Manchester District Library Book Club discussion

Please choose a Richard Powers novel or several to discuss in January. Please share your thoughts on what you are reading here.

I now have 4 Powers books on my night stand. I *think* they are the only ones I haven’t already read. We’ll see if I can get through all of them by January. I suspect I won’t be able to read them back-to-back; some palette cleansers in between may be required.

Bewilderment was excellent, my new favorite Powers.
Galatea 2.2 - meh.
taking a break before i tackle The Overstory.

Yes, you really do need to read Overstory & Bewilderment. I’m on p. 274 of The Echo Maker and had to stop! I thought there was an editing issue with a word because I didn’t know it existed. A word that fit so well into Powers’ story that I was surprised that it was not him but Timothy Leary who had coined the word. It’s been around for a generation!
I wondered if wetware is another genre and perhaps Tessa had made a comment about a popular genre for writers & readers but I didn’t hear her. So was wetware the description you used or knew about, Tessa? Since you just finished Bewilderment and you read The Echo Maker previously, do you think we need to add a Wetware shelf?
You are right about the time you need to appreciate all the things Powers throws out there. I didn’t want to feel I had to rush through the Echo Maker so completed my reading challenge for this year with a short but beautiful read of a timely classic I had never read as a child or adult.

Sorry to rain on the Powers Positivity Parade but here is my review of Bewilderment:
In general, I was confused by this book. Perhaps I was set up since the sticker on it said "Mystery" and I never could figure out why it would be considered a mystery. I enjoyed the relationship between Theo and Robin and once I realized the chapters about planets were bedtime stories and not real science in the fictional story it made a little more sense. I appreciate the message about being kind to other sentient beings and appreciating all the glories of nature. I am a fan of congnitive behavior therapy and avoiding medications in children but I also know the value of a correct diagnosis for a child with emotional issues and how medical intervention is often necessary to prevent terrible outcomes later. I was frustrated Theo did not do more to help Robin once he could no longer stay in training. It didn't have to be medication, there are a lot of good counselors, therapists and other strategies that could have been employed. I am not sure how I feel about Power's writing style and I know I am not eager to grab another one of his books right away.

I’m on the train heading back to Michigan & I have tried to send a good response to your review of Bewilderment and lost it twice! I finished Powers’ “The Echo Maker” and want to give it a thoughtful review. Much of it applies to Bewilderment too but I will have to wait until I get home to a real computer & not an iPad! Meanwhile here is my review of Bewilderment.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...