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The Lathe of Heaven

Ursula K. Le Guin

4.11 · Rating details · 59,928 ratings · 4,439 reviews

A classic science fiction novel by one of the greatest writers of the genre, set in a future world where one man's dreams control the fate of humanity.

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 immedi ...more

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Paperback, 176 pages

Published August 19th 2003 by Harper Perennial Modern Classics (first published May 1971)

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Nov 20, 2008 Manny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: strongly-recommended, transcendent-experiences, science-fiction

Warning: contains major spoiler for A Wizard of Earthsea

When I first came across this book as a teenager, I think I only really noticed the surface story. George Orr is a man whose dreams, literally, come true; he dreams something, and when he wakes up the world has changed. There's an unscrupulous psychiatrist who wants to exploit George's gift, a love story, some interesting aliens, and a good ending. I really liked it.

I've read it three or four times since then, and each time I've appreciate Warning: contains major spoiler for A Wizard of Earthsea

When I first came across this book as a teenager, I think I only really noticed the surface story. George Orr is a man whose dreams, literally, come true; he dreams something, and when he wakes up the world has changed. There's an unscrupulous psychiatrist who wants to exploit George's gift, a love story, some interesting aliens, and a good ending. I really liked it.

I've read it three or four times since then, and each time I've appreciated it more. One could imagine a book with a similar plot being written by Philip K. Dick, but, if Dick had done it, it would have had a different focus. Le Guin is also interested in the arbitrary nature of reality, but she is above all a moral writer, and it's easiest to explain why I think The Lathe of Heaven is a great novel if I compare it with some of her other books. Perhaps my favorite moment in her work is the ending of A Wizard of Earthsea. Ged has been relentlessly pursued for years by the deadly Shadow, whose one purpose seems to be to destroy him and everything he cares for. If only he could learn its true name, he would be able to use his magic powers to overcome it. Finally, when he can run no further and is forced to confront it on the open sea, he realizes what he has knows all along. The Shadow's true name is his own name. He, himself, is the dark force that is trying to ruin his life.

The struggle with the dark forces inside oneself is one of Le Guin's main preoccupations. This shades over into her fascination with creativity and the creative process, and in particular with the scientist, whose dreams can create reality in the most unexpected manner. Einstein turned a dream of matter, energy, space and time into a reality which soon crystalized as nuclear weapons. (My Japanese friend Yukie, who studied in Hiroshima, met several people who had come directly into contact with Einstein's escaped dream). In The Dispossessed, Shevek is a scientist who manages to control his dream. Le Guin, who clearly understands scientists well, shows just how difficult this is for him. He has to fight his society, and many of the ideas he has been brought up to believe in. As in A Wizard of Earthsea, a lot of the time he also has to fight himself.

The Lathe of Heaven, published three years before The Dispossessed, is a kind of rehearsal for the later novel, but with a myth-like treatment more reminiscent of A Wizard of Earthsea. George Orr's supernatural gift hands him a huge responsibility, which he is slow to accept. Like most dreamers, he lets himself be manipulated. And, just as in The Dispossessed, love is the key. There, Takver's unquestioning love for Shevek is what makes it possible for him to unlock the Principle of Simultaneity; here, the simple and touching romance with Heather is what gives George the strength to make the right decision when he reaches the crucial moment.

Dreams, truth, responsibility, love. If you're interested in that kind of thing, you should consider reading The Lathe of Heaven. Like all her books, it's beautifully written. ...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Nataliya rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Lovers of good sci-fi and philosophy

Recommended to Nataliya by: Catie

Shelves: hugo-nebula-nominees-and-winners, locus-winner, ursula-k-le-guin, 2012-reads

The Lathe of Heaven asks the reader - is it ever okay to play God?¹

(¹ Of course, when it comes to Morgan Freeman there is NO question.)

You have to help another person. But it's not right to play God with masses of people. To be God you have to know what you're doing. And to do any good at all, just believing you're right and your motives are good isn't enough.

Who would you normally root for? A guy with the power to change the ugly dystopian world² but is unwilling to do so? Or a guy who ac The Lathe of Heaven asks the reader - is it ever okay to play God?¹

(¹ Of course, when it comes to Morgan Freeman there is NO question.)

You have to help another person. But it's not right to play God with masses of people. To be God you have to know what you're doing. And to do any good at all, just believing you're right and your motives are good isn't enough.

Who would you normally root for? A guy with the power to change the ugly dystopian world² but is unwilling to do so? Or a guy who actively tries to harvest this power to change the world for better? If you think the answer to this one is easy, think again.

