His Master's Voice, Stanislaw Lem. rating= 5

His Master's Voice, Stanislaw Lem. I give it a 5.

I have no idea how I've been able to read this thing in snips and snatches like I've done. you can read Things Fall Apart like that because the language is very simple, economical. the plot is not terribly complicated. etc. His Master's Voice is the same length, 200 pages, but it seemed much longer. this is due mostly because of how many ideas Lem packed into this book. is there anything he did not comment on or discuss here? also it seems a bit longer because the vocabulary is not "economical"; it is the vocabulary of a somewhat-genius mathematics professor (the character through which the story is told). the translator did a smashing job (see now I'm British)--- all the words seem exactly right. the language of the book is quite precise and powerful, as are the ideas presented and discussed. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

though it was written in 1968, it still comes across as original and thought-provoking with interesting social commentary thrown in for free. I can't help but like the main character, even if he is probably somebody I might not want to share a room with... although, we might get along supremely well; I guess it depends how we hit it off at first. maybe if I were really quiet he wouldn't call me an idiot behind my back. ;)