Books by Richard Powers
Richard Powers is an American novelist. His book Overstory won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; The Echo Maker was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
“This novel is about a world-renowned scientist who has lost his wife and is struggling to understand his son, who is undergoing complex neurological issues. The father is working in space. He spends every day looking at the stars. He and his son are processing their grief together, and he’s bonding with his son by teaching him about stars. The father is a genius whose work means everything to him. He starts to think about ways he can apply his training to mending his son’s brain and trying to help his son to find joy in life again. The novel explores the concept that it’s fine to give things up if they’re no longer necessary to live a happy and wholesome life. At one point, the scientist unveils an eco-protest poster in DC, risking his career, because his son has become passionate about biodiversity.” Read more...
“I had the experience of having the revelation that the author clearly hoped a reader would have, which is that what appears to be a book about distinct individuals—almost a book of short stories— turns out to be something more complex, in which all the characters are linked through time and space.” Read more...
The Best Climate Books of 2019
Sarah Dry, Science Writer
Interviews where books by Richard Powers were recommended
The Best Climate Books of 2019, recommended by Sarah Dry
In an age when we all need to work together to slow down climate change, which books are the most effective in spurring us to action? Historian of science Sarah Dry, author of Waters of the World, recommends some of the best and most important climate books of 2019.
The Best Fiction of 2018, recommended by Kwame Anthony Appiah
Looking for the best novels of the year? Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at New York University and chair of the 2018 Man Booker Prize for fiction, gives an in-depth breakdown of the six books that made this year’s shortlist, and reflects on why the novel as a form is stronger than ever.
The best books on Being Average, recommended by Eleanor Ross
All of us are ultimately average, says author Eleanor Ross, and we should find that liberating rather than saddening. In this interview, she recommends five books across fiction and nonfiction that can help us understand and embrace our averageness.
The Best Fiction of 2021: The Booker Prize Shortlist, recommended by Maya Jasanoff
This year the Booker Prize finalists include new work from previous shortlistees Richard Powers and Damon Galgut, a sweeping historical novel by Maggie Shipstead, and a fragmentary account of a life lived ‘extremely online.’ Maya Jasanoff, Harvard historian and chair of the 2021 judging panel, talks us through the best fiction of the past year.
