Bewilderment: A Novel - Richard Powers

Bewilderment: A Novel

By Richard Powers

  • Release Date: 2021-09-21
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 3.5
3.5
From 1,006 Ratings
$13.99 On itunes Buy on Amazon

Description

AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB SELECTION
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
Shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize
Longlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction
Longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

A heartrending new novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning and #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory.

The astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos while single-handedly raising his unusual nine-year-old, Robin, following the death of his wife. Robin is a warm, kind boy who spends hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered animals. He’s also about to be expelled from third grade for smashing his friend in the face. As his son grows more troubled, Theo hopes to keep him off psychoactive drugs. He learns of an experimental neurofeedback treatment to bolster Robin’s emotional control, one that involves training the boy on the recorded patterns of his mother’s brain…

With its soaring descriptions of the natural world, its tantalizing vision of life beyond, and its account of a father and son’s ferocious love, Bewilderment marks Richard Powers’s most intimate and moving novel. At its heart lies the question: How can we tell our children the truth about this beautiful, imperiled planet?

Reviews

  • Not the Overstory

    3
    By dadadeegoulet
    I enjoyed the subject matter and flow of this story. I was disappointed as a fan of the Overstory and just felt like my expectations weren’t met. The ending dropped off like a cliff!

  • Beautiful, heartbreaking, and thought provoking

    5
    By Jam Oman
    This is the best book I have read in many a year. The prose is stunning, and the ideas flow like water. The descriptions of the natural world coupled with the fanciful descriptions of possible worlds punctuate a compelling story of love and loss. Amazing. I read it on my tablet. One of the things I like about reading books this way is that I don‘t know how far along I am. When the end came, I didn‘t see it coming, and it filled me with a sense of joy and loss that mirrored the contrasting emotions of the book. Amazing. Just got Overstory; I hope it is half as wonderful.

  • OMG

    5
    By Gogetlo
    This story broke my heart. I loved the relationship between the son and father and I absolutely loved the son! This book will really stick with you! It is written beautifully!

  • Waxing and Waning: Bewilderment

    3
    By Scott's take on things
    The novel has Powers’ immersion in the natural world, beautiful observations, this time through an astrobiologist protagonist. The roles for all, including son and dead wife, are imaginative and easy to follow but feel too contrived, their purpose to clearly in support of the basic plot. Not a major work by a great writer.

  • A Universe Within

    4
    By Richard Bakare
    I wavered between mixed emotions on this one. Fitting given the functional utility of emotions to the story. The main engine moving this plot along resembled the thought exercise of the ‘Ship of Theseus’. It asks us to consider what is and is not essential to being. Perhaps even more broadly, are humans even an essential part of existence? Despite the brevity of this work it takes on a vast struggle between hope and despair. It asks how much can technology solve our problems and if any of the solutions are in us. It presents a sometimes forced social commentary on capitalism, politics, and priorities. It is balanced, however, by the interplay in the human relationships. The essential component to the best science fiction. Again, in the larger scope of the universe, it asks us do the questions and answers even matter. Richard Powers artfully leverages the key characters’ journeys to transform a state of bewilderment into enlightenment. Their respective reliefs coming from the learning and acceptance of what is. These discoveries come at a cost, spilling the secrets of the past and shattering perceptions of others. Then giving way to the aww of the universe within.

  • A Beautiful Bummer

    5
    By Bulldog606
    Gorgeously written, despite its despairing subject matter.

  • Title describes my feelings

    3
    By hometowngal
    Unlike his other books I’ve read, Bewilderment left me confused, look for a pertinent path and found too many circular and winding roads to nowhere. Powers’ gift of writing still captivates me, and I’ll pick up another of his soon.

  • Perfect Title

    4
    By judithoak
    It captures our wisdom and our unknowing... on so many levels - from humans and micro organisms to vast galaxies - we know a lot and understand so little. The story is a beautiful allegory, from a heartfelt father and son's perspective... characters so well described, they represent the universality of suffering and the depth of love and the human heart in all creatures.

  • Strange and Beautiful

    5
    By anniewright
    The mystery of Robin lights the book powerfully.

  • Disappointed

    2
    By juliusa
    After OVERSTORY I couldn’t wait for another from this author. This one disappoints. Ant-medicine, preachy, overwrought, and often dull. Interesting idea that gets maudlin and dramatic way beyond its possibilities. Maybe there is a message for a perfect world, but it’s lost in this imperfect world. Pass.

Comments

More by Richard Powers