The Lathe of Heaven

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Paperback, 192 pages

English language

Published Aug. 9, 2001 by Gollancz.

ISBN:: 978-1-85798-951-9

(130 reviews)

“The Lathe of Heaven” ; 1971 ( Ursula Le Guin received the 1973 Locus Award for this story) George Orr has a gift – he is an effective dreamer: his dreams become reality when he wakes up. He is aware of his past and present, two or more sets of memories, although the people around him are only aware of the current reality. This science fiction story is set in Portland, Oregon, in/around the late 1990s - early 2000s. Orr begins to take drugs to suppress dreams but eventually he is sent to a psychotherapist, Dr. William Haber, who has developed an electronic machine, the Augmentor, which records the brain patterns of a person as they dream. When Haber realizes that he can use Orr's unique ability to change their world, the consequences are both beneficial and frightening, both locally and globally. Orr seeks out the help of a civil rights lawyer, Heather Lelache, who attends a treatment session, and sees Portland change before her very eyes as Orr awakens. In a strange turn of events, Heather helps Orr by putting him in a dream state where Orr can undo some of Haber's actions. The result – Aliens on the Moon land on Earth ! A special affinity exists between George Orr and the Aliens, who seem to understand his unique gift. Ultimately Haber decides to impose Orr's brain patterns on his own, so that he can bring about world-wide changes. Orr and Heather feel the chaos and a sense of a void as Haber dreams. Orr rushes back to Haber's office and turns off the Augmentor. The world returns to April 1998.

28 editions

The Gnome King reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin (Millennium SF Masterworks S)

Review of 'The Lathe of Heaven' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The first book I’ve read by Ursula Le Guin and what an impressive book this was. There was no reason to start with this one, I wanted to read one of her books and this was the only one at the library. If there is one thing guaranteed to give me a headache it is books about time-travel and trying to figure out how timelines can be affected, this book was just as bad. George Orr’s dreams can change reality, people can be wiped out in the blink of an eye and nobody would realise, it’s crazy, who’s to say this doesn’t happen in real life…have I always existed or have I just been created whilst reading this book? Have the 4 people who will read this review only have existed because I dreamed they’d read it? And why didn’t that dream about an endless supply of Whiskey not come true?

George Orr isn’t the best of characters he is very dull, maybe due to being sleep deprived, I found it very hard to care about him, it is obvious that he has been damaged by the stress of living with the repercussions of his dreams but I still found him too annoying to care about. His doctor is far more interesting, reading as he comes to believe in George’s ability and him throwing ethics out the window to start controlling the world was much more fun. I did find some outcomes predictable and I’m guessing that was on purpose seeing as we are relying on George’s imagination.

Overall I did enjoy the story, a few weaknesses but an original idea for a sci-fi novel, I’ll definitely be looking to reading more by Ursula and am open to recommendations.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/02/24/the-lathe-of-heaven-by-ursula-k-le-guin/

V171 reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The Lathe of Heaven' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There's something about Le Guin's writing that feels like home. Despite her being one of The Greats of sci fi in the 60s and 70s, I find her works to be distinct and timeless. This book follows that pattern. It was a short, but poignant read that I enjoyed throughout. There were times when I felt the commentary overshadowed the plot, but I didn't mind.

Fait reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

UKL writes PKD fanfic

3 stars

I found this profoundly unsatisfying, and unsettling off-style for UKL. It read like someone had just binged all of PKD's novels, and decided to replicate his style, but without the requisite psychosis or drug-induced distance from reality that made PKD's novels so compelling

Jonathan Zacsh reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The lathe of heaven' on 'GoodReads'

5 stars

Awkwardly shows its age in gender and race, but despite that this comes through really well. I'm really surprised this was written in 1971. Quite impressive sci-fi and a really good story over all.

protomattr reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The Lathe of Heaven' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This brilliant, beautiful little novel imaginatively explores the subjective nature of reality, its interdependence on perception. Le Guin masterfully constructs a narrative with only a few characters, settings, and pages whose number belies the philosophical and emotional heft conveyed therein.

Joe G. reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The lathe of heaven' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

One of my all-time classics.

haagen_daz reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The lathe of heaven' on 'GoodReads'

5 stars

There's a lot to like here. The language is great - some of the imagery is really fantastic, and there are some spots of cute wordplay. The plot is interesting and zips along, but it doesn't dominate the book. I found it easy to identify with both George and Dr. Haber, which is a nice trick that helps me think about the central conflict between them. I thought the contrast between "use this power for good!" and "don't use this power at all!" was fresh and very relevant to me as a tech worker.

There's a lot more to think about, but I haven't thought it yet! This is definitely one to reread.

annewalk reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The Lathe of Heaven' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Reminiscent of H.G. Wells’ Time Machine in its form and language. Felt, to me, like a short story lengthened into a slim novel.

Best part for me in terms of writing is in chapter ten where the writing gets poetic:

“In bed, they made love. Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” P. 159

And on p.165, Le Guin describes leather as “the intermediate surface between a cow and the universe.” Nice.

As for the story itself, it’s an interesting premise. I think about my own dreams and how entirely disjointed reality would be with them as a blueprint.

ManyRoads reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The Lathe of Heaven' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I hate to say I found an Ursula Le Guin novel boring... but I did.

Zéro Janvier reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The lathe of heaven' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

L'idée de départ de ce court roman est excellente : un homme consulte un thérapeute car ses rêves deviennent réalité, au sens littérale puisque la réalité se transforme véritablement en fonction des rêves qu'il fait. Dommage que l'exécution ne soit pas tout à fait à la hauteur, avec un récit brouillon qui ne m'a pas totalement convaincu.

Allen Shull reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The Lathe of Heaven' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Really makes me think about the whole idea of progress.

loppear reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The lathe of heaven' on Goodreads

3 stars

Mostly satisfying novella about self and self-made reality, power and relationships.

Eduardo Santiago reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'The Lathe of Heaven' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I feel wretched about rating only three stars; but I just can’t bring myself to say I “really liked” Lathe of Heaven. It felt kind of clumsy; preachy, too. Not the voice I know as Le Guin. But it's Le Guin, dammit, so the fault is clearly mine.