Novels Set in the Future Codexery

Bewilderment

A near-future novel about a father and son amid environmental degradation.

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Richard Powers' 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction win for The Overstory preceded his thirteenth novel, Bewilderment, which was released in 2021.[1] The main characters are Theo Byrne, an astrobiologist whose wife has died, and his son Robin, a nine-year-old with diagnoses of Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.[2]

Making and release

In an interview for the Booker Prize, Powers stated, "It is, in part, a novel about the anxiety of family life on a damaged planet."[3] Powers named the character of Robin after Robin Wall Kimmerer.[4] W. W. Norton & Company released Bewilderment on September 21, 2021.[1] The 2021 Booker Prize shortlist included Bewilderment.[5]

What the cited sources add

The Guardian review called Bewilderment a "tender sci-fi novel-cum-family romance."[6] Messud wrote that "the connection between father and son has greater density and texture" than other relationships.[7] The Kirkus Reviews starred review called it a "touching novel that offers a vital message with uncommon sympathy and intelligence."[8] Publishers Weekly compared the novel to Flowers for Algernon.[9]

Dwight Garner of The New York Times characterized it as a book about "ecological salvation" with a "nubbly sentimentality."[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Bewilderment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bewilderment: A Novel by Richard Powers (Author)", W. W. Norton & Company; Smith, "Writing the Pulitzer-Winning 'The Overstory' Changed Richard Powers's Life", The Atlantic, April 16, 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Bewilderment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lang, "Richard Powers' 'Bewilderment' Film Rights Sold to Black Bear Pictures, Plan B (EXCLUSIVE)", Variety, January 11, 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. "Richard Powers: An interview The Booker Prizes", thebookerprizes.com. facts only, no text reused. thebookerprizes.com
  4. Wikipedia, "Bewilderment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heller, "'Braiding Sweetgrass' has gone from surprise hit to juggernaut bestseller", The Washington Post, 2022-10-12 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Bewilderment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Flood, "Nadifa Mohamed is sole British writer to make Booker prize shortlist", The Guardian, September 14, 2021; "National Book Awards 2021", National Book Foundation; "2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist", Aspen Words; Schaub, "Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist Revealed", Kirkus Reviews, 2021-11-10; Schaub, "Oprah Picks 'Bewilderment' for Book Club", Kirkus Reviews, September 28, 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Doyle, "Bewilderment by Richard Powers review – stars in their eyes", The Guardian, September 13, 2021. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  7. Messud, "New Books", September 2021. facts only, no text reused. harpers.org
  8. "Bewilderment by Richard Powers", Kirkus Reviews, June 29, 2021. facts only, no text reused. kirkusreviews.com
  9. Wikipedia, "Bewilderment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Fiction Book Review: Bewilderment by Richard Powers", Publishers Weekly, July 7, 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Bewilderment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bewilderment by Richard Powers", Kirkus Reviews, June 29, 2021; Garner, "In 'Bewilderment,' Richard Powers Smothers Nature With Piety", The New York Times, September 15, 2021; Doyle, "Bewilderment by Richard Powers review – stars in their eyes", The Guardian, September 13, 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Bewilderment (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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