Bewilderment: A novel (Unabridged)
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4.1 • 10 Ratings
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK 2021
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE
A heartrending new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning and #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The Overstory.
Named one of the Most Anticipated Books of 2021 by New York, Chicago Tribune, BookPage, Literary Hub, The Millions, New Statesmen and Times of London
The astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos while singlehandedly raising his unusual nine-year-old son, Robin, following the death of his wife. Robin is funny, loving, and filled with plans. He thinks and feels deeply, and can spend hours painting elaborate pictures of the endangered animals he loves. He is also about to be expelled from third grade for smashing his friend in the face.
What can a father do, when the only solution offered to his troubled son is to put him on psychoactive drugs? What can he say when his boy comes to him wanting an explanation for a world that is clearly in love with its own destruction?
With its soaring descriptions of the natural world, its tantalizing visions 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, imperilled planet?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Pulitzer winner Richard Powers’ gorgeous novel about the relationship between a father and son poignantly explores both love and grief. After his wife dies, Theo—an astrobiologist and newly single father—sets off on an incredible journey, navigating uncharted territory with his sensitive and apprehensive son, Robin. Though the duo’s shared passion for the cosmos bonds them together through the dazzling descriptions of dreamed-up landscapes in Theo’s bedtime stories, the grieving Robin becomes increasingly disturbed and violent, and experimental neurofeedback therapy may be his only hope. Powers takes us on an unforgettable journey, offering wise insights into the healing power of wild spaces and the beautiful, complex topography of family relationships. Actor Edoardo Ballerini narrates with the gentleness of a bedtime story and the expansive sense of wonder of a fairy tale. Bewilderment is a deeply intimate novel that will touch your heart and galvanize you to protect our beautiful planet.
