Playground by Richard Powers

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Siegerman, Eunice Wong, Run Bandhu, Krys Janae, Kevin R Free

Published: September 24, 2024 by W.W. Norton & Company

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

A magisterial new novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory and Bewilderment.

Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel from Richard Powers, showcasing the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Overstory at the height of his skills. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up on naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.

They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped to feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.

Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity in a way only Richard Powers can.

Rating:

Review:

This book drew me in months ago with its beautiful cover. The reef, the colors, the manta ray, all of it was gorgeous. Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I am a sucker for a pretty cover. I was also intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This seems to be a trend in literary fiction at the moment. To use individual stories to weave together a larger story. This book does it very well.

I genuinely enjoyed all of the characters and all of their narratives. I felt empathy and compassion for them, I understood their motives and I wanted to cheer them on. Rafi and Todd were the highlights though. Their stories were intertwined from the beginning. I loved watching them bond over their games, and their competitive natures sometimes at odds with their friendship. It was deep and genuine. I hoped that they would remain friends forever, but I also recognized that eventually their differences would probably drive them apart.

The stories were also well done, albeit slow to advance sometimes. This was, perhaps, one of the only drawbacks to this book is that the plot started to drag a little in the middle. I wanted the story to get moving and it just didn’t happen for awhile. But when it did, it took me in a place that I never expected. I found the weaving of humans and their love of play very charming. The theme of playfulness is woven into every line of this book, and it’s wonderful. Up until one specific sentence I was fully prepared to give this book 3 stars and talk about how I enjoyed it, but it just moved too slowly.

One specific line that Rafi emailed to Todd. My jaw dropped to the floor. I could not believe it. I never expected a twist in this book, and I never imagined the twist to encompass one singular line. All at once the entire trajectory of the book was different. Not just the trajectory of the book though, it changed the entire premise of the beginning of the book too. I was glued to this book from that moment. I couldn’t stop listening. It was truly masterful. I’ve read a lot of books where the author attempts to do what Powers did, but none have done it as smoothly and perfectly as he did.

I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s beautiful. It’s tragic. It’s hopeful. It’s playful. It’s probably my book of the year.