The Lathe Of Heaven

A Novel

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Paperback, 192 pages

English language

Published May 20, 2008 by Scribner.

ISBN:: 9781416556961

(23 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.

17 editions

jae@wyrms.de reviewed The Lathe Of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Superb!

4 stars

Mom said it was my turn on the lathe of heaven!

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.

Keith Stevenson reviewed The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

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

4 stars

A really solid piece of science fictional thinking and writing, Lathe of Heaven has a strong Dickian flavour with its focus on the questionability of reality and the mental stability of its protagonist, but Le Guin engages with the philosophical and ethical questions of the situation in a more upfront manner and the ending is less dark than a PKD novel. For all it's a slim volume, Lathe has more ideas and incident in it than many contemporary works. Strongly recommended.