Playground

With the dedication of this book to Richard Powers' mother for handing him a book about the ocean, one of themes is already set: where do our childhoods lead us? For Todd, his father's obsession with games and competition leads him to develop a social media platform with gamified elements. For his estranged former friend/rival Rafi, his father's drive to beat the white man at his own game leads Rafi to self-destructive perfectionism as a scholar. For Ina, growing up as the child of a military officer causes her to try and reconnect with her Polynesian home and to cope with its pollution. Meanwhile, Eveline being the daughter of the inventor of the aqualung makes her dedicate her life to marine biology. Now all their lives are about to change forever as an oceansteading project approaches the small Pacific island of Makatea. Powers weaves the lives, internal conflicts, and passions of his protagonists into a web while the novel asks important questions not only about nature and technology but about what we sacrifice for our talents and obsessions.