orders are, and what his mission means. As the ages have passed, the last vestiges of Capitalism are holed up in a mountain, and everyone, even the priest is a spy. Every word written or spoken has multiple levels of meaning, the furniture, the layout of the Building, even the way a girl eats her sandwich. Nothing can be taken at face value, or can it?
Ironically, Lem would probably laugh at any review assigning meanings to symbols in his novel, but whatever. The Building, and its anti Building represent the Universe around us. Our recruit's orders represent the meaning of life, and the spies represent all those who try to find their purpose.
As an English major, I should have found this book at least mildly amusing, but after the back story in the editor's note, everything went downhill. Trying to keep track of all the plots and sub plots became more taxing than amusing, and something about Lem's prose in this book makes him sound preachy. Add in a very unnecessary attempted rape scene, and by the end you'll be glad this book is only 200 or so pages.
Ironically, Lem would probably laugh at any review assigning meanings to symbols in his novel, but whatever. The Building, and its anti Building represent the Universe around us. Our recruit's orders represent the meaning of life, and the spies represent all those who try to find their purpose.
As an English major, I should have found this book at least mildly amusing, but after the back story in the editor's note, everything went downhill. Trying to keep track of all the plots and sub plots became more taxing than amusing, and something about Lem's prose in this book makes him sound preachy. Add in a very unnecessary attempted rape scene, and by the end you'll be glad this book is only 200 or so pages.
January 30, 2024
Este 茅 uma das refer锚ncias liter谩rias do autor. Nestas mem贸rias, Lem d谩 a conhecer a hist贸ria de um secret谩rio, ou ent茫o, de algu茅m que se v锚 encurralado perante burocracias, burocracias e burocracias.
A hist贸ria reporta, e leva-nos, at茅 ao ano 3149. Nesta 茅poca, a Era da Papyrocracia predomina juntamente com o culto Kap-Ih-Taal. O papyr贸lise foi um fen贸meno que exterminou os documentos escritos do planeta.
Para intensificar o enredo, 茅 dada uma miss茫o secreta ao funcion谩rio em quest茫o. A desorienta莽茫o dentro do pr贸prio Edif铆cio, as divis玫es com personagens para l谩 de estranhas, o mist茅rio indecifr谩vel e o controlo...
Um livro que demora um pouco a convencer. A introdu莽茫o 茅, talvez, um pouco t茅cnica demais. No entanto, quando se entra no ambiente da obra ela oferece-nos um absurdo que entret茅m com os seus epis贸dios.
Boa op莽茫o.
A hist贸ria reporta, e leva-nos, at茅 ao ano 3149. Nesta 茅poca, a Era da Papyrocracia predomina juntamente com o culto Kap-Ih-Taal. O papyr贸lise foi um fen贸meno que exterminou os documentos escritos do planeta.
Para intensificar o enredo, 茅 dada uma miss茫o secreta ao funcion谩rio em quest茫o. A desorienta莽茫o dentro do pr贸prio Edif铆cio, as divis玫es com personagens para l谩 de estranhas, o mist茅rio indecifr谩vel e o controlo...
Um livro que demora um pouco a convencer. A introdu莽茫o 茅, talvez, um pouco t茅cnica demais. No entanto, quando se entra no ambiente da obra ela oferece-nos um absurdo que entret茅m com os seus epis贸dios.
Boa op莽茫o.
Read
April 13, 2025Kafka has been real quiet since this dropped.
August 11, 2017
Stanislav Lemin "Solaris" v蓹 "Ulduzlardan qay谋d谋艧" romanlar谋 il蓹 eyni ild蓹- 1961- ci ild蓹 q蓹l蓹m蓹 ald谋臒谋 roman谋. Yazar谋n 眉slubundak谋 f蓹ls蓹fi n眉anslar, satirik toxunu艧lar, el蓹c蓹 d蓹 qeyri- m眉蓹yy蓹nlik il蓹 h蓹m yaratd谋臒谋 obrazlar谋, h蓹m d蓹 oxucunu sonu bilinm蓹z hadis蓹l蓹r 艧ahidin蓹 莽evirm蓹sinin bu 蓹s蓹rd蓹 d蓹 蓹ks olundu臒unu g枚r眉r眉k.
