It’s hardly so simple.
In thisnew EW series, staffers discuss how they’re coping with experiences of anxiety and isolation through books.
I feel comfortable callingUrsula K. Le Guinmy all-time favorite author.
Credit: Amazon
Though I didnt really start reading her until after college, I fell in love with her books instantly.
Her vivid imagination, elemental writing style, and endless curiosity about human behavior make for an intoxicating brew.
I first read her gender-bending masterpieceThe Left Hand of Darknessyears ago, and startedthe magical Earthsea serieseven before that.
I had been planning to take some time before my next Le Guin.
Big name, short length.
Both have helped, though I have yet to settle into a consistent quarantine-reading schedule.
Thats one reasonThe Lathe of Heavenhas made for relatively slow-going in my current state.
The other is that the material is quite thought-provoking and unsettling, especially given our current context.
Orrs problem is unique: Every so often, his dreams change reality.
As a result, hes become a bit of an insomniac who uses drugs to suppress his dreams.
Orr comes to Haber because he wants these dreams to stop, but the doctor has other ideas.
It was like living in a downpour of warm soup, forever.
But dreams are not determined by logic, so things rarely go exactly the way Haber wants.
Remember when I said this book was a bit of an unsettling read right now?
In their world as in ours, dreams are not exactly the same as reality.
But there is a relationship between them (maybe you could call it seepage).
Unfortunately, for years nowmost of our future-looking stories have been about darkness, dystopia, and degradation.
But Robinsons stories are set a lot closer to Earth than Le Guins are.
So I’ve been reading Robinsons 2017 novelNew York 2140, which is about as self-explanatory as titles get.
And yet, life goes on.
The changes are not just superficial, either.
Youre sounding scary, one tells the other.
Besides, whats scarier than right now?
Why should change be scary?
You cant even read the news, right?
Because its too f—ing scary?
Things dont go as planned: for them, for William Haber, or for us.
But its nice to think about transformation in a way thats not entirely bad.
