পৃথিবী কী করে বাঁচলো

by Stanisław Lem, মানবেন্দ্র বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় (Translator)

নাছোড় তাড়া যন্ত্রের; আর তার ফলেই যখন সে এক চলন্ত ইস্পাতের পাহাড়ের মতো বাড়িঘরের দেয়াল ভেঙে ছুটে আসছিলো, তাসের দেশের মতো সব ভেঙে যাচ্ছিলো-ইট-কাঠ-পাথরের স্তূপ আর চুনবালির সাদা ধোঁয়ায় স্পষ্টই বোঝা যাচ্ছিলো কোন রাস্তা দিয়ে সে আসছে। দারুণ শোরগোল উঠলো চারপাশে-চিৎকার, চ্যাঁচামেচি, আর্তনাদ, রাস্তায়-রাস্তায় হতভম্ব আতঙ্কিত লোকজনের ছুটোছুটি; এদিকে ট্রর্ল আর ক্লাপাউৎসিউশ প্রাণ হাতে করে ছুটছে তো ছুটছেই-

88 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2025

About the author

Stanisław Lem (staˈɲiswaf lɛm) was a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer of Jewish descent. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of Solaris, which has twice been made into a feature film. In 1976, Theodore Sturgeon claimed that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world.

His works explore philosophical themes; speculation on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of mutual communication and understanding, despair about human limitations and humankind's place in the universe. They are sometimes presented as fiction, but others are in the form of essays or philosophical books. Translations of his works are difficult and multiple translated versions of his works exist.

Lem became truly productive after 1956, when the de-Stalinization period led to the "Polish October", when Poland experienced an increase in freedom of speech. Between 1956 and 1968, Lem authored 17 books. His works were widely translated abroad (although mostly in the Eastern Bloc countries). In 1957 he published his first non-fiction, philosophical book, Dialogi (Dialogues), one of his two most famous philosophical texts along with Summa Technologiae (1964). The Summa is notable for being a unique analysis of prospective social, cybernetic, and biological advances. In this work, Lem discusses philosophical implications of technologies that were completely in the realm of science fiction then, but are gaining importance today—like, for instance, virtual reality and nanotechnology. Over the next few decades, he published many books, both science fiction and philosophical/futurological, although from the 1980s onwards he tended to concentrate on philosophical texts and essays.

He gained international fame for The Cyberiad, a series of humorous short stories from a mechanical universe ruled by robots, first published in English in 1974. His best-known novels include Solaris (1961), His Master's Voice (Głos pana, 1968), and the late Fiasco (Fiasko, 1987), expressing most strongly his major theme of the futility of mankind's attempts to comprehend the truly alien. Solaris was made into a film in 1972 by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and won a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972; in 2002, Steven Soderbergh directed a Hollywood remake starring George Clooney.

He was the cousin of poet Marian Hemar.

Reviews

[Colin Borden · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

This was a weird read. The plot is very strange, but also familiar. I really liked the deep dive into divine power, the power to create and destroy, and what would happen if humans had that kind of power. It is an important discussion this story examines. Overall, on an enjoyment level, it’s not great. But, I respect the message it gives.

[JoeK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read any of Lem's work yet have known of his writing for years. This was a short but very entertaining story, the kind of clever SF that I really enjoyed reading when I was a teen. I can see why Lem is well regarded internationally. I read a little more about his work after finishing the story and it seems there are more stories about "constructors" Trurl and Klapaucius. It would probably be worthwhile to search them out. Very enjoyable.

There were obvious nonsense placeholder words for future MacGuffins. It's funny to a Canadian that Klapaucius laments to loss of Zits, which to us is another word for acne.

[Athletic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want summary of this story

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Professor Smith for making me read this silly story. I too like zits and macguffins and other whatnots!