Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy

"Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy," by Stanislaw Lem, has been translated into English by Joel Stern and Maria Swiecicka-Ziemianek. The main text is preceded by a publisher's note, which declares that contents of this book (my review refers to the Harvest edition published by Harcourt, Brace & Co.) appeared in the 1971 Polish edition of the book entitled "The Star Diaries," but not in the British and American editions with the same title. Thus this book could be seen as the second volume of Lem's original Polish "Star Diaries." Despite all this, I believe that this book works fine as a stand-alone literary work, so go ahead and ignore the publisher's note if you like.The book is divided up into several sections, each of which could stand alone as a short story. Each piece is told in the first person by space traveler Ijon Tichy. He discusses his voyages beyond the Solar System and his encounters with an assortment of eccentric scientists on Earth."Memoirs" is a delightful, pungent blend of science fiction, philosophy, satire, and horror. Witty and haunting, funny and frightening, it's spiced by clever wordplay.Lem deals with such topics as artificial intelligence, time travel, environmental exploitation, the nature of the human soul, and the origins of the universe. He describes many whimsical extraterrestrial species, such as the foul-tailed fetido and bottombiter chair ants. Overall, this wacky, surreal book shows Lem to be a soul brother to Edgar Allan Poe, Dr. Seuss, and Kurt Vonnegut.

If you have never read a Lem story before, then I highly recommend this novel as a starting point. In this book of short stories, Lem is at at his artful best. Startlingly simple and surprisingly shrewd, the stories expound upon many of the ageless questions which humanity as a whole have attempted to deal with since the beginning of consciousness i.e. genesis of man, existence of spirit/soul, man's primal instinct to destruct etc. In short, this collection of stories serve as a delicious sample of the smorgasboard of creative delights that Lem is known for. His acerbic wit, intellectual prowess, and devastatingly entertaining drollness are all apparent within this collection. A great read written in true Lem "virtuoso" form. Indeed, if one were so inclined, this is the place to start looking for answers to the 'meaning of life'. And even if you do not find the 'ultimate' answer within the pages of this novella/collection of works, at least you can be sure of being entertained!