The Lathe of Heaven (Millennium SF Masterworks S) |
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Ursula K. Le Guin
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Pages: 192 (Paperback)
ISBN: 1857989511
Pub: Gollancz
Pub date: 2001-08-09
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 23114
Editorial Review:
First published in 1971, Ursula Le Guin's SF novel The Lathe of Heaven combines a sheaf of future possibilities--including an early evocation of global warming--with a parable about wishes that has the terrible clarity of a fairytale.
The uncomfortably gifted George Orr is desperately drugging himself to avoid sleep, because he knows his dreams can change the world. Psychiatrist Dr Haber begins with good intentions of curing Orr, but when he finds he can shape Orr's "effective dreams" and force his own wishes into reality, the lure of power is too much. Though Haber believes he wants only to do good, he's also quick to upgrade himself from obscurity in a windowless office to Director of the prestigious Oregon Oneirological Institute.
During his flawed attempts to create an earthly paradise, we see that each sweeping change makes matters worse. Let's fix over-population: suddenly there's a new past in which humanity was almost destroyed by plague, billions of people are written out of existence, and Haber drinks a toast--"to a better world". Let's fix war: the hapless Orr's dreaming mind can only imagine and create a new threat that unites Earth against outside foes. Let's fix racism: the result is even more painful. As Orr broods:
The end justifies the means. But what if there never is an end? All we have is means.
In this mad round of poisoned wishes, it becomes necessary to stop. But power-crazed Haber refuses to stop....
Beautifully written, jolting in its moral force, The Lathe of Heaven is one of Le Guin's finest SF excursions. --David Langford
Reader Reviews:
Lovely stuff (0/0 people found this helpful)
It's been a while since I've enjoyed reading something so much, especially Sci-Fi, as it usually tends to be so out of touch with reality that I cannot at all identify. This book is relatively short, you could push it and describe it as a novella, and the prose is fluid and rich and it's just an incredibly erudite piece of work. A good follow-up to this would be Dancing at the Edge of the World, a collection of essays by Le Guin, in which, amongst other things, she describes the writing process for The Lathe. Definitely a book that's worth reading over and over again.
Beware megalomaniacal psychiatrists.... (2/5 people found this helpful)
The Lathe of Heaven introduces us to one of the most genuinely understated heroes in science fiction. George Orr is a man whose dreams alter reality. He cannot control them however, so he has great reason to fear his dreams and sleep in general. The book is quite short at 184 pages but with only 2 major characters it never feels like a lightweight.
To control his dreams he has been taking drugs to stay awake and the book opens with him being hauled away to a psychiatrist to see what’s wrong with him. Dr. Haber is an ambitious, beardy doctor who has an excellent record in dealing with people’s dream problems. Slowly however, he too realises that Orr is altering the world around him and decides to use him for the benefit of the world. He is not a malicious person at all; in fact one could liken him to a controversial genetic scientist of today who wants to play God. He means well it’s just the power he has at his fingertips is just too tempting. Orr understands this but has to continue to see Haber or else he would be sent to a more ‘institutional’ type of treatment.
This book reminded me very much of Philip K. Dick’s UBIK in that both build a number of well-fleshed out realities that only the protagonist is aware of. Indeed it has been noted that this is Le Guin’s homage to PKD and as a fan of his I was very impressed; particularly her writing style which was highly descriptive and sometimes very poetic. Somehow she has managed to craft a very rational villain yet at the same time one that you despise for what he does to his patient.
We also get to see some interesting alternate history situations with the many worlds created. For example Haber mentions to Orr before he is put to sleep that it would be great to have a world without racism. When he awakes, everybody is gray! Also it is set in 2002 where the world is overpopulated with 7 billion people (not a bad prediction from 1971) which worries Orr so he dreams of a plague and wakes up with 6 billion less people!
Overall very good – 8/10!
Provoking and thoughtful "what-if" (2/4 people found this helpful)
One of the "non-ekumen" works of LeGuin, this book poses a lot of "what-if" questions.
The basal plot is that George Orr has dreams that changes reality, and in unexpected ways. Just like when you let the genie out of the bottle, the answers to your wishes may not be what you dream of.
George gets treatment from a psychiatrist, who undertakes to use George's ability to make the world better. He has no more luck than George, who fears his own powers and wants them to go away. The story ends in chaos and catastrophy.
LeGuin asks whether the world really would become better if we had our wishes fulfilled, and shows us that what we wish for might easiest be given us in ways that makes the world much worse.
Interesting book that I would recommend, both to LeGuin fans and others.
A modern Frankenstein and more (1/2 people found this helpful)
George Orr has a problem, at certain select time, he dreams dreams that change the very nature of reality itself. Placed in the care of psychologist Dr. William Haber, Orr soon finds that Dr. Haber is attempting to use his dreams to "improve" the world, to do the greatest good for the greatest number. But every improvement comes at a cost, and the longer it continues the worse it gets...
I have always heard of this book as a modern classic of Western literature, and now have had a chance to read it. In certain ways this book is an updating of the Frankenstein story, of the scientist meddling in things beyond his imagination, playing God. But, this book is more than that, is different than that, it is an almost religious book of the effects of changing the world and of the effects of accepting the world. This book is too complicated to explain quickly and succinctly, and needs to be read. I highly recommend it.
OK but not great (3/4 people found this helpful)
A story along the lines of some of Philip K Dick's stuff, but with less lunacy and paranoia. And, I have to say, less interesting overall.
This book gave me the feeling that the author had run out of ideas half way through. It is almost like it is a short story that has been stretched to novel length. I wasn't gripped by the narrative of the story in the way I have been by other books in the Masterworks series.
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