The Lathe of Heaven

Living in Portland, Oregon in a future 2002, George Orr has been caught using drugs and is sentenced to "voluntary" therapy. George has "effective" dreams that change the reality and been taking drugs to prevent them. In one of George's first dreams, his aunt had been visiting his family and causing problems for him. After a particularly stressful event, George dreamed that his aunt had died in a car accident near her home weeks before. Upon waking, he learns his aunt has never visited and has, in fact, died in a car crash. In the new reality, as in the dream, the visit had never taken place, and George is the only one to remember the former reality. Once George is able to convince his assigned therapist, William Haber, that his effective dreaming does change reality, Haber attempts to control George's dreaming initially to make the world a better place. However, with each change that Haber tries to bring about, there is an unintended adverse consequence. As the world becomes more chaotic, Haber becomes more power-mad. George and his friend and lawyer, Heather, know they must stop Haber before he destroys the world.

The Lathe of Heaven was published in 1971, so the future 2002 in the book was still 30 years away. The dates are possibly the one thing that makes the book feel slightly outdated. I like the idea of this book, it is unique, and yet it is reminiscent of the many stories where one has three wishes, and with each wish, there is an unintended adverse consequence. I also like the messages that I think Le Guin is trying to send, that even the best intentions can go awry if one does not understand all of the consequences of their actions; and that one person may think they know what is best for others, but the others may not always agree. I felt that Le Guin did a great job of portraying George as an "every-man" that we want to succeed even though he essentially has a "super-power." The reader may feel pity for him because he seems to be in a situation that is beyond his control.

I listened to The Lathe of Heaven as an audiobook and thought the narration was good, but not outstanding. Although the book is well-written and tells a good story, the many changes in the book's reality sometimes made it challenging to keep up, especially when one is listening instead of reading.