The Lathe of Heaven

by Ursula K. Le Guin

175 pages

English language

Published Nov. 7, 2003 by Perennial Classics.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-051274-3

(152 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.

30 editions

Sinyi@books.theunseen.city reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Jellyfish doesn't swim, but floats.

4 stars

Full spoiler free review here : system-failure.trbn.xyz/lathe-of-heaven-wip/ [...] “Reality is an odd choice of word, when all that shapes it is a dream”, thinks the jellyfish.

We meet George Orr in the middle of an overdose. Whilst society deems him an addict, his issue is one much greater than that : he is a Dreamer.

His bed is a boat with no helm to speak of, and as he catches odd things shift in the world behind his eyes, so too does reality shape itself anew. The change terrifies him.

Should Orr attempt to swim ? Should Orr dream with intent, for the betterment of humankind, to become the Lathe of a heaven of his own making ? Or should Orr rid himself of this terrible and frightening power ? “Worse…” he thinks. “if my dreams have such potency… what will come with my nightmares ?”

Eric reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Personally my favorite Le Guin novel

5 stars

This is probably my favorite of all of Le Guin's novels. It's not just that The Lathe of Heaven works as a really fun and tightly written sci-fi concept, but also that Le Guin weaves together a ton of parallel narratives into what outwardly seems to be a very simple story idea.

In part, The Lathe of Heaven is a surrealist work about a person whose dreams suddenly start becoming real, and who has to contend with all the problems that arise as a result of this fact. However in another respect this book is also a very honest and compassionate depiction of a character suffering from severe anxiety and mental illness, while on top of both of those stories is also a very political dystopian science fiction novel about the end of the world.

Yet what makes this book work is that Le Guin writes all of these conflicting …

Yet what makes this book work is that Le Guin writes all of these conflicting realities and perspectives in such a way that never negates any one single narrative. It would be very easy for a novel as surreal as The Lathe of Heaven to just come across as scattered, but Le Guin anchors us in the many realities of this book by focusing this story on the single enduring conflict which her characters confront--their misguided need to impose their own reality upon the numerous realms in which they live.

A few months ago I wrote a longer review of this book for my blog where I go into more detail about how I think this story operates, and so I'll post a link below. Just be warned that I get into plot spoilers.

erichendel.blogspot.com/2024/09/review-lathe-of-heaven-le-guin.html

Sally Strange reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Classic early Le Guin, holds up

5 stars

A few aspects of the story will strike 21st century readers as quaint, naive, or dated. For example the reliance on hypnosis as a foolproof method of making people dream whatever you want them to dream. However, this is a minor quibble, and the overall story arc is truly haunting, thought-provoking, and unsettling. It's sweet and beautiful in places, too. No wonder it's a classic.

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

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

5 stars

Equal parts fantastical and tragic, The Lathe of Heaven is my favorite of Le Guin's novels I've read so far. Among its many themes, one stood out as particularly significant and ahead of its time. Toward the end of the novel, Orr is unable to keep track of the various realities affected by his dreams. "He was living almost as a young child, among actualities only. He was surprised by nothing, and by everything." How did Le Guin blow so effortlessly past postmodernism, perfectly capturing the post-postmodern regression, the complete capitulation to the flow, that we see today?

Rob Ricci reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Beautifully crafted novel

5 stars

This story is personal and universal, small and gigantic, grounded and fantastical, dystopian and optimistic. It directly combines two very human mysteries: how much power should one person wield, and in a word that gave us something we wanted, how much would have to change for that to happen? Highly recommended.

M Is For Awesome reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

A thoughtful read

3 stars

A critique of utilitarianism, an exploration of a different type of hero, an alt universe 1984 with a more hopeful ending. I had difficulty getting into it but by the midpoint I was hooked.

Genre: Science Fiction Quality: Professional bakery Note: Written in 1970's Issues: A bit of a slog at the start, a little dated

LemmiSchmoeker reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

It speaks for Le Guin's writing and story construction that this works quite well

4 stars

The idea of this book is intriguing, though it seemed improbable that it would be interesting over the full 150 pages. It speaks for Le Guin's writing and story construction that it actually works quite well. The only disappointment is that one of the central plot points, namely the aliens, is never fully resolved, though many possible explanations are hinted at.

Zivan reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

4 stars

Le Guin is one of those rare authors that stand the test of time. Unlike Heinlein, Asimov, Niven and others her social science background allowed her to envision future societies that reflect progressive ideals that are still relevant today.

