hello,
this is my first post. I adore the works of stanislaw lem; he is the only science-fiction author I know to blend lyrical prose with "hard" science/philosophical ideas.
Last night I finished Return from the Stars. Not finding a post about it, I was curious what the forum-goers here think of it. Specifically, I wonder what everyone makes of the ending, the character arc of Hal Bregg, and what thematic conclusions one could draw from that arc. I found the novel to be interestingly ambiguous, and perhaps very personal. It begins with many indictments of the betrizated society, but ends [seemingly] with ambivalence/acceptance on Bregg's part of this brave new world. Incidentally, I feel the prose also descends into a kind of ambiguity near the end, particularly the dialogue. One wonders whether the novel could have benefitted from a slightly longer denouement; the marriage to Eri and last act of the book seem either rushed or invested with symbolism so as to make a bill of particulars unnecessary; thoughts?
And, what do you all think of the ending's pronouncement? To me, Bregg's "going home" seems to be a rejection of the stars/exploration and praise of the "world-inside." But I admit that interpretation is heavily colored by my own experiences.
[[as an aside, its funny how some people whom I consider very intelligent don't "get" stanislaw lem. My Mom, for instance, couldn't stand Solaris and felt the writing style was unbearably dry--exactly the opposite of how I described his prose as starkly beautiful, cutting, crushing.]]