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A review by ihateprozac
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.0
If I had to describe this book in a word, it would be 'understated'. It explores utopia and dystopia, supernatural abilities in humans, aliens, and alternate realities, while somehow remaining very realistic and not at all far-fetched.
It doesnt have a massive adventure of a plot, it takes you on more of an emotional and existential journey rather than anything you'll see at the movies. It's so hard to articulate what I feel about this book, but I definitely agree that Ursula Le Guin writes damn perceptive novels.
I really empathised with and loved George Orr - he has this immense power that he can't control, and everytime he makes a change for the betterment of humanity, something else goes wrong instead. He truly is blessed and cursed at the same time, and I totally felt his helplessness under Dr Haber.
*sigh* Dr Haber. He's evil in the most subtle way - he's very utilitarian in nature, wanting to help the world but exploiting poor George in the process. He's also hella creepy. Again, I can't really articulate what I feel about this book, but Dr Haber is an interesting character.
*SPOILERS*
My only gripe with this book was the description of "The Break", the abyss, and how Haber was seeing the world after April 1998. I can understand the break itself, but am confused about the actual abyss and the mist that George was walking through. Heather fell into nothing, and George was walking through nothingness, but somehow there were still buildings melting?
And well, I'm just not quite sure what happened with Dr Haber, and how he was able to tap into that horrific post-apocalyptic world.
It doesnt have a massive adventure of a plot, it takes you on more of an emotional and existential journey rather than anything you'll see at the movies. It's so hard to articulate what I feel about this book, but I definitely agree that Ursula Le Guin writes damn perceptive novels.
I really empathised with and loved George Orr - he has this immense power that he can't control, and everytime he makes a change for the betterment of humanity, something else goes wrong instead. He truly is blessed and cursed at the same time, and I totally felt his helplessness under Dr Haber.
*sigh* Dr Haber. He's evil in the most subtle way - he's very utilitarian in nature, wanting to help the world but exploiting poor George in the process. He's also hella creepy. Again, I can't really articulate what I feel about this book, but Dr Haber is an interesting character.
*SPOILERS*
My only gripe with this book was the description of "The Break", the abyss, and how Haber was seeing the world after April 1998. I can understand the break itself, but am confused about the actual abyss and the mist that George was walking through. Heather fell into nothing, and George was walking through nothingness, but somehow there were still buildings melting?
And well, I'm just not quite sure what happened with Dr Haber, and how he was able to tap into that horrific post-apocalyptic world.