A Perfect Vacuum

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Publisher: Northwestern University Press

Year Published: 1999

Bibliography Information and notes: “the book blurb says it all: 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 postmodernisms games for games sake ethos, Lem joins the contest with hilarious and grotesque results. Most of the reviews target the postmodern infatuation with antinarratives by lampooning their self-indulgence and exploiting their mannerisms. Lem exposes the limits of postmodern fiction, showing how its studious self-consciousness frequently conceals intellectual paucity. Beginning with a review of his own book, Lem moves on to tackle (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. pure Post Pop Pulp all the way to the bank!“