Reviews

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

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ntstuart's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.25

zhaines's review against another edition

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5.0

A knotted and twisted novel that will blur the lines between reality and fantasy; right and wrong; dream and nightmare. A beautiful collision of two personified philosophies generates a kaleidoscope of possible Portlands that will have the reader wondering what our striving is worth. Could a perfect world truly exist? Or is it all just a dream?

sowhitemocha's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

meryemelnejefi's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

4.0

Really interesting premise and world building. Great main characters and super engaging plot. Grapples with philosophical themes of power and intentions, and relevant existential threats of climate and war. Super clever.

The only downside I found was the text was a bit hard to follow at times and the ending felt anti climatic.

flamepea's review against another edition

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3.0

What if your dreams could alter reality?
That is the case for George Orr, an ordinary man who happens to be a "dreamer." At first, it might seem fantastical, then scary or perhaps sceptical at your most absurd dreams being able to alter reality. We see the massive weight it bears on Orr and how the unreality or memory paradox traumatically impacts him.

Simple fix
See a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist wants to save humanity and fix societal oppression and, have a career boost. Not so bad? But unfortunately, the oversimplification of problems, working with the subconscious mind and playing God doesn't work so well.

The Lathe of Heaven is my first introduction to an [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] book and, while some pages left my confused, it proved to be a notable insight of Le Guin's style.

Spoiler

Themes tackled such as famine, greenhouse effect, race and warfare were handled in a creative yet sensible manner. Dr Harber's ill-attempt at getting ride of famine instead addressed the wrong issue; overpopulation. It is shocking how relevant and many still blame overpopulation as the root cause of people going hungry. Instead, it is capitalism causing unequal food distribution. Finally, race, while humans can't be "colourless" I think it shows that in an egalitarianism society, culture and our differences are embraced.