Playground [B0987]

2024 HCDJ 1st edition in excellent condition. Finalist for the Kirkus Prize.

Longlisted for the Booker Prize. A magisterial new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory and Bewilderment. Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel from Richard Powers. 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.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Wow!!! Loved it. Beautiful nature writing. Complex relationships. Big human questions. Also, I'm not quite sure I totally got all the implications of the ending."; "It wasn't an easy start for me - it was tricky to keep up with the characters and time frames. However, it was worth it. Now I'm sitting here, scratching my head and asking, 'What just happened?' "; "Similar conservationist theme, as expected for the author, with twists of tragedy, bits of hope, and an unexpected cameo appearance by AI."; "This book was an absolute joy to read, especially while being near the ocean. I am a sucker for non-linear storytelling and this book is a whooshing pattern of tales from all reaches which come into one, boggling, beautiful conclusion."