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A review by lorenzadlung
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.0
The book was recommended by a friend, and I wanted to read it before watching the movie: https://youtu.be/M8VRbaVNvSA. It's a science-fiction novel centred around George Orr, a draftsman from Portland, Oregon. Orr has the capability to alter past and presence through his dreams. Suffering from this condition of multiple realities (i.e. the one before the dream, which only witnesses of the dream can remember, and the altered reality after the dream), he's seeking help of the psychiatrist William Haber. Haber's using his patient to establish his machine called the "Augmentor", with which he tries to manipulate Orr's dreams and thus reality for the better of his own reputation, his patient well-being, and mankind as such. Despite these noble motives, Harber's not really succeeding, the world gets worse and worse every time Orr's called to wake up.
Details of the dreams won't be spoiled here. But in general, Le Guin made me curious to always ask myself: "What's next?", as the dreams start from subtle alterations to global catastrophes. Written in 1971, the story is told chronologically from the year 2002. Every chapter starts with a dream-related quote, like this one from Lao Tse: "When the Great Way is lost, we get benevolence and righteousness." Le Guin's descriptions are very brief and factual. It seemed to me she didn't care so much about the emotions of her characters. Her language is very concise and allowed me a fast reading pace. Some smart side remarks were elegantly embedded in the story, e.g. the following one on climate change: "In fact it was, the endless warm drizzle of spring-the ice of Antarctica, falling softly on the heads of the children of those responsible for melting it."
I must admit I'm not an experienced reader of science-fiction novels, I prefer sci-fi short stories like those: https://www.nature.com/collections/swmfrlfmcn. Still, reading "The Lathe of Heaven" triggered some thinking processes, which made it an enjoyable read. Given the idea for the plot, I think there was much more potential, but it's definitely recommended for some weird-but-pleasing trains of thoughts in actual boring train rides.
Details of the dreams won't be spoiled here. But in general, Le Guin made me curious to always ask myself: "What's next?", as the dreams start from subtle alterations to global catastrophes. Written in 1971, the story is told chronologically from the year 2002. Every chapter starts with a dream-related quote, like this one from Lao Tse: "When the Great Way is lost, we get benevolence and righteousness." Le Guin's descriptions are very brief and factual. It seemed to me she didn't care so much about the emotions of her characters. Her language is very concise and allowed me a fast reading pace. Some smart side remarks were elegantly embedded in the story, e.g. the following one on climate change: "In fact it was, the endless warm drizzle of spring-the ice of Antarctica, falling softly on the heads of the children of those responsible for melting it."
I must admit I'm not an experienced reader of science-fiction novels, I prefer sci-fi short stories like those: https://www.nature.com/collections/swmfrlfmcn. Still, reading "The Lathe of Heaven" triggered some thinking processes, which made it an enjoyable read. Given the idea for the plot, I think there was much more potential, but it's definitely recommended for some weird-but-pleasing trains of thoughts in actual boring train rides.