I
approached reading this book with the images of the film “Solaris” (also based
on a novel by Lem) in the eyes, especially recalling the extreme slowness. For
this reason, I was expecting a book with slow rhythms and I wasn't surely
denied, but “Fiasco” is something different.
The
slowness of the action is not an end in itself, but it is due to the long
digressions and explanations in which the characters linger. In front of them
the story runs almost completely in background.
Initially
this puzzles you, especially when you meet digressions that have nothing to do
with the rest of the book (like when the characters tell stories or read a
book), then you enter the rhythm and you appreciate the study done by the author
on the most strictly scientific and anthropological parts (even if they refer
to aliens).
The overall
impression is of being in front of a science fiction treatise, in which a lover
of this genre, especially one who writes as well as reads it, can draw on to
broaden their horizons and their knowledge in this field. The book is, in fact,
interesting and if you read it you definitely learn very much.
The action,
as mentioned, is little, the characters are sketchy and sometimes act making
extreme decisions, so that what they do has no real meaning, as if it were
subservient to the purpose of the writer to create certain situations that will
enable them to investigate other aspects of his “treatise”.
As a result
of all this, some parts (especially those on speculations about the political
situation of the aliens) are sometimes tedious, while others are extremely
interesting (the science part).
The few
scenes, where the characters actually move, seem sometimes added to duty, as if
they were fake, but some are remarkable, especially the finale. The last pages
catch you completely, and although things happen slowly, they force you to go
on until the ending.
The latter
is, in my opinion, perfect.
Fiasco
on Amazon.com.
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