² It never stops raining in this dystopian Portland, Oregon. ~~So basically just like present-day Portland.~~

This short beautifully written novel is very eloquent and thought-provoking. It raises endless questions. What is our responsibility as humans? Are we responsible for changing the world if we have the means? And for fixing the damage? How far can we go? When do we stop? Is it possible to stop? What are the consequences of playing God? How do we decide who should hold power? How much power can we handle? Can we control it? Do the means justify the ends? What do we choose - activity or passivity? Is it balance or complacency? Is our vision of the perfect world actually perfect and who is to decide?

George ~~Orwell~~ Orr is quiet, passive, introverted. On every scale from 0 to 100 he is an average 50. His "style" is to escape, get away. He is "afraid of his own mind", as Haber puts it. He is afraid indeed - of his unexplained ability to change reality via his "effective" dreams in an unpredictable way, while retaining the memories of the previous realities. As a matter of fact, he may have dreamed his present world into existence when dying in the middle of a nuclear war four years previously. Outwardly docile, he has inner strength. And he has zero desire to play God.

“A person who believes, as she did, that things fit: that there is a whole of which one is a part, and that in being a part one is whole: such a person has no desire whatever, at any time, to play God. Only those who have denied their being yearn to play at it.”

Dr. Haber is an extroverted proactive sweet-talking dream specialist who wants to harvest Orr's power to make the world a better place (and get himself a bit of power in the meantime). He is frustrated with Orr's passive resistance. After all, "isn't that man's very purpose on earth - to do things, change things, run things, make a better world?" . His is sleazy, condescending, and manipulative, but ultimately NOT evil. His intentions are good - but what do they lead to? What means are used to change the world?

"The end justifies the means. But what if there never is an end? All we have is means."

George becomes Haber's unwilling accomplice/subject, his goose who lays golden eggs. He is afraid of what his subconsciousness may do. Just because something is "ought to be", should it? What are the consequences? And he is right to be afraid - what we get in Haber's attempts to better the world is horrifying Plague to deal with overpopulation, gray skin color to battle race issues, euthanasia to battle cancer, alien "invasion" to achieve peace. Seems that the world may be better the way it is, imperfect as it may be.

"We're in the world, not against it. It doesn't work to try to stand outside things and run them, that way. It just doesn't work, it goes against life. There is a way but you have to follow it. The world is, no matter how we think it ought to be. You have to be with it. You have to let it be."

And yet ultimately the frustration is with George as much as it is with Haber - after all, George's non-interference allows the horror to continue. But does he have the right to interfere at all? The previous attempts were not so good, after all. So is it our place at all to mess with the world order? Who are we to do this? What happens to the balance of things?

Haber: Life - evolution - the whole universe of space/time, matter/ energy - existence itself - is essentially change.
Orr: That is one aspect of it. The other is stillness."

It's a short read, but the one that is bound to stay with the reader for quite a while as we ponder over the questions it raises. The questions to which there may never be satisfying answers.
---------
Beautiful, intelligent book. 4 solid stars (not 5 only because Orr can be quite clueless. He could have solved his predicament halfway through the story, and it's a bit frustrating.) ...more

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Aug 29, 2014 Lyn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub, For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,  When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,  Must give us pause.”

Ursula K. LeGuin delivers a riveting but simple tale of a man whose dreams can affect and alter reality. Told with an Arthur C. Clarke like elegance and minimalism, but with her signature mastery of the language, LeGuin goes beyond an interesting concept and explores the ins, and outs, and what-have-yous of someone with God-like, ...more

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Jan 31, 2021 Swaroop rated it it was amazing

Beautifully-written Sci-Fi that will touch your heart and soul, and make you think, feel and dream!

"The light shines through it, and the dark enters it."

(Edge of Dreams, Michael Lang)

Set in Portland, Oregon, in the year 2002, The Lathe of Heaven is the story of George Orr. Orr`s dreams can effectively alter reality, and he is looking for a solution/cure for this mysterious problem.

As with any of the Sci-Fi stories, science and technology play a role in The Lathe of Heaven, however, the story is ...more

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Feb 24, 2014 carol. rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: fans of classic sci-fi

Shelves: hugo, awards, male-lead, mindbender, sci-fi, classic

For those new to or unaware of the wonders of Le Guin, this is a short book about George Orr, a man who has been taking too many drugs in an attempt to stop dreaming. Some of his dreams become true–not in the prescient sense, but in the reality-is-reordered sense, and George is haunted by the changes. In his highly regulated society, his drug deviance results in a mandatory visit to a psychologist and his dreaming machine. Dr. Huber discovers George’s power is real and convinces him that intenti ...more

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Feb 14, 2018 Kevin Ansbro rated it really liked it

Recommended to Kevin by: Apatt

Shelves: human-psyche, metaphysical, sci-fi, awesome-premise, dystopian, escapism, immorality, morality, parable

"The dream is the aquarium of night"
—Victor Hugo

Oneirophobia: noun. A fear of dreams.

