A Perfect Vacuum

In A Perfect Vacuum, Stanislaw Lem presents a collection of book reviews of nonexistent works of literature–works that, in many cases, could not possibly be written. Embracing postmodernism’s games for games’ sake ethos, Lem joins the contest with hilarious and grotesque results, lampooning the movement’s self-indulgence and exploiting its mannerisms. Beginning with a review of his own book, Lem moves on to tackles (or create pastiches of) the French new novel, James Joyce, pornography, authorless writing, and Dostoevsky, while at the same time ranging across scientific topics, from cosmology to the pervasiveness of computers. The result is a metafictional tour de force by one of the world’s most popular writers.