The Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. LeGuin
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Read in January, 2008
I've never been a huge fan of Ursula K. Le Guin. Now, granted, I've only read a handful of her short stories (all dealing with her fictional race of a/bi-sexual beings), and I have started but failed to crack a few of her novels. I really want to like her, and with all the praise she gets, I think I should like her. I don't think authors are this highly regarded, both with critics and with readers, for no good reason. I recently told a friend of mine that I was going to read a Le Guin book, and ...more
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Read in September, 2006
The Lathe of Heaven is a concept novel. It has some great philosophical points to chew on involving good vs. evil, selflessness, power, dependence, and reality. We may want to deplete the world of hunger/racism/war, but is a more "comfortable" world necessarily a better one? Le Guin sets up each scene with beautiful pieces of atmospheric prose.
The concept of dreams predicting the future is a familiar one, but what about dreams that alter the future and reality? In the case of Georg...more
The concept of dreams predicting the future is a familiar one, but what about dreams that alter the future and reality? In the case of Georg...more
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This was my first legitimate foray into sci-fi... having tried and tried for years to dedicate myself to finishing one book from this genre, only to fail miserable and be left scratching my head, wondering why?why?why? do people read this, given the array of other vastly more interesting and entertaining things to engage oneself in?
I read this on the plane from east to west. Apocalyptic Portland, identities awry... captivating brain powers, power hungry, narcissistic shrinks. I loved this...more
I read this on the plane from east to west. Apocalyptic Portland, identities awry... captivating brain powers, power hungry, narcissistic shrinks. I loved this...more
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Read in July, 2006
recommends it for:
science fiction fans, philosophers, psychologists, international volunteers
The Lathe Of Heaven is a taoist parable masquerading as a novella. Through the metaphor of George Orr, a man whose dreams become reality, it examines the consequences of interference and the hubris of believing that we can "improve" the world.
I read this book during a flight to Central America, where I was going to spend the summer before my second year of medical school doing HIV/AIDS education. The contrast could not have been more striking: the purpose of my summer and my caree...more
I read this book during a flight to Central America, where I was going to spend the summer before my second year of medical school doing HIV/AIDS education. The contrast could not have been more striking: the purpose of my summer and my caree...more
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Read in November, 2007
This book presents a different take on the "dreams influencing reality" theme - what if a person's dreams not only affected future reality, but resulted in a "continuum change" that retroactively changed the past as well? What are the implications? George Orr is the "average man" who is afflicted with this problem, and becomes a drug abuser to sedate himself to the point of not dreaming at all. Dr. William Haber is Orr's assigned psychologist for his Voluntary Thera...more
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This book is one of my all time favorites. First of all, UKL is an amazing writer. The book plays with the nature of reality and idea of creative dreaming. I believe UKL studied Australian aboriginal cultures' understanding of the dreamtime and how it interacts with the worldtime, and that study informs this book, as well as her book "The Word for World is Forest". The book is wildly creative and touches on elements of the human psyche that are far beneath the surface. The ideas s...more
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Read in January, 2008
Another quick read, but even if it was as short or shorter than the last few books I've read, the material felt a lot denser and more complete than much I've read in a while, at least until the very end. Not to say the ending was a let-down, but it didn't seem as cohesive as earlier chapters, which I guess makes sense in a book about dreams altering reality. To be honest, I didn't expect to like a book about dreams changing reality as much as I did, but this may end up being my favorite Le Gui...more
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Read in January, 2001
What would happen if you could change the world and would be the only one to remember it?
The hero wakes up to find out he is dieing. And dreams about a world where he does not have to die. And it happens.
His world is terribly overpopulated. He dreams about less overpopulated world and when he wakes up, he finds out, that he killed several milliards of people.
Would something like that force you into the hands of a psycho therapist?
The story is going around the absolute power and it's u...more
The hero wakes up to find out he is dieing. And dreams about a world where he does not have to die. And it happens.
His world is terribly overpopulated. He dreams about less overpopulated world and when he wakes up, he finds out, that he killed several milliards of people.
Would something like that force you into the hands of a psycho therapist?
The story is going around the absolute power and it's u...more
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Read in June, 2008
The plot revolves around a man born with the unusual and freaky ability to unconsciously re-arrange the very fabric of existence with his dreams, but it is out of his control (scary thing that). A psychiatrist learns of this power and attempts to use it for his own good.
Despite the sci-fi plot, this book is very centered on people. There are only good people in this book, but they are good in different ways and seeing them struggle against each other, knowing that each is trying to do the ri...more
Despite the sci-fi plot, this book is very centered on people. There are only good people in this book, but they are good in different ways and seeing them struggle against each other, knowing that each is trying to do the ri...more
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Read in December, 2007
My head is spinning a bit right now as I have just finished this book. Le Guin tells the story of a man, George Orr, whose sleep dreams shift reality. Orr is so disconcerted by the results of some of his dreams that he tries to suppress them with drug use. Ultimately this leads him to mandatory therapy with an unscrupulous therapist who becomes enthralled with Orr's gift and its potential for change.
The Lathe of Heaven initially takes place in a future, sterile, and disconnected world. H...more
The Lathe of Heaven initially takes place in a future, sterile, and disconnected world. H...more
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In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George's dreams for his own purposes.
