Hospital of the Transfiguration"The Hospital of the Transfiguration is a very early novel by Lem. it was written in 1948, but supppressed by Polish censors, and was not published until 1955. The book appeared in an English translation in 1988. The censorship of this early realist novel is partly what drove Lem to write in the vein of science fiction almost exclusively for the next thirty years. The book is partly autobiographical, about a doctor working in a Polish asylum during World War II. At first the asylum seems like a bucolic refuge to the young doctor, but a series of encounters and incidents reveal an underlying brutality. He begins to seek relief in the strange conversation of the poet Sekulowski, who is posing as a patient in a bid for safety from the occupying German forces. Resistance fighters stockpile weapons in the surrounding woods. In the end, German troops arrive and, under euthanasia program Action T4, slaughter most of the patients and staff. Kirkus reviews noted, "Absorbing, also, to watch Lem outline many of the themes and ideas that he will later develop brilliantly in his science fiction. All in all, not for the fainthearted, even though Lem is not yet at full power here.""-- |
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Common terms and phrases
agulation asked Stefan asylum Aunt beautiful began Bierzyniec bottle breath bromine chair clouds coat corridor dark doctor door everything eyes face father feeling fell fingers floor German glass grave gray hair hand happened head heard hospital Hutka inside Joseph Kauters Kauters's kielbasa Kielce knew Ksawery's Łądkowski leaned leave light Marglewski mouth moved Nieczawy Nosilewska numbers nurse Obersturmführer Pajączkowski Pajpak patient peasant poet Poznań priest pulled Rabiewski's Rygier scopolamine seemed Sekułowski shined shouted silence Sister Gonzaga smell smile someone sound spoke standing STANISLAW LEM Staszek Stefan asked Stefan felt Stefan looked Stefan stood Stefan thought stopped stranger struck substation suddenly surgeon talking tell There's thing told took trees trembling Trzyniecki turned Ukrainian Uncle Anzelm Uncle Ksawery vodka voice waiting walked wall ward watch whispered window Woch words yellow