Roman Neogenin B枚y眉k T蓹n蓹zz眉l d枚vr眉n蓹 莽ox yax谋n zamanda yaz谋lm谋艧 bir g眉nd蓹lik v蓹 onun i莽ind蓹kil蓹rd蓹n b蓹hs edir. 3146- c谋 ild蓹 arxeoloqlar谋n v蓹 B枚y眉k T蓹n蓹zz眉l d枚vr眉 眉zr蓹 t蓹dqiqat莽谋 Wid- Wiss' in b枚y眉k s蓹yi n蓹tic蓹sind蓹 tap谋lan g眉nd蓹likd蓹 son Neogen d枚vr眉 v蓹 orda ortaya 莽谋xan (lab眉dl眉kd蓹n) izol蓹 olunmu艧 bir c蓹miyy蓹ti, h蓹min c蓹miyy蓹t蓹 agent qismind蓹 daxil olmu艧 bir n蓹f蓹rin dilind蓹n dinl蓹yirik. B枚y眉k bir binadan t蓹艧kil olunmu艧 bu c蓹miyy蓹t蓹 girm蓹k 艧ans谋 蓹ld蓹 etmi艧 agent, ona tap艧谋r谋lan gizli tap艧谋r谋q bar蓹d蓹 g枚st蓹ri艧 almaq 眉莽眉n bina daxilind蓹 uzun m眉dd蓹t m眉xt蓹lif qurumlar谋 ziyar蓹t etm蓹li olur. Bu, bir yerd蓹n sonra el蓹 bir hal al谋r ki, obraz谋m谋z谋n gizli tap艧谋r谋臒谋n谋n n蓹 olmas谋 il蓹 ba臒l谋 mara臒谋m谋z谋 itiririk, bizi daha 莽ox bina c蓹miyy蓹tinin h蓹yat谋, onlar谋n paranoyas谋, ya艧ad谋qlar谋 distopik qurulu艧 v蓹 onun mexanizmi maraqland谋r谋r. Eynil蓹 q蓹hr蓹man谋m谋z kimi roman谋n sonlar谋na q蓹d蓹r 蓹ks蓹r d眉艧眉nc蓹l蓹rind蓹 haql谋 oldu臒unu d眉艧眉n眉r, b眉t眉n sistemin 枚z眉n蓹 qar艧谋 daim diqq蓹td蓹 oldu臒unu 蓹minlikl蓹 枚z- 枚z眉m眉z蓹 s枚yl蓹yirik. Ta ki sondak谋 hadis蓹l蓹rl蓹 qar艧谋la艧anad蓹k. Bir sistem 眉莽眉n bir element (bu misalda distopik c蓹miyy蓹t 眉莽眉n obraz谋m谋z) h蓹r zaman t蓹hl眉k蓹li olmaya (h蓹r莽蓹nd g枚st蓹ricil蓹r 蓹ksini g枚st蓹rdiyi t蓹qdird蓹 bel蓹) bil蓹r v蓹 sistemin t蓹hl眉k蓹sizlik v蓹 枚z b眉t枚vl眉y眉n眉 qoruma mexanizml蓹rind蓹 bu t蓹hl眉k蓹li olmayan element he莽 bir halda n蓹z蓹r蓹 al谋nm谋r. Q蓹dim insanlar谋n d眉艧眉nm蓹 bacar谋臒谋 蓹ld蓹 etdikd蓹n sonra 蓹traflar谋nda ba艧 ver蓹nl蓹r蓹 m蓹na y眉kl蓹m蓹si v蓹 y眉kl蓹diyi bir 莽ox m蓹nada n蓹 q蓹d蓹r yan谋ld谋臒谋n谋 uzun m眉dd蓹t ba艧a d眉艧m蓹m蓹si, 枚z眉n眉 daima b眉t眉n ba艧 ver蓹nl蓹rin m蓹rk蓹zin蓹 yerl蓹艧dirm蓹 c蓹hdl蓹ri kimi m枚vzular v蓹 onlar谋n Lem 眉slubunda t蓹nqidi, el蓹c蓹 d蓹, linqvistika v蓹 semantika sah蓹l蓹rind蓹 yazar谋n parlaq d眉艧眉nc蓹l蓹ri romanda 枚z 蓹ksini tap谋r.