Nonentity pencil pusher, George Orr, increasingly worried that his dreams can alter past and present reality, has therefore become afraid to dream. Caught using another person’s pharm card to obtain drugs to keep him awake, he’s referred to narcissistic psychiatrist, Dr William Haber, for an innovative course of dream therapy.
The book started brightly and the first chapter promised much, a nice run of assona ...more

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Jun 26, 2015 Susan Budd rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: english-literature-usa

Sometime in 1980 I caught a trippy sci-fi movie on television. It blew my mind with its psychedelic special effects and consciousness-altering ideas. But like so many psychedelic and consciousness-altering experiences, some of it impressed itself deeply on my memory while other details were quickly forgotten ~ like a dream upon awakening.

I remembered that a man’s dreams rewrote reality. I remembered that the black woman he loved had turned gray along with the rest of the world. And I remembered ...more

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Jan 10, 2021 Sean Barrs rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, 3-star-reads

The Lathe of Heaven is a very good book with a very important message, though it lacks a certain human element to it which is largely uncharacteristic of Le Guin’s fiction.

Let me explain: this is a book of ideas and idealisms. It is deeply philosophical and intelligent, exploring themes that question the nature of human morality and progress. Its main concern is consequences, the consequences of actions that are driven by a desire change the world into a better place but are unrealistic in thei ...more

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Jan 26, 2009 Diane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, science-fiction

I've been struggling over this review for several weeks. Writing about a classic science fiction novel is daunting, especially one as beloved as The Lathe of Heaven.

The story is set set in Portland, Oregon, and George Orr is sent to psychiatrist Dr. Haber for his abuse of drugs. Orr had been taking drugs to try and prevent himself from dreaming, because his dreams have the power to alter reality. When he wakes, George remembers both worlds — the pre-dream version and the post-dream. He reluctant ...more

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Aug 31, 2014 Apatt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, pre-80s-sf, favorites

This is by far my favourite Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel (well, neck and neck with her novella The Word for World is Forest). Her most popular science fiction books (thus excluding the classic Earthsea fantasy series) tend to be The Left hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed, both of these are excellent books but The Lathe of Heaven is the most mind blowing. It is as if she was channeling Philip K. Dick, and according to Wikipedia it is actually her tribute to the late great author.

The Lathe of Heav ...more

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Jun 03, 2020 Zoeytron rated it really liked it

Shelves: public-library

Well. Dreams have always fascinated me, the random pieces of our lives and subconscious that insinuate themselves into our dreams. Things we fear, things we wish for, and people who are dead in life but live on in our dreams. In this novel, we have a mild-mannered, seemingly ineffectual man, but whose dreams mean business. That is to say, when he dreams, a different reality is spawned and remains after waking. The space/time/dream continuum has never been trickier. Sanity is shaken. Sci-f ...more

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Apr 24, 2011 Mir rated it liked it

Shelves: parallel-dimensions, ideas

WHY TIME?

That's what I was asking Le Guin (or, rather, myself) as I read the first half of this book. You have this guy, George, who is ordinary -- literally median, in fact -- except that when he dreams, reality changes to match his dreams. It does this by changing the past so that whatever new thing he dreams of has always been that way so as far as everyone else is concerned nothing has happened. I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction and am willing to make some pretty damn suspensions t WHY TIME?

That's what I was asking Le Guin (or, rather, myself) as I read the first half of this book. You have this guy, George, who is ordinary -- literally median, in fact -- except that when he dreams, reality changes to match his dreams. It does this by changing the past so that whatever new thing he dreams of has always been that way so as far as everyone else is concerned nothing has happened. I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction and am willing to make some pretty damn suspensions to disbelief, but this is just over the limit impossible.

It's supposed to be. I'm sure Le Guin could have thought up some more marginally-plausible mechanism by which one individual could unintentionally and uncontrollably alter reality for the entire universe, but then the readers would have spent half the book thinking about how this worked and whether it was internally consistent, and she didn't want that. It's not possible, forget about that part. The point is to create an original arena for raising a number of huge ethical and philosophical questions.

