Richard Powers (Bewilderment, The Overstory) delivers a novel of spectacular thematic scope and surreal drama, centered on the tiny French Polynesian island of Makatea in the Pacific Ocean and those destined to make it their home. Starring four principal characters and the intriguing manner in which their stories converge and collide, Playground glides across the final decades of the 20th century and spills into the present day, culminating in a dramatic vision for mankind's oceanic and land-based future.
Play, in all its manifestations, is a means of escape for Powers's talented cast: brilliant French-Canadian marine biologist Evelyne Beaulieu; artist Ina Aroita; Todd Keane, billionaire founder of the game "Playground"; and literary genius Rafi Young. The book's title resonates with meaning at every turn in the story. And if Todd's latest project succeeds in ushering in an irreversible new age of artificial intelligence, play may indeed be all that they are good for. In Playground, the author's genius shows in his formidable descriptive talents and the graceful clarity of his densely woven plot. It matters not whether one is familiar with the topography or colonial history of teardrop-shaped Makatea, for Powers meticulously sets the stage with vivid, immersive details to ignite the reader's imagination, while Evelyne's oceanic adventures sparkle with colorful imagery.
Deep in the novel, a Makatea ravaged by capitalism and attempting a fragile recovery is seduced by the shiny promises of foreign investors yet again--this time Americans eager to launch a "seasteading" venture. Against the island's luminous blue backdrop, Playground's leading actors reunite, their destinies yielding to the one true story left to be told. --Shahina Piyarali