Solaris

Stanisław Lem, a prominent Polish philosopher, essayist, and literary critic who achieved notoriety in the mid-20th century, is best known for his science fiction novels. Among these books, Solaris is regarded by most reviewers and critics as Lem’s masterpiece. Published in Polish in 1961, the English version was translated from the French version in 1970—which Lem allegedly referred to as “poor” (Flood, Alison. “First Ever Direct English Translation of Solaris Published.” The Guardian, 15 June 2011). Solaris focuses on an interstellar researcher in the future, Dr. Kris Kelvin, who travels to the titular planet to study its living ocean. For decades, humans attempted to establish communication with the ocean—and Kris’s arrival coincides with the ocean’s first direct response. He and other researchers begin to experience visitors, replications of problematic people in their lives. One of these visitors resembles Rheya, Kris’s late wife who died by suicide at age 19, 10 years ago, and who continues to haunt him. Solaris has been translated into more than 50 languages, with more than 45 million copies sold. Two film adaptations have been made, with the most recent being a 2002 Twentieth Century Fox version.

This guide is based on the 1970 translation by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox, reprinted by Harper Voyager Books in 1987.