What is evil? What makes us human? What is the relationship between memory and personality? Can one justify doing harm for the greater good? Is it possibly for a human being to really understand what the greater good is? Do we have free will? What are the moral and practical obligations of power? How do we balance conflicting moral dilemmas? Could we ever really communicate with aliens?

The aliens, by the way, seemed to me suspiciously like a joke about how this isn't really science fiction. This is a novel of ideas, and it doesn't matter how many alien invaders, space battles, time shifts, psychic powers, and futuristic machines you toss in.

All that was the part that was interesting to me. As an actual reading experience the book wasn't very enjoyable. The prose was skillful but not pleasurable, and the characters were boring. To a purpose, and I understand why, but still boring. The most interesting was Heather Lelache, and it bothered be how her character was so reduced in later incarnations. Again, I understand why and that Le Guin was raising issues of free will, gender norms, etc, but I think it was heavy-handed. Really a lot of the didactic purpose of the story seemed heavy-handed, and I wish the hard work involved had been me thinking instead of the struggle to persevere in reading it. ...more

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Jan 21, 2019 Dave rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-classic, read-borrowed, science-fiction-all

Le Guin’s “The Lathe of Heaven” first came to my attention through a low budget PBS film 🎞 of the same title, released on tv in 1980. A science fiction story with aliens, but so hauntingly unique that it literally gave me nightmares. And, that’s appropriate because the tool that Le Guin used to explore her different themes here was dreams, specifically dreams that alter reality.

Because when George Orr dreams, reality is transformed both in the past and the present and its as if the previous rea Le Guin’s “The Lathe of Heaven” first came to my attention through a low budget PBS film 🎞 of the same title, released on tv in 1980. A science fiction story with aliens, but so hauntingly unique that it literally gave me nightmares. And, that’s appropriate because the tool that Le Guin used to explore her different themes here was dreams, specifically dreams that alter reality.

Because when George Orr dreams, reality is transformed both in the past and the present and its as if the previous reality never existed. But it’s scary for George and he doesn’t want to fall asleep 💤 so he takes unauthorized drugs to dull his senses and keep him awake.

George is a simple man, a decent man. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone or blink anyone out of existence. And perhaps he’s too simple because he is forced to go to a psychiatrist instead of pleading guilty to the unauthorized drugs and Dr.Haber is no simpleton. He sees power and is determined to wield it for the betterment of the human race. Like Galadriel 🧝‍♀️ and the One Ring (see LOTR), George and Dr. Haber have to pass the test. Can they give up absolute power or let it consume them?

So, it’s an allegory about do-gooders who want to make the world a better place through systems of control and power, like Communism. Be careful what you wish for because it may not end up how you expect. Your utopia may be a nightmare. If you wish to stop overpopulation in the teeming cities, you could end up with a plague and billions who were never born. Think back to the genie and the three wishes. How does that always turn out.

And, is it fair for one or more enlightened people to dictate how the world will work for everyone else.

The other interesting thing Le Guin does is she takes issues such as have been explored with time travel 🧳 and does them one better by positing an everchanging reality that Dr. Haber controls through suggestions to George’s effective dreams. What is real and what isn’t?

An evocative, beautiful story that explores so many 💡 ideas. ...more

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Mar 01, 2021 Jonathan O'Neill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

4.5 ⭐

”…. To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment.
Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven.” - Chuang Tzu

I knew coming into this that it was influenced by Ursula’s decades long study of the Tao. The title itself is from an incorrectly translated passage of ‘The Book of Chuang Tzu’ by James Legge. Years after releasing the book, Le Guin received a letter from a scholar by the name of Joseph Needham who “wrote to tell [her] in the kinde ...more

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Jun 20, 2016 Jen - The Tolkien Gal rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, dystopian, favourites, own

Things don't have purposes, as if the universe were a machine, where every part has a useful function. What's the function of a galaxy? I don't know if our life has a purpose and I don't see that it matters. What does matter is that we're a part. Like a thread in a cloth or a grass-blade in a field. It is and we are. What we do is like wind blowing on the grass.

There's not much I can say since I haven't read this book in over 3 years, but I remember it having such a profound impact on me, that I ...more

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Oct 10, 2013 Emily May rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, 2015

This is a fantastic science-fiction story about playing God.

On the one hand, and like all good science-fiction, it presents a world of exciting and terrifying possibility: what if you could dream a new world into existence? If all your dreams came true, and you could control those dreams, imagine the power you would have.

The limitless possibility in the novel makes for an exciting and compelling read. Le Guin is clearly an excellent writer, but it is her creative imagination that really opens u ...more

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Feb 18, 2019 Kimber Silver rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classic, favorites, scifi

It took me a few chapters to warm up, but once the heat kicked in I was hooked!

