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The Investigation
A young officer at Scotland Yard is assigned to investigate a puzzling and eerie case of missing - and apparently resurrected - bodies. To unravel the mystery, Lt. Gregory consults scientific, philosophical, and theological experts, who supply him with a host of theories and clues.
Paperback, 189 pages
Published
July 1st 1976
by Avon
(first published 1959)
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Stanislaw Lem, a man by turns hilarious, exceedingly reasonable and darkly satirical, was one of the mind's greatest critics. The Investigation strays from his usual Science Fiction genre and explores the Sherlock Holmes-inspired detective tale. Where Doyle was the champion of rational inquiry, Lem expresses the simple tragedy of this approach. Never a proponent of intuition, the mystical or divine, Lem nevertheless revels in describing the immutable wall reality presents human reason.
Not quite...more
Not quite...more
Oct 03, 2007
Lewis Manalo
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
sci-fi readers
More a novel about science - statistics, anyway - than a SF novel, 'The Investigation' is a compelling mystery about seemingly reanimated corpses. Unlike a lot of SF a person can find, the characters were well-drawn, and like everything else in this short novel, do not fill the usual formula of paint by numbers genre pieces. This is my first Lem novel, so I'm not sure how common a lot of the elements in it are; however, there's a bit of philosophy touched on here. Not for those who dislike think...more
Из моргов одного из провинциальных округов Англии начинают исчезать свежие покойники. Все обстоятельства их странного исчезновения говорят о том, что покойники оживают, вылезают в окно и скрываются в неизвестном направлении, закутавшись в откушенную занавеску или позаимствованный в раздевалке медицинский халат. При этом через день или два их начавшие разлагаться тела все же находят где-нибудь на местных пустошах.
Лейтенант Скотленд-Ярда Грегори уверен, что происходящее – дело рук какого-нибудь о...more
Лейтенант Скотленд-Ярда Грегори уверен, что происходящее – дело рук какого-нибудь о...more
* The best thing about this book is its air of mystery. It's a mystery novel, but that doesn't tell you anything about it, really. There's a puzzle and an English police inspector and even a suspect, but it's not about any of that. It's about perception and how perception is its own reality.
* The description on the back of my paperback says, "To unravel the mystery Lieutenant Gregory consults scientific, philosophical, and theological experts, who supply him with a host of theories and clues." T...more
* The description on the back of my paperback says, "To unravel the mystery Lieutenant Gregory consults scientific, philosophical, and theological experts, who supply him with a host of theories and clues." T...more
A dark, intriguing tale of a series of "incidences" in which dead bodies at various morgues are found to have been moved; some turned over, some on the floor, and finally some that have completely vanished. A Scotland Yard detective is assigned to discover what has happened to them. Is this a hoax? Or have these corpses been reanimated by some otherworldly influence?
Stanislaw Lem creates a solid, bizarre world in which the reader is never really sure what is real and what is imagined. The invest...more
Stanislaw Lem creates a solid, bizarre world in which the reader is never really sure what is real and what is imagined. The invest...more
1 like · like · see review
Only after finishing it and thinking more about it have I realized that Lem was actually asking some pretty interesting questions. Sadly, the enjoyment quotient was lower than I had hoped. While I won't read this one again, I'll approach his next books differently and try to spot the Big Idea earlier, so that I can more effectively see what nuances he's trying to convey. In short: don't expect a PKDesian head-trip or an active SF--this is more of musing about the human condition--especially the...more
I really enjoyed this one - as much philosophy as mystery. And there's really no definite resolution to the mystery, since thinking about why certain solutions to the mystery are more preferable than others is the entire point of the book. Having a true solution to point to where you can say "this is correct" would invalidate most of the rest of the text.
