Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Lem, Stanislaw (Vol. 15) - Reuel K. Wilson

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page
4. Tweet This

REUEL K. WILSON

In his well-constructed novels and stories Lem transcends the hackneyed conventions of [science fiction]. He felicitously combines erudition with suspense, verbal inventiveness with narrative skill, social conscience with a satiric wit and a marvelous gift for grotesque parody. His best fiction, much of which has now been translated into English, has earned Lem the reputation of a serious creative writer. In this essay I propose to examine those elements of his work that make him an original artist as well as a timely social critic.

When reading Lem one quickly notices two opposite though not mutually exclusive tendencies in his thought. On the one hand, his weltanschauung is scientific; he believes that modern technology is important and necessary. On the other hand, he manifests a humanist's preoccupation with ethical questions. He portrays with irony man's stubborn and arrogant compulsion to subjugate his fellows and the infinite universe...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. Reuel K. Wilson
3. Kurt Vonnegut
4. Joyce Carol Oates
5. John Updike
6. Stephen W. Potts
7. Gerald Jonas
8. Copyright

1. Joyce Carol Oates