The Lathe of Heaven was published in 1971 and unlike many of her other novels is set on Earth. There are many references to years that are long in our past, and to technologies that are out of sync with the developments we've witnessed in the 1980s and 90s, the fact that this is a multiverse novel helps makes this less anachronistic.

The constant threat of global warming, present throughout the novel helps ground it in current apocalyptic threat concerns and mitigate other predictions that seem antiquated today.

Sadly, predictions of war in the Middle East, never seem to go stale

The Lathe of Heaven is an interesting take on the …

altlovesbooks reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

"The power of dreaming alone is quite undreamt of!"

4 stars

Content warning Major ending questions, minor thematic spoilers

This was a rather neat read about the potential of dreams. What if your dreams had the power to change reality? It sounds good in theory, but in practice it can easily lead to chaos—something the main character, George Orr, uniquely understands. Forced to attend therapy for what people assume to be some sort of mental affliction convincing Orr that his dreams become real, he is thrown in with Dr. Haber, a psychiatrist assigned to Orr to try and help him overcome his problems. In so doing, however, Haber figures out that Orr isn’t crazy, and starts manipulating him and his dreams for his own purposes.

For a short book, this one sure covers a lot of ground. Lots of philosophical thoughts about the rights of man to interfere in destiny, the corrupting influence of power, and general thoughts on the importance of human connection in one’s life are all present in this book. Whether or not you subscribe to the idea of some sort of cosmic balance, it’s telling that (thematic spoilers here) every time Haber tries to make Orr dream something good for humanity, Orr dreams up a monkey’s paw version of the wish.

It's an older book so some parts definitely feel their age, but overall I really enjoyed thinking about the implications of having a power like Orr’s. I was left with some nagging questions in the end (major ending spoilers here) (did Orr create the Aliens or just ship them in from another reality? How did Haber, and to a lesser extent Heather, resist Orr’s reality changes so completely?), but I think it’s left open on purpose to allow you the space to come to your own conclusions.

This was a fun read, and I’ll likely seek out more from this author in the future.

Strakul reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Dreaming of a better world has consequences

3 stars

Overall, this was an interesting short novel. While deceptively simple, the premise makes you think about a lot its concepts, including dreams, reality, and the power to change it. The characters lead the conflict- there is an abusive relationship at its core as one takes advantage of the other. That was disturbing but the main character is a little too passive in working to get out of it.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2023/08/book-review-lathe-of-heaven-by-ursula.html

Now We Try It My Way reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Incredible idea and a wonderful execution

4 stars

Le Guin has become on of my favorite writers and this book validates her place again.

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

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

4 stars

I saw the PBS miniseries decades ago and was curious to finally read this. It's well-written but relies heavily on the premise, to the detriment of the plot. Overall, the story is an interesting metaphor.

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

Review of 'The Lathe of Heaven' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

this one left me feeling pleasantly dazzled, thinking - she's just so smart. the ecological awareness, talking about the greenhouse effect and pollution and climate change and sea level rise and the private car economy - all in 1971. politically astute observations and commentary. emotional intelligence, empathy. the speculative premise as a way to examine human behavior and the nature of reality. she does it all.

Erin reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

4 stars

A unique but also totally Le Guin experience. Very thoughtful, philosophical, and quiet.

The character of George was such an interesting choice. The way he thinks of himself and the way others talk about him was a study in what our culture values in people and men in particular. His calm strength puzzles everyone.

I also loved the exploration of what can we or should we do to make the world a better place. For me, Le Guin took this question even further than most, questioning the idea of purpose at all never mind what our purpose might be. Captured best in this conversation between Haber and George:

“But in fact, isn’t that man’s very purpose on earth—to do things, change things, run things, make a better world?”
“No!”
“What is his purpose, then?”
“I don’t know. Things don’t have purposes, as if the universe were a machine, where every part has a useful function. What’s the function of a galaxy? I don’t know if our life has a purpose and I don’t see that it matters. What does matter is that we’re a part. Like a thread in a cloth or a grass-blade in a field. It is and we are. What we do is like wind blowing on the grass.”

The story got a bit goofy at times, like with the aliens who feel especially of the era. Le Guin is also both forward thinking and dated, as when she notes the housewives coming to the store for home goods… But you can always count on her for something thought provoking.

Other favorite quotes:
… his own mind was so resistant to such divisions that he was slow to recognize them in others. But he had learned that they existed. He had grown up in a country run by politicians who sent the pilots to man the bombers to kill the babies to make the world safe for children to grow up in.

“Then this world will be like heaven, and men will be like gods!”
“We are, we are already,” Orr said, but the other paid no heed.

He stood and endured reality.