George Orr has been caught using prescription medications borrowed from others, and he’s in hot water. But George isn’t your run-of-the-mill pill-popper; he has dreams that frighten him and his attempt to escape these nightmarish visions has driven him down a drug-fueled road to ruin.

Assigned to a voluntary therapy program with Dr William Haber, who specializes in sleep disorders, George spills his seemingly-preposte ...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Tatiana rated it really liked it

Recommended to Tatiana by: Ariel

Shelves: 2010, nebula, hugo, locus, sci-fi

Would you like to play God?

Would you like to shape the world to your liking? Maybe to rid it of war, overpopulation, hunger, racial prejudice, decease? To make it into your own idea of Heaven?

Well, the two main characters of The Lathe of Heaven have different opinions on this subject. George Orr, who possesses a unique ability to change the world by dreaming about, seemingly, the most mundane things, wants this power to be gone, he is sure the events should take their natural course, no matter h ...more

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May 25, 2014 Darwin8u rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014

“The end justifies the means. But what if there never is an end? All we have is means.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven

MiFei

“Those whom heaven helps we call the sons of heaven. They do not learn this by learning. They do not work it by working. They do not reason it by using reason. To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven." —Chuang Tse: XXIII

“We're in the world, not against it. It doesn't wo ...more

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Jan 24, 2018 N.N. Light rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviews-by-mrs-n, dystopian, science-fiction

This was the first book I read by her back in high school and I was blown away by it. Le Guin is one of the best science fiction authors of all time. Gripping plot, engaging characters, this is a must read!

My Rating: 5+ stars

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Mar 03, 2017 Stuart rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantastic-weird, superhuman-powers, favorites, humanistic-sf, dystopian, magic-realism-reality-as-illusion, new-wave-sf, near-future

The Lathe of Heaven: An early 1970s classic of reality-altering dreams with Taoist undercurrents
Originally posted at Fantasy Literature
I love Ursula K. Le Guin’s novels from the late 1960s and early 70s. She just couldn’t go wrong during this period. Although The Lathe of Heaven may not be the first book that comes to mind as one of her masterpieces (that honor would likely go to The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, or the EARTHSEA TRILOGY), it was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Award The Lathe of Heaven: An early 1970s classic of reality-altering dreams with Taoist undercurrents
Originally posted at Fantasy Literature
I love Ursula K. Le Guin’s novels from the late 1960s and early 70s. She just couldn’t go wrong during this period. Although The Lathe of Heaven may not be the first book that comes to mind as one of her masterpieces (that honor would likely go to The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, or the EARTHSEA TRILOGY), it was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards and won the Locus Award in 1972. It’s what I consider one of her smaller books, but still one of her best.

What makes The Lathe of Heaven great is that it can tackle some of the biggest issues of the time — overpopulation, environmental destruction, war, racism, the lost soul of the modern world, exploration of the dreaming mind, alternate realities, and the urge to shape society for the better — all in under 200 pages. I really feel that is a lost art in this day of massive doorstoppers, multi-book mega-series, and self-indulgent info-dumps.

The story is also simple in concept, with a very small cast of characters, so it could easily be a stage play and has been made into a film twice, once as a PBS production in 1980 and later as an A&E Network film in 2002. It centers on George Orr, an unremarkable man who happens to have “effective” dreams which alter reality. Horrified by this, he tries to suppress his dreams with drugs, but runs afoul of the law and is given the choice between therapy or a mental asylum. He chooses therapy, and is assigned Dr. William Haber.

The early parts of the story detail the therapy sessions of George and Dr. Haber. George is a very passive, almost timid man. He doesn’t want to be in this situation, and certainly doesn’t want to be altering reality with his unconscious dreams. Dr. Haber is the polar opposite, a confident, brash, and aggressive man who quickly recognizes the potential to harness George’s dreams to shape reality in the ways he wants.

Although he makes repeated and valid arguments as to why he should utilize this unique ability to do good and improve society and the world, each time he inserts suggestions to George such as “let’s imagine a world without overpopulation, war, pollution, racism, etc.,” the outcomes invariably are not what he expected and include some serious unforeseen side-effects. Notably, with each new iteration, Dr. Haber’s status and career seem to also improve.

The middle portion of The Lathe of Heaven then explores a serious of alternate realities dreamed up by George’s unconscious with prompting from Dr. Haber. The ways in which things go wrong are quite ingenious, and it’s clear that Le Guin does not subscribe to the power fantasy that someone with the means has the right to shape society and reality to their liking without consultation, even with the best of intentions. As the worlds get stranger and more distorted, Dr. Haber hatches an idea that if he can replicate the process on himself, he can cut the reluctant George out of the equation and dream the world himself exactly to his specifications. This forms the climactic final events of the story.

