Sly, wry and entirely dry (Peace on Earth - Stanislaw Lem)

Member Name: Kepler

Product:	Peace on Earth - Stanislaw Lem
Date:	07/06/04 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Engrossing plot

Disadvantages: None

After a reconnaissance mission to the moon goes wrong, Ijon Tichy returns to Earth severely injured. Whilst taking a leak behind a rock in the Sea of Serenity he suffers a remote callotomy and with the two sides of his brain forever severed he returns to Earth to find his right side at odds with the left. As he records his story his left hand has to be tied down to stop it from ripping the paper out of his typewriter. Tichy lives in a world where the Cold War never ended and all nations on Earth are involved in a perpetual battle to out gun their neighbours. With the cost of weapons rising at an ever increasing rate the nations of Earth decide to move the race to the moon where super intelligent robots will design the weapons of the future and keep them out of reach of the leaders on Earth. Each nation is given a plot on the moon where their super weapons will be developed and the Earth is finally freed from the grip of the arms race. Safe in the knowledge that they each have an arsenal of weapons on the moon the nations of Earth are satisfied.

As the years pass though the Earth becomes suspicious of the robots on the moon and all attempts to monitor their progress fails. Fearing an attack from the moon robots, the Lunar Agency hires Ijon Tichy to perform a spying mission to find out just what the robots are up to. However, when he returns to Earth he finds that many parties are interested in what he knows and that they will do anything to find out the secrets that are stored deep within his brain. The only problem is that the very information that these people want is stored in the right side of his brain and the right side of Ijon Tichy is not willing to give up the information easily.

'Peace on Earth' is an incredibly dry and humorous piece of satire from a writer who has become renowned for his biting criticism
of the weaknesses of the human condition. This book is a superbly written satire of the arms race and was written at the time when the Cold War was reaching breaking point. The main premise of the book - nations of Earth export the arms race to the moon - is probably technologically and sociologically absurd but that is exactly Lem's point. Lem happily attacks the notion that human behaviour is governed by some underlying rationality and that future events can somehow be extrapolated forward from the achievements of scientific research. In 'Peace on Earth' Lem is so extreme in his views that his opinions even border on the Luddite as he shamelessly attacks the role that technology plays in human society. Where this book really succeeds though is in its humour, sometimes concealed and very sly but at other times open and bordering on slapstick. Throughout the book Tichy is constantly battling with the right side of his body (under the control of the left side of the brain) and he finds himself involuntarily pinching ladies bums (only blondes) and even stealing and hiding his own wallet.

The story is related in Tichy's dry narrative tone, which seems to suit the comical events that surround him everywhere he goes. He tells his story in a self assured way and seems to revel in relating completely ridiculous situations with surprising aplomb. Some of the funniest moments from the book come when Tichy describes the opinion of so called experts and he really enjoys it when he can get one over on the people who think they know so much about his condition or want to exploit him for their own gain. A particularly memorable scene involves Tichy explaining how he loves the fact that scientists are completely baffled by such phenomena as the Bermuda Triangle and flying saucers. Although this book is often classified as Science Fiction don't be put off by this unnecessary (and not entirely accurate) label and if you enjoy reading sly and wry satire then you will really enjoy this book. From start to finish this book was an absolute joy to read and I got through the 234 pages in a little under a day, such was my enjoyment of this book. Having read a lot of Lem's work I can honestly say that this is one of his best novels and one of the most engrossing books I have read in a long time.

To sum up, 'Peace on Earth' is a brilliant read and I enjoy Lem's works as much for their non-conformist place in Science Fiction as their assertive style and underhand humour. For people that are not familiar with Lem's work however 'Peace on Earth' is perhaps not the best place to start, as it represents the most extreme form of Lem's writing. In my opinion 'The Cyberiad' or perhaps his most popular novel 'Solaris' would be a better place to start appreciating the undeniable genius of this 'one of a kind' author. The majority of Lem's novels are unique, and well worth a read - 'Peace on Earth' is no exception.

Summary: Something a little bit different