The Lathe of Heaven is an eerily prescient novel from award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin that masterfully...more
The Lathe of Heaven is an eerily prescient novel from award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin that masterfully...more
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This book really disappointed me. I mean, I liked LeGuin's language and descriptive power, as always, but this story is almost too convoluted for its own good.
Think about it: a man can change the world by thinking about it in a new way, and another man takes advantage of him for that ability. The world, then, keeps changing and changing and changing... Only two characters are actually consistent here -- literally, there's nothing else at all that allows a reader to become familiar or to...more
Think about it: a man can change the world by thinking about it in a new way, and another man takes advantage of him for that ability. The world, then, keeps changing and changing and changing... Only two characters are actually consistent here -- literally, there's nothing else at all that allows a reader to become familiar or to...more
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This was one of the worst-written, best books I've ever read. Great premise - the dreamer vs. the doer. The dreamer can change life around him, but only unconsciously, as he sleeps. The doer sucessfully harnesses the dreamer's dreams. Chaos ensues!
Unfortunately, the version I read was copyedited with spellcheck. A lot of instances of 'affect' instead of 'effect', 'two' in place of 'too'. Enough to distract from the story. Also, I haven't read anything else by her but the prose style in this...more
Unfortunately, the version I read was copyedited with spellcheck. A lot of instances of 'affect' instead of 'effect', 'two' in place of 'too'. Enough to distract from the story. Also, I haven't read anything else by her but the prose style in this...more
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Read in January, 1982
This was a really influential book for me in high school. It's about a man who changes reality unintentionally through his dreams. LeGuin is so creative with this story, bringing in a mad scientist and peace-loving aliens and the Beatles. I enjoy how she builds the character of Georger Orr, who appears at first to be merely ordinary, but then turns out to be extraordinarily ordinary. LeGuin's heroes are so Taoist - at once passive and active. They just live their lives true to themselves. Someti...more
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this book was given to me by a close friend and it changed my outlook on a lot of things. it's science fiction, and there are aliens and battles and stuff, but also a lot about balance and how it is inevitable that good and evil will have to co-exist somehow. probably my favorite book ever.
12/28 ok i just read it again because i couldn't remember why it ended the way it did. the stuff with how the world ended in 1998 confused me because i thought maybe that's what Haber was dreaming about...more
12/28 ok i just read it again because i couldn't remember why it ended the way it did. the stuff with how the world ended in 1998 confused me because i thought maybe that's what Haber was dreaming about...more
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This is definitely a science fiction book but what is great about it, is, like the Time Traveler's Wife, the characters are compelling and rich as opposed to it just be about the wacky alternate universe.
In this novel, whatever happens in the protagonist dreams can alter reality. Sounds like a cool power but since dreams are ruled by the subconscious, often times he feels powerless, wanting one thing it manifesting in a way he wouldn't expect sometimes in a way where he loses the thing he w...more
In this novel, whatever happens in the protagonist dreams can alter reality. Sounds like a cool power but since dreams are ruled by the subconscious, often times he feels powerless, wanting one thing it manifesting in a way he wouldn't expect sometimes in a way where he loses the thing he w...more
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I am not a science fiction fan, but a friend recommended and loaned me this book and I am really glad I read it. This is a fascinating exploration of a man who has prophetic dreams and, under the counsel of his psychiatrist, aprehensively uses his lucid dreaming power to change the world. The results of his noble intentions are not what one would expect.
On a side note, I appreciated that this book takes place in Oregon. It brought back a lot of memories of living in the Pacific Northwest. ...more
On a side note, I appreciated that this book takes place in Oregon. It brought back a lot of memories of living in the Pacific Northwest. ...more
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this is the most well-written, scary, unbalancing book by ursula leguin i've ever read. the idea of harnessing the power of dreams, even good dreams, is still unsettling to me.
although it is still less depressing than her (very well-written) short story about a small child who is beaten and mistreated in order that the rest of his town may live in idyllic peace. we were forced to read it in religion class and i almost cried in class (which, sadly, was not really all that uncommon. i have a v...more
although it is still less depressing than her (very well-written) short story about a small child who is beaten and mistreated in order that the rest of his town may live in idyllic peace. we were forced to read it in religion class and i almost cried in class (which, sadly, was not really all that uncommon. i have a v...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Sci-Fi Lovers
Lathe of Heaven is a sort of Utopian Novel. It explores the concept that one man's dream can change current reality and all the past falls in line to support that reality. A self-righteous dream therapist comes into play and experiments with manipulating these dreams. Over all the book is very original and brings up a lot of questions about reality, morality, and passive acceptance vs. action. It did leave me feeling that it was very good, but it could have been great if the themes were delv...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone, portlanders
My mother suggested this book to me after I moved to Portland, as it is written by a Portlander (Ursula K LeGuin) and takes place in Portland. It is a fairly short and fast read, but is sci-fi at its best. Not to give too much away, the premise is classic Sci-Fi, our protagonist has dreams that change reality when he wakes up, the story gets interesting when he starts to see a Psychologist who starts to guide his dreams...
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