What adds interest to The Lathe of Heaven and places it firmly in the late 60s & early 70s is not just the political issues of the time, but also the underlying elements of Eastern philosophy, specifically the Taoist quotes at the beginnings of chapters from Chuang Tzu, as well as Tao Te Ching, The Book of the Way and Its Virtue by Lao Tzu, along with western philosophers such as H.G. Wells, Victor Hugo, and even Lafcadio Hearn. You can see how well-read Le Guin is and how much Eastern philosophy was gaining prominence and popularity in the West as an alternative to traditional Western philosophy, especially on college campuses and in intellectual circles. This is similar to the profound influence of the I Ching, The Book of Changes, in Philip K. Dick’s dystopian masterpiece of alternate reality, The Man in the High Castle.

Taoist thinking can be found in the character of George. From many perspectives, this protagonist is very frustrating due to his passivity, reluctance to take any action to change the world around him, and instinctual distrust of authoritarian behavior. Whereas some people might seek to harness their powers to shape reality through dreams, George is repelled by this. Taoism is one of those slippery, non-dogmatic philosophies that espouses the pursuit of The Way though natural, uncontrived living. Disciples seek to discard the ills of civilization and material desires and pursue the simple, unadorned joys of a basic agrarian existence. One key concept is called Wu Wei, which is defined as “effortless action,” “non-action,” much as the planets orbit the sun without any effort, just following the natural rhythms of the universe.

So while from a Western perspective George is a spineless man, afraid and reluctant to do anything with his powers of dreaming, from a Taoist perspective he might be a very dedicated individual trying to avoid doing harm to the natural order of the world around him. Of course this becomes an interesting point of debate in the story — if Taoists look to the ancient past of a simple existence as the ideal, does this principle still apply in the dystopian future society of George and Dr. Haber, living in massive towers packed with millions of people living on minimal rations due to overpopulation, a deteriorating environment, wars throughout Europe and the Middle East, and a general spiritual malaise? Faced with such conditions, is it wrong for Dr. Haber to want to change that? And is it right for George to resist any such manipulations? As always, it is the questions that Le Guin raises that are more important than the answers. The Lathe of Heaven is a concise, though-provoking journey into multiple realities and the dreaming unconscious, but is in no way an escape from reality. ...more

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Nov 19, 2012 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

Coincidentally I had just previously read (part of) Ubik by Philip K. Dick which is also a novel about a person 'gifted' with the power to change the past retroactively, so my opinion of The Lathe of Heaven was probably (unfairly) affected by this glut—do two books qualify as a glut?—of past-altering fiction in my reading schedule. I want to alter the past and start with a different Ursula K. Le Guin novel instead.

As a disclaimer of sorts, I have to admit that these kind of wackadoo premises ar ...more

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Apr 12, 2011 Meredith Holley rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: C.S. Lewis fans

Recommended to Meredith by: Ceridwen

Shelves: utopia-dystopia, slaves, up-hill-both-ways-in-the-snow, reviewed, pacific-northwest-glory, beards-are-mesmerizing

I have long been a fan of dreams: talking about dreams, working out the interweavings between dreaming life and reality. I almost scare-quoted reality there, but then I realized that this review is probably going to be douchey enough as it is without adding a scare-quoted reality to it. Anyway, Ursula LeGuin’s worlds are typically not my worlds; when I’m reading her books, I tend to bump into walls and trip over furniture, where other readers intuitively know the lay of the interior decorating. I have long been a fan of dreams: talking about dreams, working out the interweavings between dreaming life and reality. I almost scare-quoted reality there, but then I realized that this review is probably going to be douchey enough as it is without adding a scare-quoted reality to it. Anyway, Ursula LeGuin’s worlds are typically not my worlds; when I’m reading her books, I tend to bump into walls and trip over furniture, where other readers intuitively know the lay of the interior decorating. And, that is just the way reading goes, I think. Neither bad nor good. Sometimes an author puts the couch were we would like to sit, and other times not. This book, though. This is the LeGuin for me. This book is lovely in a way I can understand.

I grew up in a sometimes-fundamentalist home, so for those who didn’t, this comparison might sound like an insult. Please know that I don’t mean it that way. It strikes me that in some pretty superficial ways, The Lathe of Heaven is to Daoism what Narnia is to Christianity. In making that comparison, I am really comparing two things I love, even though they are both representing two very different value systems. I think that both present an emotionally symbolic world in which the roots of a belief system can grow in a simple and understandable way. I think both do a really good job of not sacrificing story to allegory, but still forming a perceptible spiritual message.

