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A review by lenorayoder
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
mysterious
tense
4.5
This was my first time reading Ursula K. Le Guin. No wonder she's so well regarded, if this is representative of her work. Such a cool novella. The initial concept is interesting on its own, and then on top of that LG created such an interesting, atypical main character with supporting characters that are almost as good.
I love the aura of mystery that pervades the story and how much goes unsaid - my favorite example of this is George's eyes. Other characters always take the time to describe his eyes, and their feelings/impressions about George make this subtle shift after they've looked at his eyes long enough to describe them. It's so eerie and implies that there's more to whatever sets George apart than his dreams, but nothing is explained or explicitly said.
I also really liked the Heather/George dynamic, and how they reacted to each other. It's hard to put into my own words why I like their interactions so much - maybe that they're so different and yet LG has created such undeniable chemistry between them anyway that they immediately begin to gravitate towards one another anyway.
Something about the book didn't quite manage to grip me until close to the end. It's hard to pin down, but I think part of it is that sometimes things were over-described in a way that didn't mesh with how the rest of the book expects the reader to roll with new realities the way the characters do. So much of this book is so good, but it feels like something's missing, or coming up a little short because of how good most of it is. Still, George, his philosophy, the implications of the very existence of thealiens ... I'll be thinking about it this one for a while. I'm excited to read move of Le Guin's work. A couple of my favorite quotes:
"What will the creature made all of seadrift do on the dry sand of daylight; what will the mind do, each morning, waking?" I liked this when I first read it, but it's so much better after finishing the book. I went back just to read the opening paragraphs of the book once I finished it, and it's amazing how LGmanaged to foreshadow George's core character and the events of the book in a way that primes you for the philosophy of the story but doesn't really come together until you're mostly through the book. This line is especially good at the above while also just being beautiful.
"An irrelevant and poignant sensation of pleasure rose in him, like a tree that grew up and flowered all in one moment with its roots in his loins and its flowers in his mind."George having a terrible time and then this being his immediate reaction to hearing Heather's voice on the phone... I was giddy.
I love the aura of mystery that pervades the story and how much goes unsaid - my favorite example of this is George's eyes. Other characters always take the time to describe his eyes, and their feelings/impressions about George make this subtle shift after they've looked at his eyes long enough to describe them. It's so eerie and implies that there's more to whatever sets George apart than his dreams, but nothing is explained or explicitly said.
I also really liked the Heather/George dynamic, and how they reacted to each other. It's hard to put into my own words why I like their interactions so much - maybe that they're so different and yet LG has created such undeniable chemistry between them anyway that they immediately begin to gravitate towards one another anyway.
Something about the book didn't quite manage to grip me until close to the end. It's hard to pin down, but I think part of it is that sometimes things were over-described in a way that didn't mesh with how the rest of the book expects the reader to roll with new realities the way the characters do. So much of this book is so good, but it feels like something's missing, or coming up a little short because of how good most of it is. Still, George, his philosophy, the implications of the very existence of the
"What will the creature made all of seadrift do on the dry sand of daylight; what will the mind do, each morning, waking?" I liked this when I first read it, but it's so much better after finishing the book. I went back just to read the opening paragraphs of the book once I finished it, and it's amazing how LG
"An irrelevant and poignant sensation of pleasure rose in him, like a tree that grew up and flowered all in one moment with its roots in his loins and its flowers in his mind."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug use, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail