The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

With a new introduction by Kelly Link, the Locus Award-winning science fiction novel by legendary author Ursula K. Le Guin, set in a world where one man’s dreams rewrite the future. During a time racked by war and environmental catastrophe, George Orr discovers his dreams alter reality. George is compelled to receive treatment from Dr. William Haber, an ambitious sleep psychiatrist who quickly grasps the immense power George holds. After becoming adept at manipulating George’s dreams to reshape the world, Haber seeks the same power for himself. George—with some surprising help—must resist Haber’s attempts, which threaten to destroy reality itself. A classic of the science fiction genre, The Lathe of Heaven is prescient in its exploration of the moral risks when overwhelming power is coupled with techno-utopianism.

3.5/5. Well, this was... a trip. This book had a lot of interesting ideas, but ultimately it quite often felt like a drag to keep reading. Our protagonist, George Orr, is as wishy-washy as his last name. His psychiatrist Dr Haber is even worse. The only person I could remotely feel some liking towards is the lawyer Heather Lelache.

This story kinda feels like it probably inspired Christopher Nolan's fever dreams. It had some elements which seemed like it might've inspired Inception, Interstellar, and sometimes even Avengers: Infinity War. Those elements were interesting in themselves, but I also wanted to think about more. Le Guin gave us tantalizing glimpses of the Taoism that is such a major influence on most of her works, but we never really get down to the meat of it to discuss these ideas and how it should impact our perception of reality.

What i found most compelling about this book was how plausible Dr Haber was. He wasn't an out and out villain. Sure, he's a manipulative asshole, but when he was talking to George you could really feel his charisma somehow. He reminded me a lot of Thanos from Avengers (and also the population-halving snap!) because he always seemed to have such altruistic motivations for what he was doing with George. Even though i found him mega sus straight from the start and even after I knew for sure he was a manipulative asshole, when he kept talking about making the world a better place, i could still feel seduced by his speeches despite myself - so no wonder George couldn't resist, as mentally battered as he was.

So ultimately I'm in two minds about this book. I love the premise, I love some of the ideas that it seemed to start, but I wasn't a fan of how everything went down in the end (the last quarter was pure chaos) nor can I shake off the feeling that I'm not sure what I'm walking away from this book with. I really enjoyed what I've read so far of Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle from the fantasy genre and thought that even in the first book of that series, I got a better sense of the really thought-provoking Taoist ideas that informed Le Guin's outlook on life than in this one.

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.

Interesting book from an author that's quickly becoming one of my favourites. This one reminds me quite a bit of the general tones of a Philip K Dick, which is different to the other two books I read by her (the dispossessed and the left hand of the darkness).

Clear references to George Orwell too (main character called George Orr) and, interestingly, the ever shifting reality of the book reminds me also of Murakami's 1Q84, which also pays homage to Orwell.

Overalls fun short read

I can't believe nobody assigned this book in any of my philosophy classes. Lots to chew on regarding relationships between self and others, the nature of reality, the relationship between dreams and reality, and lots of meaty ethical stuff.