Book Review
Aug. 14th, 2023 09:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. Le Guin
This short novel is set in a near future semi-dystopian Portland (OR) and centers around George Orr, whose dreams can alter reality. This alarms him and he seeks the help of a psychiatrist, Dr. Haber. Once Haber starts to understand the power his patient reluctantly wields, he starts using it to shape reality to alleviate both the ills of the world and his own situation. However, each change has unintended consequences. George works to resist Haber's control and to preserve the fabric of reality.
The Lathe of Heaven was amazing. Le Guin does some of the same things with reality that Dick does, but she has a warmer, less hard-boiled and bleak approach. Her characters and their relationships are more likeable, too. I really enjoyed the way the book plays with reality - every time a new aspect of the characters or setting is described, the reader has to figure out if it's the result of a dream-induced change. I also liked the characters in all their various versions. George seems passive and a bit wishy-washy at first, but I soon realized that he's really just a perfectly balanced personality and thus extremely stable despite all the permutations of reality. I especially liked the themes around the value and function of love and relationships. This is a sci-fi classic for a reason.
by Ursula K. Le Guin
This short novel is set in a near future semi-dystopian Portland (OR) and centers around George Orr, whose dreams can alter reality. This alarms him and he seeks the help of a psychiatrist, Dr. Haber. Once Haber starts to understand the power his patient reluctantly wields, he starts using it to shape reality to alleviate both the ills of the world and his own situation. However, each change has unintended consequences. George works to resist Haber's control and to preserve the fabric of reality.
The Lathe of Heaven was amazing. Le Guin does some of the same things with reality that Dick does, but she has a warmer, less hard-boiled and bleak approach. Her characters and their relationships are more likeable, too. I really enjoyed the way the book plays with reality - every time a new aspect of the characters or setting is described, the reader has to figure out if it's the result of a dream-induced change. I also liked the characters in all their various versions. George seems passive and a bit wishy-washy at first, but I soon realized that he's really just a perfectly balanced personality and thus extremely stable despite all the permutations of reality. I especially liked the themes around the value and function of love and relationships. This is a sci-fi classic for a reason.
