''The Lathe of Heaven'' is a 1971

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by American writer

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

, first serialized in the American science fiction magazine ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...

''. It received nominations for the 1972 Hugo and the 1971

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

, and won the Locus Award for Best Novel in 1972. Two

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

adaptations were released: the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

production, '' The Lathe of Heaven'' (1980), and '' Lathe of Heaven'' (2002), a remake produced by the

A&E Network A&E (an initialism of its original name, the Arts & Entertainment Network) is an American cable and satellite television network and the flagship property of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Walt Disney Company ...

. The novel explores themes and philosophies such as

positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

behaviorism Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understand the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex elicited by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that indivi ...

, and

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...

. Its central plot surrounds a man whose dreams are able to alter past and present reality and the ramifications of those psychologically derived changes for better and worse.

Title

The title is from the writings of Chuang Tzu (Zhuang Zhou) — specifically a passage from Book XXIII, paragraph 7, quoted as an epigraph to Chapter 3 of the novel:

To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the
lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the w ...
of heaven. (知止乎其所不能知，至矣。若有不即是者，天鈞敗之。)

Other epigraphs from Chuang Tzu appear throughout the novel. Le Guin chose the title because she loved the quotation. However, it seems that quote is a mis-translation of Chuang Tzu's Chinese text. In ''Nothingness, Being, and Dao: Ontology and Cosmology in the Zhuangzi'', Chai describes the concept of 天鈞 as 'heavenly equilibrium'. In an interview with

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers; June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Council ...

for the 2000

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

release of the 1980 adaptation, Le Guin clarified the issue:

...it's a terrible mis-translation apparently, I didn't know that at the time. There were no lathes in China at the time that was said.
Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, initia ...
wrote me and said "It's a lovely translation, but it's wrong".Issued as bonus material on New Video's 2000 release of ''The Lathe of Heaven'', . The "lathe" discussion appears at 8:07—9:05.

In 1997, Le Guin published a translation of the ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated por ...

'' by

Lao Tzu Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...

, traditionally regarded as the founder of

(Daoism). In the notes at the end of the translation, she explains her choice of title for the novel:

The language of some ersions of the ''Tao Te Ching''was so obscure as to make me feel the book must be beyond Western comprehension. (
James Legge James Legge (; 20 December 181529 November 1897) was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator who was best known as an early translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the Lond ...
's version was one of these, although I found the title for a book of mine, ''The Lathe of Heaven'', in Legge. Years later, Joseph Needham, the great scholar of Chinese science and technology, wrote to tell me in the kindest, most unreproachful fashion Legge was a bit off on that one; when ''Chuang Tzu'' was written the lathe hadn't been invented.)

Translated editions of ''Lathe of Heaven'' titled the novel differently. The German and first Portuguese edition titles, and , mean literally "the scourge r whipof heaven". The French, Swedish and second Portuguese edition titles, , and , translate as "the other side of the dream".

Plot summary

The book is set in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in the year 2002. Portland has three million inhabitants and continuous rain. It is deprived enough for the poorer inhabitants to have

kwashiorkor Kwashiorkor ( , is also ) is a form of severe protein malnutrition characterized by edema and an enlarged liver with fatty infiltrates. It is thought to be caused by sufficient calorie intake, but with insufficient protein consumption (or lac ...

, a protein deprivation from malnutrition. Although impoverished, the culture is similar to the 1970s in the United States. There is also a massive war in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

caused by the

greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet's atmosphere insulate the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature. Surface heating can happen from an internal heat source (as in the case of Jupiter) or ...

reduces quality of life. George Orr, a draftsman and addict, abuses drugs to prevent "effective" dreams that change reality. After one of these dreams, the new reality is the only reality for everyone else, but Orr retains memory of the previous reality. Under threat of incarceration, Orr undergoes treatment for his addiction, attending therapy sessions with ambitious

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

and sleep researcher William Haber. Haber, gradually believing Orr's claims that his "effective" dreams can affect the waking world, seeks to use Orr's power to change the planet. His experiments with a biofeedback/EEG machine, nicknamed the Augmentor, enhance Orr's abilities while producing a series of increasingly intolerable alternative worlds based on an assortment of

