Bewilderment by Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Powers (The Echo Maker; Orfeo; The Overstory) is a novel of great pain and compassion. Focusing on a nuclear family but also concerned with ecological collapse and the possibilities of distant space, this is a heart-wrenching story with an important message to convey. Theo Byrne is an astrobiologist: he writes programs to explore, hypothetically, distant planets that may host life. But readers meet him first in a still more important role: that of single parent to Robin, who is just turning nine. Robin is a special child: artistic, sensitive, caring, intelligent. Powers deserves his reputation as a consummately talented writer. This 2021 Booker Prize finalist invites readers to meditate on the natural world, human and animal rights, the potentialities of deep space, the role of science and technology in human societies, the challenges of modern childhood and more. --Julia Kastner