Solaristics: A Tentative Bibliography (Based on Stanislaw Lem's Solaris)

Jorge Luis Borges famously stated that it was far better to pretend that long books already existed than it was to actually write them. In his classic 1961 novel, Solaris, Sci-Fi author Stanislaw Lem seems to have taken Borges’ advice. In the book, the psychologist Kris Kelvin spends a great deal of time in the station library consulting texts and notes in an effort to understand – and perhaps even communicate with – the titular ocean planet. Tracking those materials is, to me, one of the most entertaining elements about the novel. 

(The world-building in the novel is not accomplished by narrating physical exploration of Solaris but rather by citing -- fictional -- texts which detail the findings of such exploration. An interesting, even post-modern, idea.)

I thought it might be amusing, therefore, to start a bibliography of materials consulted and/or referenced by Kelvin in his research. I’m sure that I haven’t managed to list all of them so … anyone reading this is welcome to add to, correct or amend my growing catalog.

Please note, Lem wrote in Polish. There are numerous translations of his work in English -- even a widely available one that was made by way of French. There are thus minor variations in the names of these texts depending on which translation you happen to be reading.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Compendium by Hughes Gravinsky = an encyclopedia-style collection of early hypotheses and information about Solaris. The text posits the existence of three distinct eras of historical and scientific consensus about the planet and its ocean.

The Little Apocrypha by Ravintzer = a text containing pseudo-scientific observations and theories about the planet’s seeming anomalies. Its most important section provides the transcript of pilot André Berton’s flight log and testimony.

 ... The Berton Report = transcript of Berton’s testimony bound within the Little Apocrypha. The pilot describes encountering a giant figure resembling a human child as well as a garden with structures that look like tools. His account is dismissed as hallucination.

... The Messenger Letter = written by Dr. Archibald Messenger in defense of Berton’s account. He declares the phenomenon witnessed by the pilot to be “objectively possible.”

Introduction to Solaristics by Muntius = the author asserts that the entire field of Solaris studies ("Solaristics") has become “faith disguised as science.”

The Giese = the magnum opus of Solaristics. A massive work which provides the standard taxonomy of the ocean’s many physical formations/creations.

The Solarist Annual = a multi-volume academic journal containing research papers and reports. Published on an ongoing basis.

Historia Solaris by Hughes and Eugel = multi-volume work describing the discovery of Solaris and the planet's orbital mechanics.

Parerga Solariana = a quarterly review which contained an early article by Gibarian, "Why I am a Solarist."

... Gibarian’s Notes and Papers = unbound scientific materials and research notes found in Gibrarian’s room. These documents suggest that the station’s “visitors” are somehow composed or held together by stable neutrino fields.

Throughout the novel, numerous other scientists and researchers are named or cited: Maartens, Panmaller, Strobel, Freyus, Le Greuille, Osipowicz, Frank, Holden, Ionides, Stoliva, Sevada, Grastrom, Ennesson, Fa-leng, Enmin, Kawakadze ... to name just a few. 

To my knowledge, these individuals are merely referenced. They are not actually credited with writing specific, named texts. 

Stay tuned ... more perhaps to come!