A Perfect Vacuum - Softcover

Lem, Stanis Aw; Kandel, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810117339 ISBN 13: 9780810117334

Publisher: Northwestern University Press, 2006

Synopsis

In A Perfect Vacuum, Stanislaw Lem presents a collection of book reviews of nonexistent works of literature--works that, in many cases, could not possibly be written. Embracing postmodernism's "games for games' sake" ethos, Lem joins the contest with hilarious and grotesque results, lampooning the movement's self-indulgence and exploiting its mannerisms. Beginning with a review of his own book, Lem moves on to tackles (or create pastiches of) the French new novel, James Joyce, pornography, authorless writing, and Dostoevsky, while at the same time ranging across scientific topics, from cosmology to the pervasiveness of computers. The result is a metafictional tour de force by one of the world's most popular writers.

About this title

Review:

Praise for Stanislaw Lem:
"İLem is¨ a Jorge Luis Borges for the Space Age, who plays in earnest with every concept of philosophy and physics, from free will to probability theory."
--"New York Times Book Review"
Praise for Stanislaw Lem:
"[Lem is] a Jorge Luis Borges for the Space Age, who plays in earnest with every concept of philosophy and physics, from free will to probability theory."
--"New York Times Book Review"
Praise for Stanislaw Lem:

"[Lem is] a Jorge Luis Borges for the Space Age, who plays in earnest with every concept of philosophy and physics, from free will to probability theory."
--"New York Times Book Review"
Praise for Stanislaw Lem:
"[Lem is] a Jorge Luis Borges for the Space Age, who plays in earnest with every concept of philosophy and physics, from free will to probability theory."
--New York Times Book Review
Praise for Stanislaw Lem:

"[Lem is] a Jorge Luis Borges for the Space Age, who plays in earnest with every concept of philosophy and physics, from free will to probability theory."
--New York Times Book Review

About the Author:

Stanislaw Lem is the most widely translated and best known science fiction author writing outside of the English language. Winner of the Kafka Prize, he is a contributor to many magazines, including the New Yorker, and he is the author of numerous works, including Solaris.

About this edition

• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0810117339
• ISBN 13: 9780810117334
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 229