Highcastle: A Remembrance

Rating:
Summary: More than a memoir...
Review: On one level, this book chronicles the boyhood of famed Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. But on another level it is also a profound "Coming of Age" tale of not just one man, but of a Civilization. Lem's boyhood takes place just prior to World War II, and as he spins his tales of schoolyard politics, loss of faith in adults and the petty cruelties that young boys sometimes indulge in, it's hard not to see the connection with events unfolding in pre-war Europe; politics just as juvenile, the passing of Faith, the horrible cruelties soon to follow...Haunting and elegant book.

Rating:
Summary: More than a memoir...
Review: On one level, this book chronicles the boyhood of famed Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. But on another level it is also a profound "Coming of Age" tale of not just one man, but of a Civilization. Lem's boyhood takes place just prior to World War II, and as he spins his tales of schoolyard politics, loss of faith in adults and the petty cruelties that young boys sometimes indulge in, it's hard not to see the connection with events unfolding in pre-war Europe; politics just as juvenile, the passing of Faith, the horrible cruelties soon to follow...Haunting and elegant book.

Rating:
Summary: A favorite for the bedside
Review: Stanislaw Lem's writing is beautiful in this brief work. Fans of his science fiction will surely want to read this to get behind the artifice and learn about the writer. But those who are not familiar with his work will also enjoy this as a meditation on memory, growing up in Poland, and this writer's power to evoke meaning. I read it mostly before falling asleep and it gave me wonderful dreams.