The other preliminary thought I have is a spoiler about Heather, so I’ll hide it. (view spoiler)

But, that is really only about the structure of Lathe, and what I really want to talk about is dreams. In Lathe, George Orr has “effective” dreams that change his reality. That is the basic premise that you find out at the opening of the story, and I will try not to spoil the plot beyond that. Joel was making the point that the story is a reflection on writing, which I think is an interesting, but narrow, reading of the story, and honestly was not how the story resonated with me at all. I think it is a good point, though, and worth noting. A writer re-creates the world, and in that way probably also shapes other people’s perceptions of the world. I think in many ways, though, we all do that, writing or no writing.

I guess the way the story resonated with me was more literal than Joel’s reading. I do think that any of us can have a dream in the Martin Luther King, Jr., sense, and that dream can guide culture, but I also think that literal dreams can do that, and maybe that is more where the book fascinated me. In college, I once went to sleep with no interest in a boy in my class and I woke up with a crush on him that it took me months to get over. And all that happened was that, in a dream I had that night, he looked at me a certain way. Dreams seem mysterious and mysteriously powerful to me. I had a dream like that this week, and the content of it is not very important, but there was a snake in it, and the snake was also human, and the dream changed something to me, so I thought of this book. I’m not sure what it changed, but it was just different than other dreams.

Once, in college, my best friend from high school had a dream in which we were both preparing for her wedding. About a year later, I had the same dream but from my point of view, which I didn’t realized until later that night I started describing the dream to her and she knew all of its details before I told her, but from her own point of view.

In my part of the dream, after she got married, I went to help an ex-boyfriend move his things into a new house and there was a soundtrack in that part, which is something I don't think I've had in another dream. After I woke up, I was walking to work and I put the Velvet Underground Loaded CD into my discman (I had bought it the day before). “Who Loves the Sun” came on, I realized it was the song in my dream, and I looked up and saw my ex-boyfriend sitting in front of the house he had moved into in my dream. The whole day was off, with the people I cared about in my dreaming and waking life crossing over.

I don’t have a moral or a lesson to that story, but it was an experience I had that made me wonder whether my dreams were creeping in to my reality, like they do with poor George Orr. And I do think many dreams can shape the world in a way I don’t understand, in a way that makes me small and brittle. I think LeGuin captures that literal power of dreams very gracefully, without creating a heavy-handed allegory, leaving room for many applications of the tone and texture of the story. I also love what she does with George and his therapist, and the yin and yang of their personalities, though I can't think of more to say about that than just stating it. I’m glad I found a LeGuin that is for me; I’m glad somebody wrote a story about dreams. ...more

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May 07, 2009 tim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I've always assumed chronic readers share the experience of finding connecting patterns from one book to the next. No matter how seemingly disparate books read consecutively may be, I've always come across overlapping concepts or some sort of shared meaning that is more difficult to pin down and describe. Whatever these synchronicities may be, I am always genuinely amazed and interpret them as signs that I'm witnessing something important--or at the very least, that I am reading the right book a I've always assumed chronic readers share the experience of finding connecting patterns from one book to the next. No matter how seemingly disparate books read consecutively may be, I've always come across overlapping concepts or some sort of shared meaning that is more difficult to pin down and describe. Whatever these synchronicities may be, I am always genuinely amazed and interpret them as signs that I'm witnessing something important--or at the very least, that I am reading the right book at the right time.

In the last several books I've read have been an uncanny amount of synchronicities bouncing off each other as I made my way through them. I won't bore with details, but the momentum of these emerging, overlapping patterns seemed to coalesce and bleed over into "real" life yesterday after just finishing The Lathe of Heaven. It's not the first time this has happened, nor the most remarkable occurrence, but worth sharing nonetheless.

Ursula K. Le Guin has existed in the periphery of my awareness for some time, but until now I hadn't read her. Upon finishing the book I read before this one, I had no idea what I would read next. My preference upon finishing a book is not to premeditate what I should read next, but instead let the "choice" come to me. So it was that when I finished Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy The Universe Next Door The Trick Top Hat The Homing Pigeons that The Lathe of Heaven popped into my head. I checked the library, a copy happened to be available right then, and so it was. Finally I should read one of the so-called required reads for all Portlanders.

I'm not normally taken to do what is suggested of me, but in this case it worked out. Not only did I really enjoy the journey, but I could only laugh when I discovered its influence did not end on the last page.

