08
entertainment
BEW IL D E R M E NT by Richard Powers
WORDS Sara Putman, owner Bookish, visit bookishfs.com
I
The
the months spent testing, Robin
Overstory won the Pulitzer Prize for
continues to find solace in nature.
fiction. This multigenerational epic
He works tirelessly on drawings of
rooted in the life of trees asked very
endangered species and sells them
difficult questions: Is there a way
to raise money for a well-known
for us to find our way back from
organization. When he realizes that
the destruction we have inflicted on
only pennies of the money raised will
the planet? Even though Powers has
go to the animals, he is outraged.
In
2019,
Richard
Powers’
been quoted as saying The Overstory would be his last novel, it seems he
Bewilderment is set in the future,
was obliged to answer the question.
but there are elements of our past peppered throughout. Because of
He does just that in his newest novel, Bewilderment, whose
this timeline, Powers comments, quite explicitly, about our
narrator is astrobiologist Theo Byrne. Byrne is – as you might
current world. There is political unrest and catastrophic
assume – ridiculously intelligent and doing amazing work,
weather, and a virus that moves from cow to human. All
but his purpose is continually questioned by his nine-year-old
these murmurs in the background work to make us realize
son, Robin. Both are grieving the loss of Robin’s mother, and
the urgency of what is happening to the planet. Through
both find solace in the woods. The book opens with father
Theo’s conflict and constant worry about his son, readers
and son on a camping trip, and while they spend time looking
will find answers.
at stars and discussing the possibilities of life elsewhere, it is the life surrounding them that comforts them. Robin is
This, I believe, is the beauty of Bewilderment. We are all
named after his mother’s favorite bird, after all.
looking for an answer to problems that seem too big to fix. We are searching for something that will help us make sense
We soon realized that Robin is plagued with grief and anger.
of the world, and a way for us to connect – not only to each
He is only calm in nature and is unable to connect to other
other – but to nature. And there are so many of us who are
humans. Powers flirts with elements of science fiction when
continually teetering on the edge of grief. We are comforted
Theo signs his son up to be part of a series of tests at the
by the robins splashing in a puddle after the rain or the late-
university he works with. Robin is linked to the information
blooming roses that hate to tell us goodbye. Robin’s journey
gathered from his mother, and he learns very quickly how
is not an easy one, but it is the human journey, and Powers
to cope. This mother-son bond, even after death, proves to
has imparted something special to his readers that will help
be quite complicated, especially for Theo. Even throughout
us all find our way back.
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