Will I love Playground?

Richard Powers never fails to engage and move me with his brilliant writing and profound insight into the worlds we inhabit. This exploration of the riches of the oceans left me inspired.

I call this book a favorite because of the persistent questions it raised only after I turned the last page. How do we discern truth from fiction, and then from AI? What does it mean that the first-person narrator Todd is sinking into the ravaged world of Lewy Body Dementia, complete with hallucinations, and still able to write? Todd’s musings are not alone; there is another narrator who tells much of the story. As in others, Richard Powers bases some characters on real people, their scientific triumphs or, in this case, libertarian tech-bro ambitions. The game of Go and wonders… show more.

I’ve always been astounded at the quality of prose and the masterful storytelling of Powers; this story is no exception. The multiple point-of-view narrative revolves primarily between a reclusive tech billionaire, his estranged best friend, the woman they both loved in their own way, and an intrepid marine biologist that fanned the flames of curiosity, imagination, and innovation for their entire generation.

The themes are as varied as the characters themselves. This is a story about colonialism. What creates a brotherhood and what breaks it. It’s about knowing and being true to your innermost self. It’s about the relentless expansion… show more.

The relationship between the two main characters, beginning when they are gifted high school students, develops and changes in fascinating ways.

This novel follows several different characters: a Canadian diver and scientist, a community living on a Pacific island, and a pair of friends from Chicago studying literature and computer science.

I was immediately hooked on the stories and the beautiful, immersive writing that takes you deep into the ocean to meet giant manta rays, pods of dolphins, and metropolis-sized, rainbow-hued coral reefs. Heartbreaking, imaginative, panoramic, and gorgeous.

This novel is enriched by gorgeous writing, complex characters, and powerful themes of technology and the environment. Powers will inspire in you a sense of profound awe as he takes you on a journey to the last unexplored place on earth—the ocean.

Another wonderful book from Powers about the environment and climate crisis.

Richard Powers follows up his brilliant book The Overstay with another compelling environmental novel that covers a range of important questions—from artificial intelligence to environmental justice to questions of indigenous rights and global equity. The characters are fascinating, the challenges beguiling, and the story of our global oceans is filled with wonder and threat.

The descriptions of the underwater diving scenes were so vivid I felt like I was there--without having to don a wetsuit or scuba gear.

Richard Powers writes books that are both entertaining and important. He comes to bring us a sense of wonder. In Playground he does for oceans what he did for forests in The Overstory. He takes four disparate lives and tells their stories, which tie together in a breathtaking and perfectly timed dance of science, humanity and awe. He does what only the truest artists can do: he makes you see the world anew.