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

n (and

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

n) premises: * Eliminating over-population is disastrous after Orr dreams that a devastating plague eliminated most humans. * Attempting to remove the scourge of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

from society creates a world where citizens are routinely allowed to euthanize one another for being considered a threat to the gene pool. * "Peace on Earth" results in an alien invasion of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, uniting mankind against the external threat while creating new conflict in "cislunar space". Each effective dream gives Haber more wealth and status until he is effectively ruler of the planet. Orr's finances also improve, but he is unhappy with Haber's meddling and just wants to let things be. Increasingly frightened by Haber's lust for power and delusions of divinity, Orr contacts lawyer Heather Lelache to represent him against Haber. He falls in love with Heather but is unsuccessful in getting released from therapy. Despite this failure, Lelache is able to be present at one of the sessions, which allows her to remember two realities: one where her husband died early in the Middle East War and another where he died just before the truce because of the aliens. She seeks out Orr after he attempts to escape Haber by fleeing to the countryside, where he reveals to her that the world was destroyed by a

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

in April 1998. Orr dreamed it back into existence as he lay dying in the ruins, and doubts the reality of what now exists, considering it nothing more than a mere dream. Afraid of the potential harm Haber could do to reality and frustrated by his refusal to admit to Orr that he knows the power of his effective dreams, Orr believes that his only option may be to commit suicide. Lelache suggests that she assist him in dreaming an effective dream to make Haber more benevolent instead, to which he eventually agrees. She tries to help Orr but also tries to improve the planet; when she suggests to a dreaming Orr that the aliens should no longer be on the Moon, they invade the Earth instead. In the resultant fighting,

Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

is bombed and the 'dormant' volcano produces a spectacular eruption. During that disaster, Orr returns to Haber, who has Orr dream of peaceful aliens. For a time, everybody experiences stability, but Haber continues meddling. His suggestion that Orr dream away

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

results in everyone becoming gray, and changes much of history: "...he had searched his memory and had found in it no address that had been delivered on a battlefield in Gettysburg, nor any man known to history named Martin Luther King" (LeGuin, 130). Lelache's parents are different races, so she never existed in that alternative reality. Orr dreams a gray version of her with a milder personality; the two marry. Mount Hood continues to erupt, and he is concerned the planet is losing coherence. After speaking with one of the aliens, who seem to have a cryptic understanding of the effective dreams, Orr suddenly understands his situation and confronts Haber. In their final session, Haber "cures" Orr of his ability to dream effectively by suggesting Orr dream that his dreams no longer affect reality. Haber has become frustrated with Orr's resistance and used his research from studying Orr's brain during his sessions to give himself the same power. Haber's first effective dream represents a significant break with the various realities created by Orr, and threatens to destroy reality. Despite Orr's efforts to prevent it, the gray Lelache is annihilated by the encroaching chaos. Orr successfully shuts off the Augmentor as coherent existence threatens to dissolve into undifferentiated chaos. The world is saved, but exists now as a mix of random elements from several realities. In the new reality, Orr works at a kitchen store operated by one of the aliens. Haber survives, his mind shattered by his knowledge of unreality, and only exists because Orr's dreams restored him. Lelache is also restored, though she is left with only a slight memory of Orr. Orr is resigned to the loss of the Lelache he loved, but resolves to romance the one that exists now. The story ends as the two have coffee, while his inscrutable alien employer observes. Lathe of Heaven Timeline

Reception

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...

, reviewing ''Lathe'' for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', found it to be "a very good book," praising Le Guin for "produc nga rare and powerful synthesis of poetry and science, reason and emotion." Lester del Rey, however, faulted the novel for an arbitrary and ineffective second half, saying "with wonder piled on wonder, the plot simply loses credibility."

Viewpoints

Although technology plays a minor role, the novel is concerned with philosophical questions about our desire to control our destiny, with Haber's positivist approach pitted against a

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

equanimity. The beginnings of the chapters also feature quotes from

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

and

sages. Due to its portrayal of psychologically derived alternative realities, the story is described as Le Guin's tribute to Philip K. Dick. See also: In his biography of Dick, Lawrence Sutin described Le Guin as having "long been a staunch public advocate of Phil's talent". According to Sutin, "''The Lathe of Heaven'' was, by her acknowledgment, influenced by his ick'ssixties works." The book is critical of

. Orr, a deceptively mild yet very strong and honest man, is labeled sick because he is immensely frightened by his ability to change reality. He is forced to undergo treatment. His efforts to get rid of Haber are viewed as suspect because he is a psychiatric patient. Haber, meanwhile, is very charming, extroverted, and confident, yet he eventually goes insane and almost destroys reality. He dismisses Orr's qualms about meddling with reality with paternalistic psychobabble, and is more concerned with his machine and Orr's powers than with curing his patient. The book is also critical of the philosophy of

, satirising the phrase "The Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number." It is critical of

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

, which it suggests would be a key feature of a culture based on utilitarian ethics. It has been suggested that Le Guin named her protagonist "George Orr" as an homage to British author

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

, as well as to draw comparisons between the dystopic worlds she describes in ''Lathe'' and the dystopia Orwell envisioned in his novel ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

''. It might also have the additional meaning ''either / or''.

