Some people have addressed the sci-fi aspect of The Lathe of Heaven. Jules begins with the caveat that she’s never really been much of a science fiction fan, as it isn’t a genre taken seriously by many critics of Literature-with-a-capital-l; and then Chris, it seems to me from his scathing critique, feels the novel is pulp sci-fi. But this raises the postmodern issue of the blurred line between high and low culture. Harvey explains that some feel “capitalism, in order to sustain its markets, has been forced to produce desire and so titillate individual sensibilities as to create a new aesthetic over and against traditional forms of high culture” (63). Chris points out the cartoon bad guy and how the hero gets the girl; and there are clearly other formulaic components present in the novel. However, it seems to me that LeGuin has co-opted a traditionally “lowbrow” form of entertainment to create a philosophically complex text, thus working against the traditional literature (and its critics) who eschew science fiction. She is using sci-fi aesthetics, but the novel’s underlying issues could certainly stimulate discussion among “highbrow” readers, if only they’d deign to read it (with an open mind).
I remember seeing an interview with Quentin Tarantino where explained that, in his films, he uses violence merely as an aesthetic; thus he’s co-opted filmic elements that have traditionally been used to satisfy “lowbrow” viewers to create some of the most influential and critically-acclaimed films of the ‘90s. As Dr. Sample pointed out in class, The Lathe of Heaven belongs to the group of books on our syllabus that one might take to the beach. Thus the novel appeals to a “lowbrow” audience, and indeed a less discriminating reader could zip through Lathe for some cheap entertainment; but the novel also addresses a variety of complex issues – from schizophrenia to environmental degradation – that a beach reader wouldn’t think twice about.