About half way through this book, I wasn't sure I was going to finish it. Although the writing is beautiful, and I really liked the way it flowed through several characters without abrupt chapter endings/beginnings, the content was fairly didactic and made me feel as though I was listening to a college lecture from time to time. I understand why, given the deep philosophical and technical subjects dealt with, but it nonetheless became tiresome. It took me a long time to read that first half, much of it without much pleasure. If I'd given up, I would have rated the book much lower.

About 60% of the book in, it picks up dramatically and all of the previous detail becomes important. At that point, the writing remains evocative and the structure constructed upon the first half becomes compelling. The sections get longer and and take us deeper into the main characters' psyches as well as developing the philosophical underpinnings into worldviews. Powers takes us to unimaginable places with so much descriptive detail that I felt as though I'd actually experienced them. There is so much to think about in this book. In the end, Powers manages to give us a dystopian view of the future that is somehow hopeful.

I stuck with the book because of its award-winning, celebrated author, and his ability to paint vivid scenes while filling my head with ideas made the long journey worthwhile. This book ended up being worth giving it the time it took to fully immerse myself in even the most "instructional" sections. I definitely recommend it to readers who like books that make them think and don't require a fast-paced plot.

We reviewed this book for our blog post on Booker awards. We posted our reviews which can be found here: https://thereadersroom.org/2024/09/13/2024-booker-longlist-playground-by-richard-powers/

Dazzlingly written, timely, and evocative. Like much of Power's work, this book makes you want to fully emerge yourself in the natural world. Beautifully descriptive, a wonderful novel that mixes vivid descriptions of the natural world with meticulous character development. Powers is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

This is a fantastic work. I am quite a fan of Powers and have read many--but not all--of his books. This is by far my favorite. He kept me interested from start to finish and--as in The Overstay--he does an excellent job of using fiction to make some important points. I loved this book so much. I would say one of the best books of 2024.

I have read almost all of Powers' novels and I feel a sense of diminishing returns. It is probably more of a <i>me</i> thing that a Powers thing, but I have found - despite the wide variety of topics that he writes about - an annoying similarity within his books. There is a breathless quality to the characters. He tried to add some swearing to add verisimilitude to the dialogue in this book and it didn't work for me. There is also the slow weave of plot threads in all of his books that I found very intriguing at first. I am almost afraid to go back to the books I really enjoyed (Goldbug Variations, particularly) and see if they still stand up in my mind. Powers is becoming the Wes Anderson of novelists.

Very enjoyable read. I loved the characters and this book stirred up a lot of ethical dilemmas for me to ponder. Richard Powers is such a great author that provides great climate and environmental fiction.

I fell absolutely in love with this entire sweeping, beautiful ode and condemnation of the handling of the climate crisis. I can't wait to go back and read the overstory.

Incredible nature writing, I loved the multiple storylines and the ENDING made me question everything.

I struggle with Richard Powers books. I always go into them excited by the premise and the mastery of the craft. But I think his writing gets too bogged down too often. I think he tries to do too much. The Overstory was good because its core was a simple story.

A tale across time, with AI, undersea exploration, and the heart of humanity at its core. Powers explores whatskes us human, but doesn't get preachy.

What another home run from Richard Powers! I’m a huge fan of Power’s works ever since I was introduced to him by a college professor. the overstory being one of my favorite books of the year it came out. Playground is full of Powers signature style and I loved reading every second of this one

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I've had Powers' classic book The Overstory on my to-be-read list forever, but I took the chance to read this one first. I loved this story on the whole, though some of the storylines took me longer to get into or understand than others, which made it slow-going at first. A great tale for us to use to examine our modern world, and all the effects it has had on the life of the planet.

I knew I had to read this one after finally getting around to reading The Overstory last year and I enjoyed Playground even more. Powers' unique voice comes through each character in its own way, easily giving life to the words on the page. The reveal at the end was also satisfying and makes me want to read it again!

There are so many lev els to this book, at level one it is about the characters but the next level is about games and the games people play in the world they live in to survive. As always there is ecology at the center of this book as there is with all of this author book. The connnection between how the characters view the earth and the ocean life descriptions are phenomenal. Ther eis the constannt battle in our world for spaces that are natures and indigenous peoples and the humanity that seemms determined to take it over with no regard to the original inhabitants.

Completely missed the big plot twist that's harder to put together when listening to the audiobook as the printed text offers clues with its selection of font. Interesting topic and beautiful prose might be enough of a draw to reread this novel to parse out the plot twists.

overall a really fascinating and well researched novel, even if it lost me a bit. I can now understand why Powers is such a beloved and acclaimed author. in terms of characters, Rafi’s storyline was definitely my favorite - but the strongest element of the book for me was definitely all the oceanography. I loved the vivid imagery Powers creates although it ends up turning more into an AI story. This actually reminded me quite of a bit of <i> Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow </i>

Maybe if I hadn't listened to the audiobook version and stuck with the print version like I did with Overstory. Either way, I wasn't pulled in by the lush explanations and thought it would be a deep exploration of ocean life but instead it focuses on technology, environmentalism, and a [book:Ready Player One|9969571]-like experience with the disjointed stories that readers have to be patient to see how it all comes together.

There were glimmers of beautiful writing that Powers has but I didn't have the patience this time to wade through it to get to the reward. I needed more time with each of the characters and their stories before moving on to the next one and circling back to get comfortable in the story Powers was sharing. Alas, it was not my Powers book this time and I always am keenly aware of the messages shared in a book which could have skewed my perspective.

I enjoyed the first third of this book a lot, but got bogged down partway through. The writing is lovely, and maybe I'll be in the right mood for a more successful reread of this book later. I know some people who I am sure will enjoy this one, though.

PLAYGROUND by Richard Powers received a starred review from Booklist and praise from numerous other reviewers. I was anxious to read something by this acclaimed author – he has won a National Book Award (The Echo Maker) and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (The Overstory). His writing is beautiful, but often descriptive and introspective with little action. Sadly, PLAYGROUND did not hold my attention despite trying to read an online preview copy and then the print book. Perhaps I will try the audio book and feel differently. 3.5 stars

My expectations going into this book were on the low side as I wasn't a huge fan of [book:Bewilderment|56404444], but I ended up liking it very much and totally see why it was nominated for the Booker longlist.

As a young child, Todd, is totally mesmerized by a book written by an elderly oceanographer, Evelyn, which he wins when he beats his father at chess. Todd is arguably both the protagonist and antagonist of this book which slowly reveals Todd through different lenses. His love for Evelyn's book. His relationship with a young black man, Rafi, with whom he is constantly competing - - to both his benefit and detriment. His unbridled ambition and need to win. His struggles with Lewy body dementia.

It's hard to know where this book is going with these disparate storylines, but each one is engaging in its own right. From beautiful descriptions of the ocean, its creatures, and man's relationship with the sea to insights on the double edged sword that is technology and artificial intelligence, Powers writes a sweeping novel that at the end of the day is more plot driven than anticipated.

From my perspective, the entertainment value was more in the 4 star realm, but after I finished the book, I literally went right back to the beginning and started re-reading huge swathes of it. And lo and behold, there's some really great foreshadowing and big picture storytelling going on here, and I find books like this endlessly interesting to pick apart and discuss. So 5 stars it is! Kudos Mr. Powers for changing my opinion of your work. I'll definitely be revisiting more of it.

Playground will be at the top of my books of 2024. What a masterpiece. Powers has brought the ocean alive in the same way as he wrote so lovingly about trees and endangered species. The AI element was interesting and educational. To meld these topics with game theory was magic.