A note on the translation - Given that the book takes place in London, using American English instead of British English was a huge mistake, in...more
A note on the translation - Given that the book takes place in London, using American English instead of British English was a huge mistake, in...more
Opinión con spoilers
No considero como leídos aquellos libros de los cuáles no puedo pasar de las pocas páginas, pero aquellos en los que paso del tercio y, aún así, no consigo tragarme, sí que los considero leídos. Dicho esto, "La investigación" es uno de ellos. Tras un primer capítulo prometedor, todo lo que viene luego es carente de interés y sin sentido. Me explico. En dicho primer capítulo encontramos todo aquello que la contraportada nos vende: un misterio interesante sobre unos cadáveres q...more
No considero como leídos aquellos libros de los cuáles no puedo pasar de las pocas páginas, pero aquellos en los que paso del tercio y, aún así, no consigo tragarme, sí que los considero leídos. Dicho esto, "La investigación" es uno de ellos. Tras un primer capítulo prometedor, todo lo que viene luego es carente de interés y sin sentido. Me explico. En dicho primer capítulo encontramos todo aquello que la contraportada nos vende: un misterio interesante sobre unos cadáveres q...more
I've been a fan of Stanislaw Lem for years, enjoying his brilliant and satirical works of science fiction, like Solaris and The Cyberiad. When I read that he had also written a mystery novel, I had to get my hands on it and am really glad I did. Now, to the story:
Someone is moving dead bodies around. At first, the corpses are rearranged, or taken out of their coffins. Then things progress to corpses going missing. The young detective struggles to make sense of the incidents, and a scientist is...more
Someone is moving dead bodies around. At first, the corpses are rearranged, or taken out of their coffins. Then things progress to corpses going missing. The young detective struggles to make sense of the incidents, and a scientist is...more
The Investigation is beautifully written, even in translation. Scenes are described with a clarity that I can almost touch. Lighting is especially described vividly.
I put this on my detective/mystery shelf, because those are the genre tropes Lem is playing in, but it's not really a genre book. Specifically, many people read detective/mystery because they like that the mystery is solved in a tidy package at the end, and that doesn't happen here. It's more of a commentary on the human condition,...more
I put this on my detective/mystery shelf, because those are the genre tropes Lem is playing in, but it's not really a genre book. Specifically, many people read detective/mystery because they like that the mystery is solved in a tidy package at the end, and that doesn't happen here. It's more of a commentary on the human condition,...more
A strange investigation seemingly about bodies that come back to life, walk a few steps, then die again, this mystery reminded me of Franz Kafka and Paul Auster's works. Gregory, the inspector, spends the novel trying to solve the unbelievable case, has lengthy, meandering dialogues with witneses and suspects, and doesn't make much progress. At points I enjoyed this book; other points I wondered where it was going. Worth reading if you like Lem, and I do. Not the one I'd start with though.
Lem creando un espacio más o menos reducido donde apenas pueden moverse los personajes para luego ir formando un denso entramado de eventos que poco a poco se desbordan hasta poner en duda la naturaleza (cuántica) de la realidad. Sciss me cayó muy bien, Gregory un poco menos pero tengo la impresión de que en el fondo ambos son manifestaciones complementarias del mismo fenómeno.
I liked this book. In the dry mode of Lem, it's the story of a group of Scottland Yard detectives investigating the mysterious movement and disappearance of corpses at morgues throughout some region of England. The mood is well-done noir, but, as he is so excellent at doing, Lem uses the genre to study human behavior at the limits of understanding.
Oddest of ducks: reads like a straight-up Scotland Yard police procedural in the vein of Agatha Christie (despite being written by a preeminent Polish science-fiction writer.) But it’s about zombies. Or at least risen corpses.
Despite a strong start, my interest waned towards the end, and the conclusion (or lack thereof) was disappointing.
Despite a strong start, my interest waned towards the end, and the conclusion (or lack thereof) was disappointing.
In the end, I am not sure how to classify this. There is a definite mystery and an air of the supernatural with a hint of science and a side of the philosophical. But the story does not solidly fit any one genre. It is definitely written well, with spare wording but solid narrative, and the tale is just weird enough to keep me interested.
