Hello, Dean here.  Firstly, a bit of business: after some soul-searching on my part and discussion with everyone present at the last meeting, we will be changing April’s selection from Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse to The Stars, My Destination by Alfred Bester.  I’m sorry if this causes any confusion; they are both excellent books by wonderful authors, but Alfred Bester’s work is a little closer to the core of what the club is about.

Our most recent gathering focused on Ursula K. LeGuin’s Hugo- and Nebula-award winning novel The Lathe of Heaven.  This has long been one of my favorites and the Missus has grown to love it as well.  Everyone agreed that LeGuin’s prose was graceful, lyrical and very clear.  There was some disagreement, however, about the general worth of the plot. Criticism on this point argued that the double-edged nature of power is an idea that has been explored many, many times, as has the notion of “be careful what you wish for”.  The godlike ability that Orr wished to repudiate and that Dr. Haber desired was likened to the titular object in the horror classic “The Monkey’s Paw” and to tales of wily djinn turning someone’s wish into an ironic comeuppance.  Conversely, the careful incorporation of Taoist ideas into the book differentiates The Lathe of Heaven from the stories that preceded it: Orr understood instinctively the dangerous trap of his power and the moral quandaries that it raised.

In my own opinion, even if the basic thematic elements are tired and clichéd, LeGuin’s execution raises the book far above its peers.  Careful characterization is joined to elegant prose and an evocative use of changing narrative perspectives, introducing subtleties that we barely had time to examine.

Given the presence of two mental health professionals, there was much interest in the ethical and professional flaws that marred Dr. Haber.  Both agreed that that his treatment of Orr during their first meeting was completely unhelpful and left the impression that Haber was performing entirely by rote.  Haber is such an interesting character: over the course of the book he doesn’t change so much as expand — all of his qualities remain intact but become more exaggerated and more dangerous.