Yazardan 眉莽 kitab oxuduqdan sonra g蓹ldiyim q蓹na蓹t蓹 g枚r蓹, Lem qar艧谋s谋nda bir xeyli s蓹brli v蓹 diqq蓹tli oxucu g枚rm蓹k ist蓹yir. H蓹r hans谋sa kitab谋n谋 oxuyark蓹n ilk s谋x谋ld谋臒谋n谋z an kitab谋 蓹linizd蓹n qoymay谋n. Bir 艧ans daha verin v蓹 diqq蓹tli olma臒a s蓹y g枚st蓹rin. 脟眉nki Lem yazd谋qlar谋 il蓹 m眉tl蓹q sizin "d眉艧眉nc蓹l蓹r saray谋" n谋zda ild谋r谋mlar谋n 莽axmas谋na s蓹b蓹b olacaq :)
Roman Neogenin B枚y眉k T蓹n蓹zz眉l d枚vr眉n蓹 莽ox yax谋n zamanda yaz谋lm谋艧 bir g眉nd蓹lik v蓹 onun i莽ind蓹kil蓹rd蓹n b蓹hs edir. 3146- c谋 ild蓹 arxeoloqlar谋n v蓹 B枚y眉k T蓹n蓹zz眉l d枚vr眉 眉zr蓹 t蓹dqiqat莽谋 Wid- Wiss' in b枚y眉k s蓹yi n蓹tic蓹sind蓹 tap谋lan g眉nd蓹likd蓹 son Neogen d枚vr眉 v蓹 orda ortaya 莽谋xan (lab眉dl眉kd蓹n) izol蓹 olunmu艧 bir c蓹miyy蓹ti, h蓹min c蓹miyy蓹t蓹 agent qismind蓹 daxil olmu艧 bir n蓹f蓹rin dilind蓹n dinl蓹yirik. B枚y眉k bir binadan t蓹艧kil olunmu艧 bu c蓹miyy蓹t蓹 girm蓹k 艧ans谋 蓹ld蓹 etmi艧 agent, ona tap艧谋r谋lan gizli tap艧谋r谋q bar蓹d蓹 g枚st蓹ri艧 almaq 眉莽眉n bina daxilind蓹 uzun m眉dd蓹t m眉xt蓹lif qurumlar谋 ziyar蓹t etm蓹li olur. Bu, bir yerd蓹n sonra el蓹 bir hal al谋r ki, obraz谋m谋z谋n gizli tap艧谋r谋臒谋n谋n n蓹 olmas谋 il蓹 ba臒l谋 mara臒谋m谋z谋 itiririk, bizi daha 莽ox bina c蓹miyy蓹tinin h蓹yat谋, onlar谋n paranoyas谋, ya艧ad谋qlar谋 distopik qurulu艧 v蓹 onun mexanizmi maraqland谋r谋r. Eynil蓹 q蓹hr蓹man谋m谋z kimi roman谋n sonlar谋na q蓹d蓹r 蓹ks蓹r d眉艧眉nc蓹l蓹rind蓹 haql谋 oldu臒unu d眉艧眉n眉r, b眉t眉n sistemin 枚z眉n蓹 qar艧谋 daim diqq蓹td蓹 oldu臒unu 蓹minlikl蓹 枚z- 枚z眉m眉z蓹 s枚yl蓹yirik. Ta ki sondak谋 hadis蓹l蓹rl蓹 qar艧谋la艧anad蓹k. Bir sistem 眉莽眉n bir element (bu misalda distopik c蓹miyy蓹t 眉莽眉n obraz谋m谋z) h蓹r zaman t蓹hl眉k蓹li olmaya (h蓹r莽蓹nd g枚st蓹ricil蓹r 蓹ksini g枚st蓹rdiyi t蓹qdird蓹 bel蓹) bil蓹r v蓹 sistemin t蓹hl眉k蓹sizlik v蓹 枚z b眉t枚vl眉y眉n眉 qoruma mexanizml蓹rind蓹 bu t蓹hl眉k蓹li olmayan element he莽 bir halda n蓹z蓹r蓹 al谋nm谋r. Q蓹dim insanlar谋n d眉艧眉nm蓹 bacar谋臒谋 蓹ld蓹 etdikd蓹n sonra 蓹traflar谋nda ba艧 ver蓹nl蓹r蓹 m蓹na y眉kl蓹m蓹si v蓹 y眉kl蓹diyi bir 莽ox m蓹nada n蓹 q蓹d蓹r yan谋ld谋臒谋n谋 uzun m眉dd蓹t ba艧a d眉艧m蓹m蓹si, 枚z眉n眉 daima b眉t眉n ba艧 ver蓹nl蓹rin m蓹rk蓹zin蓹 yerl蓹艧dirm蓹 c蓹hdl蓹ri kimi m枚vzular v蓹 onlar谋n Lem 眉slubunda t蓹nqidi, el蓹c蓹 d蓹, linqvistika v蓹 semantika sah蓹l蓹rind蓹 yazar谋n parlaq d眉艧眉nc蓹l蓹ri romanda 枚z 蓹ksini tap谋r.