There were a few too many set pieces in this brief novel for me to get giddy about it. And I never once believed that it took place in London. It was no more London than Gilligan's Island was, well, an island. But I liked all the mundane madnesses that the main character was forced to endure. And I liked the theme of grasping at reason in the face of all that is unreasonable.
So maybe this is the book Franz Kafka could have written if he'd finished "The Trial." Then again, even the fragments of The Trial are more gripping.
I wanted to like this one. An interesting hard sci-fi premise, but one that came completely without resolution. Intentional I'm sure. But infuriating. Read it, but be ready to be a bit let down at the end.
I wanted to like this one. An interesting hard sci-fi premise, but one that came completely without resolution. Intentional I'm sure. But infuriating. Read it, but be ready to be a bit let down at the end.
More of form, less of contents as for a Lem's book, but still entertaining and intelligent. There are few holes in plot in my opinion, but they're not really big nor irritating. I'm not so into criminal books, so it's hard to tell if I can recommend it to fans of this genre, but generally - of course yes.
Me ha gustado, pero no tanto como Solaris. La investigación esta muy bien escrita, pero ya esta, es fría y distante, parece un informe, no transmite nada, al menos a mi. Como novela negra no esta nada mal, pero no transmite pasión, no transmite nada...
Lem has been responsible for several of my most enjoyable hard core scifi experiences over the years...but this one made me want to scrape my eyeballs out on a brick wall.
An eerie and unsettling Lem novel, and one that needs to be more well known. It has that characteristic Lem blend of philosophy, dark comedy, and something that might--- might ---be theological. "The Investigation" is Lem's riff on the detective novel and logical deduction. It just might be a very dark mystery. Or a zombie tale. Or a speculation on statistics and just what happens when you take statistical analysis very, very seriously. Don't expect closure or even a single clear explanation. Ju...more
Pretty good lem book, a little hard to follow in places, and difficult to remember some of the things you are asked to remember, but creepy and well done.
Rarefatto? Criptico? Chi lo ha letto o chi magari in futuro lo leggerà me lo spiega? Non riesco neanche a dargli un voto: bellissimo? bruttissimo? bisognerebbe capirlo per poter giudicare. Lascio decantare poi magari lo riprendo con calma. La storia dei cadaveri che scompaiono e del matematico che elabora teorie per spiegare il fenomeno in maniera scientifica sono attraenti (tra l'altro non c'é in giro una serie televisa con il genietto matematico che scopre gli assassini facendo equazioni e cal...more
Dec 09, 2012
Donald
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
metaphysical,
paperback
Lem was such a strong, unique, varied and complex man, and it shows in his writing. In this story, the action is almost less important than the finely drawn, if odd and very human, characters. There is a subset line of thought about what is reality and how do our observations relate to what is "real". Well worth the read.
There's a transcription near the end that has a very David Lynch feel.
A very strange book. Sherlock Holmes fused with a touch of Roman Polanski. You really have no idea what's happening for the first half or so and that's what makes it so fascinating. Stanislaw Lem creates a mood that is both creepy and inviting. I kind of wanted to be there, participating in the bizarre investigation. My only complaint is the ending. It left my a tiny bit unsatisfied.
Восхитительный детектив в выдержанном стиле, сотавляющий кучу вопросов...
London Noir by Polish metascience fiction writer, okay!
The Spanish version of Stanislav Lem's "The Investigation" might as well have been translated by Google Translation #monotonous
One of the creepiest/most eerie books I've read.
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| The Tyler Group B...: International Tyler Group: Investigation of Spanish Duke Draws Royals into Scandal | 2 | 2 | Feb 22, 2013 06:52pm |
Stanisław Lem (staˈɲiswaf lɛm) was a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of Solaris, which has twice been made into a feature film. In 1976, Theodore Sturgeon claimed that Lem was the most widely read science-fiction writer in the world.
His works exp...more
More about Stanisław Lem...
His works exp...more
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This sounds really interesting though.
Mar 20, 2013 05:26am