The cure for life
Bewilderment, Richard Powers’ 13th novel, is the apotheosis of a storied career garlanded by every literary accolade and consistent appearances on the most coveted prize longlists (and now the Booker shortlist). Unlike Powers’ symphonic 12th novel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Overstory, which unfolds the American saga in concentric rings of interlocking fables concerning the history of its most majestic trees, Bewilderment is an intimate chamber work told in staccato arias with cosmic continuo accompaniment.
The book focuses on the
