Read this when
Solaris
What if the person you lost came back, exactly as you remember them? Lem's answer is beautiful, and it hurts.
Who it's for
On a research station above an ocean planet that may be alive, the psychologist Kris Kelvin is visited by a physical replica of Rheya, the woman he loved who died by suicide on Earth after he left her.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Stanisław Lem's 1961 Polish science-fiction novel follows the psychologist Kris Kelvin, who arrives at a research station orbiting Solaris, a planet covered by an ocean that appears to be a living intelligence that decades of study have failed to communicate with. After the crew bombard the ocean with X-rays, it begins producing physical replicas drawn from the researchers' repressed memories.
Where to find it
In print; available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook (the Johnston translation first appeared as an audiobook). Not public domain. Film adaptations: Tarkovsky (1972) and Soderbergh (2.
Before you start
Heads up: Suicide and a self-harm attempt.
Age: Ages 16+
I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
