Play Book Tag discussion

The Lathe of Heaven - LeGuin
5 stars

I checked the original publication date of this book twice while I read it. It was first published in 1971. At that time Le Guin was writing about a dystopian Portland,Oregon of 2002. It seemed surreally correct that such a surreal novel would be so completely current to the real world concerns of 2025. Drug abuse, climate change, weather extremes, war in the middle east; we seem to be experiencing everything that George Orr knew. (Except the aliens. Most of the time Le Guin’s humor is like a sly wink, but the aliens were overtly humorous.)

“ In fact, it was, the endless warm drizzle of spring—the ice of Antarctica, falling softly on the heads of the children of those responsible for melting it.”

This is a novel of few characters. Primarily there’s George Orr, the man whose dreams become reality, and the psychiatrist, Dr. Haber, who seeks to control George’s dreams in a (possibly) benevolent attempt to improve life on earth. The way that George can profoundly alter reality with a single dream creates frequent disconnects in the narrative of this short book. Paying close attention does not always clear up the confusion. Disconnection and confusion are the essential plot points.

In the introduction of my paperback edition, Kelly Link says, “Le Guin’s influence has expanded beyond all original bounds of genre, appropriately so, as her writing was profoundly slippery, generous, shape-shifting and out reaching from the very start.” ‘Slippery’ is a good description. I would reread sentences or complete paragraphs and find multiple meanings in the content. Le Guin was also a poet. That is apparent throughout the book as she is often writing about Orr’s dream state. The book opens with nothing less than poetry about jellyfish. And dreams.

“What will the creature made all of seadrift do on the dry sand of daylight; what will the mind do, each morning, waking?”

The structure of this book reminded me of the more recent This Is How You Lose the Time War. They are both short novels of speculative science fiction. They use a dialog between two primary characters. And in my personal copies, both books are littered with post-it notes.

If you thought le Guin was prescient in 1971, wait until you read Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. Her story, published in 1993, is set to start in 2024 and is pretty scary, including a white supremacist president and right wing militias putting liberals in re-education camps.

I’ve read them. I live just up the freeway from Pasadena which was Butler’s home ground. I rarely get on the freeway without thinking of the first book. Being on constant fire watch also fits with her vision.

This is one of my favorite books. So glad to see you appreciate it too, Jgrace!

I think this is my true favorite of all her books. It was one of the first and I found it brilliant and entertaining.

I sometimes say it’s The Word for World Is Forest, which I read more recently. I suspect I’m still charmed by the title and cover so it enters my mind faster.

Algernon (Darth Anyan) wrote: "If you thought le Guin was prescient in 1971, wait until you read Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. Her story, published in 1993, is set to start in 2024 and is pret..."

Oh my , maybe I do need to return to the parable series.

I had an odd month full of distractions, and I didn't read most of the books I planned. I read half my normal # of tag books. It feels like a waste of a rare tag, but at least I can use these reviews for inspiration later.

I had an odd month full of distractions,

My month was also full of distractions. I have one more review to write for a collection of Asimov stories, but I'm less than half way through a reread of Always Coming Home which I'd hoped to finish before reading at least one more Le Guin novel.

Always too many books......

NancyJ wrote: "Algernon (Darth Anyan) wrote: "If you thought le Guin was prescient in 1971, wait until you read Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. Her story, published in 1993, is s..."

same for me last couple of months, I went on four trips/holidays and fell behind rather spectacularly in my reading plans and in my reviews. I think I'm about 15 books behind