March to Other Worlds Day 18: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin

Day 18 The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin

You don’t have to move anywhere to discover new worlds in The Lathe of Heaven by Ursuala Le Guin who is best known for her Earth Sea Trilogy. The Lathe of Heaven is for a more mature reader dealing with themes like responsibility, hubris, compassion and love.

 

When the novel opens George Orr is an unassuming man with a problem. He’s convinced his dreams can change reality and he’s taking illegal drugs to keep him from hurting people while he sleeps. He’s put under the care of Dr. William Haber whose skepticism quickly disappears as he begins to unethically abuse Orr’s gift through hypnotism and an experimental machine to remake the world into a better place where his own importance is recognized and the big problems—war, racism, overpopulation, etc.—don’t exist anymore. But Orr’s power works through the unconscious mind and Haber never quite gets the results he wants—not that he blames himself. Success is due to his genius. Failure is the fault of the man he’s using his legal hold over to coerce into changing the world.

 

Orr’s effort to get legal help introduces the third and most interesting character to the story. Heather LeLache is a lawyer who becomes interested in Orr’s case and actually sees the world rewritten while she observes his therapy. The shared experience brings Orr and LeLache closer but can their growing friendship—hidden from Haber—survive an ever-rewritten world?

The ending of this novel is a painful one filled with growth and horror, but not without hope. This one will make your head spin.

 

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