Adaptations

An adaptation titled '' The Lathe of Heaven'', produced by the

public television Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

station

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as Thirteen (stylized as THIRTEEN), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the Educ ...

, and directed by David Loxton and Fred Barzyk, was released in 1980. It was the first direct-to-TV film production by

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the ...

(PBS) and was produced with a budget of $250,000. Generally faithful to the novel, it stars

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor who has appeared in more than 270 films, television and stage productions since his debut in 1968. His breakthrough role was as Willard Stiles in the 1971 cult horror film '' Willard' ...

as George Orr, Kevin Conway as William Haber, and Margaret Avery as Heather Lelache. Le Guin was heavily involved in the production of the 1980 adaptation, and expressed her satisfaction with it several times. PBS' rights to rebroadcast the film expired in 1988, and it became the most-requested program in PBS history. Fans were extremely critical of

's supposed "warehousing" of the film, but the budgetary barriers to rebroadcast were high: The station needed to pay for and clear rights with all participants in the original program; negotiate a special agreement with the composer of the film's score; and deal with

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

recording excerpted in the original soundtrack, " With a Little Help from My Friends", which is an integral plot point in both the novel and the film. A cover version replaces the Beatles' own recording in the home video release. The home video release is remastered from a video tape of the original broadcast. PBS, anticipating that the rights issues would beset the production forever, did not save a copy of the film production in their archives. A second adaptation was released in 2002 and retitled '' Lathe of Heaven''. Produced for the

and directed by Philip Haas, the film starred

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

Lukas Haas Lukas Daniel Haas (born April 16, 1976) is an American actor and musician. His acting career has spanned four decades, during which he has appeared in more than 50 feature films and a number of television shows and stage productions. His notable ...

, and

Lisa Bonet Lilakoi Moon (born Lisa Michelle Bonet ; November 16, 1967) is an American actress. She portrayed Denise Huxtable on the sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992), for which she earned widespread acclaim and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Aw ...

. The 2002 adaptation discards a significant portion of the plot and some of the characters. Le Guin had no involvement in making the film. A stage adaptation by Edward Einhorn, produced by Untitled Theater Company #61, ran from June 6 to June 30, 2012, at the 3LD Art + Technology Center in New York City.

Publication history

; Serialized * '' Amazing Science Fiction Stories'', March 1971 and May 1971. ; Editions in English * 1971, US, Charles Scribner's Sons, , hardcover * 1971, US, Avon Books, , paperback * 1972, UK, Victor Gollancz, , hardcover * 1974, UK, Panther Science Fiction, , paperback (reprinted 1984 by Granada Publishing) * 1984, US, Avon Books, , paperback (reprinted 1989) * 1997, US, Avon Books, , trade paperback * 2001, US, Millennium Books, , paperback * 2003, US, Perennial Classics, , paperback * 2008, US, Scribner, , paperback * 2014, US, Diversion Books, , eBook ; Audio recording in English * 1999, US, Blackstone Audio Books, ; Translations * 1971, France: , Marabout; reprinted in 2002 by Le Livre de Poche, * 1974, Germany, , Heyne, München, 1974, * 1975, Argentina, ''La rueda del cielo'', Grupo Editor de Buenos Aires. * 1979, Sweden: ''På Andra Sidan Drömmen'', Kindbergs Förlag, * 1983, Portugal: ''O Flagelo dos Céus'', Publicações Europa-América * 1987, Spain, ''La rueda celeste'', Minotauro, Barcelona, 1987; reprinted in 2017 * 1987, Serbia: ''Nebeski strug'', Zoroaster * 1991, Finland: ''Taivaan työkalu'', Book Studio, * 1991, Poland: ''Jesteśmy snem'', Phantom Press, & 83-900214-1-2 * 1991, Portugal: ''Do Outro Lado do Sonho'', Edições 70, * 1992, Hungary: ''Égi eszterga'', Móra, * 1994, Czech Republic: ''Smrtonosné sny'', Ivo Železný, * 1997, Russia: ' * 2004, Portugal: ''O Tormento dos Céus'', Editorial Presença, * 2005, Italy: ''La Falce dei cieli'', Editrice Nord, * 2010, Korea: ''하늘의 물레''.황금가지, * 2011, Turkey: ''Rüyanın Öte Yakası'', Metis Yayınları, * 2013, Romania: ''Sfâșierea cerului'', Editura Trei,

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * *