The exhibition "Ahead of Time", displayed in the circular corridor of the Library's 3rd floor, is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of science fiction writers Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury.
Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury were born 100 years ago. They were innovators who became classics and gave readers unique worlds, prophecies and warnings. They started in an era when fantastic fiction was considered cheap literature, or pulp fiction. This genre was maturing together with them and became what we all know and love. Social and moral aspects of technical development, the problems of vigorous human activity in the modern world, the fight against evil and the threat of war were the core ideas of their oeuvre.
The central place in the exhibition is designated for the main works of the writers.
The most prominent "long forms" that brought fame to Ray Bradbury are "Fahrenheit 451", "The Martian Chronicles", "Dandelion Wine". The dystopian novel "Fahrenheit 451" tells about a future awaiting the society that doesn't read books. "Dandelion Wine" is a piece about one childhood summer that contained the whole world. "The Martian Chronicles" is one of the most amazing books of the writer, where Mars is the planet of our subconsciousness, and the Martians are the images of ourselves. The exhibition also includes the famous novel "Something Wicked This Way Come" and the unfinished work "Masks" about a lonely man who creates a fake face for himself as a response to the indifference of the environment.
But the largest part of Ray Bradbury's legacy is short stories. It was in this form that he reached the pinnacle of craftsmanship, therefore, collections of short stories from different years take up a significant place in the exhibition: "The Illustrated Man", "A Medicine for Melancholy", "Dark Carnival", etc.
The main themes of Isaac Asimov's pieces are the humanization of robots and space colonization. Numerous short stories are devoted to the topic of robots, including "I, Robot", "The Caves of Steel", "The Naked Sun", and the cycle of novels "Detective Elijah Baley and Robot Daniel Olivo". The books reveal the problem of interaction between humans and robots and the associated moral principles. Three laws of robotics, invented by Isaac Asimov, formed the basis for the science of artificial intelligence. The series "Galactic Empire" and "Foundation" are about space exploration.
Azimov was also the most famous popularizer of science of his time; he wrote more popular science books than fiction. They cover a wide variety of topics, from physics and astronomy to history and psychology. You can learn this aspect of Isaac Asimov's legacy at the exhibition.
We invite you to visit the exhibition until November 8, 2020.
End date is subject to change.
The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library’s opening hours.
Admission is by a library card or by the Social and Cultural Center ticket.
The books presented at the exhibition can be ordered through the E-Catalogue of the National Library of Belarus.
For more info: (8 017) 293 29 80.
Gallery and Exhibition Department
