Reviews

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

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armarierodriguez's review against another edition

2.0

This book was so messy. Unlike some of her other work, the questions and thought concepts she presents to the reader don’t seem to be grounded in expansive world building. Though the main character, George, is himself anxious and unimaginative, the sociological dreamscapes and multi-realities he imposes on the whole get muddied into what le Guin is even trying to get across.

There is this idea of power and hierarchy threaded throughout: when you are so involved and seemingly committed to doing something good, you of course can’t see the flaws that may exist and will not slow down enough to see them (Haber’s character). It is ironic because I think just this of le Guin’s writing here. Even though she presumably wanted readers to challenge the characters’ ideals and propensities, she herself was not writing in a way that engages liberated thinking. Her reckoning with race and war was lazy, uncommitted. And again, though George has these very qualities, the entire book reflected back as theatrical nonsense rather than philosophical debate regarding power, hierarchy, consent, and the relation between individual/collective.

I did find parts of this book intriguing and wished to see more thoughtful near-future shifts. For example, the lawyers office being a converted multi-level parking garage, now obsolete because the overpopulated city needed a better mass transportation plan. I wanted more of this specific restructuring! It seemed she got lazy and impulsive writing as it went on.

Though I would not recommend this book, I am glad to garner a broader scope of her writing as I’ve been a huge fan of her other work. I must also say her writing of a black character was extremely problematic and antiblack. I am unsure how this book continues to get published with new forewords and absolutely no commentary on this. Not to mention, her imaginative future of Israel and Egypt becoming an alliance and calling these people “Isragypts” yikes.

lex311's review against another edition

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

4.5

wow. i did not really like the beginning but it really draws you in over time and i loved the ending. really is kind of comforting to know the world is always ending and we always live on in one way or another and find what we can to keep going. also an interesting view on helping others, and that helping one person is easy but you also need consent to help and on a large scale that's not really possible.
ursala k le guin, man