So yesterday, upon reading the last page, my family and I decided to catch a bus to Cathedral Park under the St. Johns Bridge--featured in the The Lathe of Heaven--and take in some free music. Okay, no, that is not the profound connection. It couldn't be, as that "choice" was determined by us. What wasn't determined by us was that on our way home we accidentally hopped on the wrong bus. It was hot and humid, we weren't thinking right, and the air conditioned bus looked only too inviting. Besides, the bus would eventually loop around and head back downtown. Anyway, as this bus took us farther and farther away from downtown and out into the boondocks, the bus driver pulled over to take a 40-minute break in the "town" of Linnton. So here we were, with no intention of our own, temporarily stuck in the roadside dilapidation of an old settlement 15 miles northwest of Portland. Pinned between industrial sprawl, railroads, the Willamette River, and the gorgeous green hills of Forest Park, it is a surreal landscape to say the least. More to the point, Linnton is where the second to last imagined scene takes place in The Lathe of Heaven.

I've lived in Portland nearly 15 years and had never before stepped foot in Linnton. Why would I? Yet, mere hours after encountering Linnton in the finishing pages of a novel, here I was, unplanned for, but really there. Maybe that's not so strange after all, but when the literature I read begins to flow over into and influence the life I lead outside of books, I take notice.

That's it. That's my story. I'm sorry if I built this up into a major let down. But it felt major to me at the time.

Oh, and regarding the book itself: I initially thought the character development lacked dimension until I realized this novel is not so much about character development as it is about the seriousness of possible ecological catastrophe and the unknown healing power and potential of dreaming. Read it. It may influence your "real" life too. ...more

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Dec 20, 2018 Holly rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018-read, audiobook, fantasy-science-fiction

This book was a bit strange and has given me strange dreams for several nights in a row. It's making me a little paranoid haha! I'm not sure I cared so much for how the story was told, as the conversations between the character of George Orr and Dr. Haber were a mixture of confusing/boring to me. However, I did enjoy how much the book made me think about things - how changing the past for everyone could make things better/worse, how some things on a global scale cannot be overcome (peace, racial ...more

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Aug 16, 2020 Algernon (Darth Anyan) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020

[9/10]

“Speech is silver, silence is gold. Self is universe. Please forgive interruption, crossing in mist.”

First published in 1971, “The Lathe of Heaven” is using a science-fiction framework for a thought-provoking dialogue about the individual’s place in the world, about the clash of two radically different philosophies of life. Contemplative Oriental schools of thought, so popular in the Flower Power period, meet Western positive action and will-to-power. The title itself, despite its orig ...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Catie rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Catie by: Tatiana

Shelves: favorite-books, classics, sci-fi, read-in-2011

I think that the contents of these deceptively meager one hundred and seventy five pages could keep my neurons firing for months. This is a tiny little volume, which I thought I would have read within a few hours. But I drastically underestimated the amount of time that I would need to sit and process certain pages, or to have inner debates about certain scenes, and I really didn’t anticipate the sheer number of dog-eared pages I would end up with at the close of this volume. This book is a mind ...more

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Sep 20, 2007 Alex rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: science fiction fans, philosophers, psychologists, international volunteers

Shelves: fiction, sff

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 career was to interf ...more

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Sep 08, 2009 Robert rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, sf

I always say my favourite film is Raiders of the Lost Ark and my favourite book is the original Earthsea trilogy, or if pushed A Wizard of Earthsea. Picking one favourite is always a bit arbitrary but both of these are childhood favourites that have survived repeat viewings/readings and have developed accretions of personal associations that add to their significance to me. I think I can now go a step further and say that LeGuin is becoming my favourite author because she just has so many comple ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Kevin Lopez (on sabbatical) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-read, recently-purchased, favorites-fiction, sff-favorite-authors-ursula-le-guin

Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven is the closest thing to a “perfect novel” I‘ve read in a long time whose author didn’t have a name like Cervantes, Goethe, Dickens, or Joyce. And as far as sheer reading pleasure and literary appreciation, I wouldn’t hesitate to stand it up against the work of almost any author—full stop.

I’m a bit breathless at the moment (as one tends to get after finishing a truly great book!), but I will put up some of my favorite quotes - if not a full review - soon.

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Play Book Tag: [Poll Ballot] The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin 5 stars	3	22	27. September, 02:46 Uhr
Play Book Tag: The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. Le Guin (4 stars)	1	5	27. August, 14:36 Uhr
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About Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin

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Ursula K. Le Guin published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. She lived in Portland, Orego ...more