Yazardan 眉莽 kitab oxuduqdan sonra g蓹ldiyim q蓹na蓹t蓹 g枚r蓹, Lem qar艧谋s谋nda bir xeyli s蓹brli v蓹 diqq蓹tli oxucu g枚rm蓹k ist蓹yir. H蓹r hans谋sa kitab谋n谋 oxuyark蓹n ilk s谋x谋ld谋臒谋n谋z an kitab谋 蓹linizd蓹n qoymay谋n. Bir 艧ans daha verin v蓹 diqq蓹tli olma臒a s蓹y g枚st蓹rin. 脟眉nki Lem yazd谋qlar谋 il蓹 m眉tl蓹q sizin "d眉艧眉nc蓹l蓹r saray谋" n谋zda ild谋r谋mlar谋n 莽axmas谋na s蓹b蓹b olacaq :)
April 10, 2011
As a kid, I read and reread Lem's science fiction short story collection Tales of Pirx the Pilot. In fact, I'd say that book, along with Heinlein's Green Hills of Earth, really cemented my love for science fiction. To this day, I prefer that style - character and story-driven, with just enough tech babble to make it spacey. That was my only exposure to Lem, although I did know that he was a highly respected author in several genres.
Because of my love for Pirx, I really looked forward to picking up this slim novel. Thank god this isn't the first thing I read by Lem, though, because damn. This kind of dry as dust (ha) anti-bureaucracy allegory has become my least favorite kind of dystopian work. This short little book took me 6 months to read, because I'd pick it up, go ten pages, and then put it down in favor of something more entertaining.
Now, it's not hollow or pointless. There is plenty of there there. If you do enjoy this sort of Kafka nightmare fuel, individuals lost in twisting corridors of paperwork and location, unable to save themselves, unable to even understand why they are there and how to get free, well, there's a reason it's a classic of the genre. Lem is Polish, and paints the whole thing with a very Eastern European, cold war paranoid, Soviet doublespeak. It's effective, if you've got a taste for the style. I simply do not, in particular.
Because of my love for Pirx, I really looked forward to picking up this slim novel. Thank god this isn't the first thing I read by Lem, though, because damn. This kind of dry as dust (ha) anti-bureaucracy allegory has become my least favorite kind of dystopian work. This short little book took me 6 months to read, because I'd pick it up, go ten pages, and then put it down in favor of something more entertaining.
Now, it's not hollow or pointless. There is plenty of there there. If you do enjoy this sort of Kafka nightmare fuel, individuals lost in twisting corridors of paperwork and location, unable to save themselves, unable to even understand why they are there and how to get free, well, there's a reason it's a classic of the genre. Lem is Polish, and paints the whole thing with a very Eastern European, cold war paranoid, Soviet doublespeak. It's effective, if you've got a taste for the style. I simply do not, in particular.
November 23, 2008
I keep seeing comments various places that "Lem is like Kafka." I've never read Kafka. I felt I should make that clear before diving into any sort of opinion, but I'll add it to my list.
This book brings up many more questions than answers. My biggest one pertains to the narrator. Is he reliable? Throughout what we read, he is being taught that everything is code, and symbolic, and that everyone is a triple agent (or more, the wonders of illogical math). So is what we're reading anything close to what he experienced? How would we know? Does it matter?
I kind of wish there was more about the destruction of papyr as detailed in the introduction, about the country that worshipped Kap-Eh-Taahl. That would have made an interesting novel too, although this was like what I imagine a bad drug trip would be like. Or socialism, wasn't that the point?
The writing style once you get to the regular story has a lot of humor and confusion in it, and little tidbits made me laugh - hollowing out poppy seeds, choking on my own enigma, "We're here because we're here" and then the whole "We can't statistically be here" contradiction. The writing meanders much like the protagonist is - never seeing the light of day, barely stopping for cafeteria mac and cheese, and trying to find what the mission even is in the first place.
This book brings up many more questions than answers. My biggest one pertains to the narrator. Is he reliable? Throughout what we read, he is being taught that everything is code, and symbolic, and that everyone is a triple agent (or more, the wonders of illogical math). So is what we're reading anything close to what he experienced? How would we know? Does it matter?
I kind of wish there was more about the destruction of papyr as detailed in the introduction, about the country that worshipped Kap-Eh-Taahl. That would have made an interesting novel too, although this was like what I imagine a bad drug trip would be like. Or socialism, wasn't that the point?
The writing style once you get to the regular story has a lot of humor and confusion in it, and little tidbits made me laugh - hollowing out poppy seeds, choking on my own enigma, "We're here because we're here" and then the whole "We can't statistically be here" contradiction. The writing meanders much like the protagonist is - never seeing the light of day, barely stopping for cafeteria mac and cheese, and trying to find what the mission even is in the first place.
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