Bewilderment

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Powers, Richard, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Powers, Richard
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

"A heartrending new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning and #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory. "Richard Powers, whose novels combine the wonders of science with the marvels of art, astonishes us in different ways with each new book." -Heller McAlpin, NPR Books. 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?"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Interesting submitted by khrobinson on August 28, 2022, 3:25pm A slow start, but I was drawn in more and more over the course of the book.

Devastating submitted by berkleya on July 20, 2023, 8:18am Excellent writing but if you're a parent, this is an excruciating read. You're watching a bright, sweet kind get wrecked by grief and then unspool in a horrifying way. I also really hated the character of the dead mom: kind of manic pixie dream girl energy (but way more Serious) from beyond the grave.

Feels like an ode to nature, with too much added drama submitted by timbresson on August 11, 2023, 1:38pm The father / son relationship is sweet and endearing at times, and the lessons that are being imparted are all noble and in respect of nature and our place amongst it. However, the analogous "Flowers for Algernon" aspect, which Powers overtly puts into the novel, is a bit heavy handed. And the relationship with the deceased parent feels unhealthy and overly complicates some narrative plot points - mostly for the sake of overly complicating it and dramatizing. I appreciated Overstory a bit more for the cast of characters (and ode to nature), and this story was decent and worth the read - if not a bit just bearable at points.