Product Description

George Orr is a mild and unremarkable man who finds the world a less than pleasant place to live: seven billion people jostle for living space and food. But George dreams dreams which do in fact change reality - and he has no means of controlling this extraordinary power. Psychiatrist Dr William Haber offers to help. At first sceptical of George's powers, he comes to astonished belief. When he allows ambition to get the better of ethics, George finds himself caught up in a situation of alarming peril.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15960 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Amazon.co.uk 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

About the Author
SALES POINTS #43 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. Le Guin is one of the finest writers of science fiction in the world Winner of many Hugo and Nebula Awards, as well as a National Book Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters; a Newberry Honor and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement

Customer Reviews

Great book. Entertaining, engaging, and provoking
This book is just amazing. It illustrates abstract concepts vividly, and paints wildly changing pictures of a world with remarkable ease and fluidity. The Lathe of Heaven deals with eastern philosophical concepts of acceptance and self-knowledge. In fact, the title is taken from the Tao Te Ching, and short excerpts from this ancient and provoking work serve to introduce us to the concepts of each chapter. The Lathe of Heaven takes you on a journey with George Orr as he struggles to come to terms with his potential.

Initially, George is simply getting by in the world, struggling to live day by day, despite tremendously powerful dreams which occassionally cause his world to change in uncontrollable ways. Afraid he may cause more harm with these dreams, he seeks out the help of a psychiatrist. Dr. Haber has other ideas, however -- meaning well, although misguided, he attempts to control this power in order to shape reality to his own liking. Things progressively begin to worsen, until the world begins to collapse around them. All the while, George remains the same -- he, who appears weak and controllable at the outset through his accepting personality, is the only one who can cope as reality begins to crumble. What seemed to others a weakness is precisely what gives him strength.

All in all, a beautiful work of science fiction.

Fascinating and relentlessly brilliant
This is a fascinating and relentlessly brilliant SF novel which is completely different from Ursula K. LeGuin's other works. Set in the near future on earth, it's the story of a man whose dreams change reality.

The 'if' world scenarios are a favourite of Science Fiction writiers. Some other classics are Philip K. Dick's 'The Man in the High Castle' and 'the Zap Gun', the Asimov and Arthur C Clarke short stories of people going back to the past and changing the future, and more recently Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. In film there's 'Twelve Monkeys' and for TV there's the much underrated early Dr Who classic 'Inferno'.

The Lathe of Heaven, however, is a completely different take and a very original and compelling solution. In this story, the man's dreams are bizarrely transmitted into new realities. This is just a disturbing personal experience, until he falls into the hands of an unscrupulous psychotherapist.

The ensuing catalogue of disastrous choices — similar to genie-wish stories — opens the door for LeGuin to explore philosophical themes with much greater depth and precision than her Ekumen scenarios do. For example, a dream aspiring to end race hatred results in everyone having the same grey skin colour.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Even if you aren't a fan of LeGuin, the Lathe of Heaven should be a cracking good read.

Is Le Guin the modern-day Thomas More?
I only pose this silly rhetorical question with regard to More's classic work `Utopia'. In some many senses, " The Lathe of Heaven " is a development of the issues of utopia-constructing that More raised in his satire. Each of us has a vision, an idea of what would constitute the perfect society. In this novel, a psychiatrist, Dr Haber, has the ability to construct his utopia. He does this through one of his patients, George Orr, who has a remarkable gift: his dreams alter reality! The novel does not have a highly sophisticated plot; it is not a pulsating thriller.It is, however, thoroughly thought-provoking.. indeed, I read the book 4 months ago and have been thinking about it ever since. What is one person's utopia is another's hell; by rectifying one defect of a society, one could create new and sinister ones. The novel is a excellent philosophical exercise that is readable, intelligent and entertaining.