Recommended Age:
14
+
Best for readers who enjoy thought-provoking, character-driven, imaginative speculative fiction with immersive world-building.
About the Book
In a near-future Portland overwhelmed by ecological crisis, a man named George Orr discovers that his dreams literally change reality, and a psychiatrist begins exploiting this ability to try to reshape the world according to his own utopian vision with increasingly catastrophic and unintended consequences. A tightly plotted philosophical novel drawing on Taoist thought, the story meditates on the dangers of imposing one's will on a complex reality. Unsettling, elegant, and deeply wise.
Content Ratings
💡
Moderate Themes
The book explores the ethics of an imposed utopia, the arrogance of believing one can improve reality by force of will, and the value of accepting the world's complexity and impermanence.
⚔️
Mild Violence
Reality-altering events produce apocalyptic changes including a pandemic and alien invasion. These are depicted through their aftermath rather than through direct violence.
Engagement:
Genre:
Science Fiction
Published:
1971
Page Count:
184
