Astronauts disembark from a spaceship into the aftermath of an atrocity scientists face an alien intelligence so unlike our own that their confidence in the special purpose of human life falters. Lem suggested that life in the future, however remote the setting and however different the technology, will be no less tragic. Lem creates an intricately detailed exotic environment in a thoughtful, often exciting story.” –Publisher’s Weekly In this “stylistic departure from his usual satirical, antic approach. Please try and login 10 minutes before the meeting so we can begin on time.Īfter crash-landing on an alien planet known as Eden, the crew of a spaceship begins to explore–and hopelessly misinterpret–the strange surroundings. Reminders and login links will be sent on the morning or day of the meeting. If you would like to attend, and are not on our list, please RSVP to us with your name, phone number and email and we will add you to our virtual reading group list. Books are available in the store and are discounted 15%. This will be a virtual Zoom meeting held on Wednesday, May 25th at 7 PM. The Chicago Tribune lauded Stanislaw Lem as ' not only a marvelous spinner of tales of the fantastic but also a challenging philosopher of the meanings and ramifications of technology.' Eden stands as a timeless and powerful examination of the conflict between human nature, human discovery, and all-too-human flaws.The Book Beat reading group selection for May is Eden by Stanislaw Lem, translated from the Polish by Mac E. But as the crew unlocks the secrets of this twisted society, the most haunting fact they must face is how similar it is to their own. Something is wrong with the inhabitants of Eden. And everywhere there are images of death: mass graves, bodies in ditches and wells, clusters of egglike structures filled with skeletons.

In a labyrinth of plant-shaped buildings are dead ends, passageways, domes, vaulted ceilings, and giant statues. But it is the signs of humanity that are most puzzling. The landscape is bizarre, hosting acrid deserts, hissing trees, and thick spiderlike vegetation.

Six explorersthe Captain, Doctor, Engineer, Chemist, Physicist, and Cyberneticistcrash land on a beautiful but strange planet, fourth from another sun. From the author of Solaris, this novel of an encounter with an alien intelligence creates ' a terrifyingly plausible picture of a world gone mad' (Kirkus Reviews).

Eden stanislaw lem