I just learned that one of my favorite novelists, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Powers, will be publishing a new book later this fall. For those who are unfamiliar with Powers’ work, it would be hard for me to describe what attracts me to his fiction. He writes with such an understanding of science and nature. His books often involve characters dealing with issues of understanding the world as “progress” is made in various branches of scientific discovery. Recently, his love of nature and the environment have been featured in his novels, such as one of my recent favorites, The Overstory. His new book is called Playground, and from an early description it sounds like it will be about how we as humans are about to tread upon some of the last untouched parts of the planet found in the ocean depths. Of course there is a bit of AI in the mix as well. I can’t wait to read it. Here is the publisher’s description:
“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 in 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 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.”
