‘The Lathe of Heaven’ as a reflection on writing; the writer breaking down and remaking the world, maintaining the familiar but balancing it with the novel… fading memories of the real world as you dive into the book. George Orr is the point of contact between different worlds – is he author or reader? Author, because he takes an old world and makes the new from it. Haber as reader, demanding utopias which never quite meet his needs. The neccesity of conflict for drama; utopia implies a lack of conflict, impossible in a dramatic form. Thomas More’s ‘Utopia’ is a description, not a narrative.
Funny, I just got finished watching yet another so-so movie version of “Lathe of Heaven” (starring James Caan as Haber). Poor Ursula LeGuin–maybe, in the end, her novel is just too good for translation to the screen (big or small). Both productions I’ve seen were hampered by small budgets. She is one of the most intelligent and literate authors in the field of SF. I do admire her…though I admit my work has been more influenced by the likes of Philip K. Dick, Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont. Thanks for this posting.
Hi Cliff, thanks for the reply! Very difficult to get a big budget for such sophisticated, adult work I suspect. And there’s a lot going on with the language, not an easy thing to pull onto the screen. I don’t know Charles Beaumont, I’ll have to check him out… hopefully see you in the virtual neighbourhood again!
Charles Beaumont wrote a number of the original stories/scripts used for Serling’s “Twilight Zone” series. He came to a tragic end, succumbing at the age of 37 to a variation of Alzheimer’s Disease. There are a number of “Best of Beaumont” anthologies out there so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding his work. His best tale, to my mind, was one called “Miss Gentibelle”. Enjoy your book hunting…
Ah, that sounds great! Must look him up. Never actually seen too many Twilight Zones, think I’ll try and dig up some of the classic episodes too.