“You know. The mouse, Dad. The mouse.” - from ‘Bewilderment’ by Richard Powers.

My thanks to Random House U.K./Cornerstone William Heinemann for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Bewilderment’ by Richard Powers in exchange for an honest review.

Powers’ Pulitzer Prize winning ‘The Overstory’ was one of my favourite reads of 2018 and so I was very keen to read ‘Bewilderment’. While ‘The Overstory’ was an epic, the focus of ‘Bewilderment’ is primarily upon the relationship between a widowed father and his troubled son; though themes linked to ecology and the Anthropocene are also found within its narrative. It is set in a slightly alternative USA, as indicated by chilling events playing out in the background.

Theo Byrne is a promising young astrobiologist engaged in the search for conditions suitable for life on other planets light years away. His nine-year-old son, Robin is an imaginative child, who feels deeply about nature and animals. He is also artistically gifted, quite capable of spending hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered species.

Yet Robin is also behaving erratically at school and is being threatened with expulsion from the third grade following a violent incident with a classmate. Robin is grieving the loss of his mother, Alyssa, killed in a car accident two years previously. Theo, too, is struggling to come to terms with her sudden death.

Theo encourages Robin’s art and his interest in the global campaign to address climate change. Theo also utilises his experience of mapping theoretical worlds to create scenarios of new planets for Robin to explore. This helps some though Theo is being pressured to put Robin on psychoactive drugs or risk social services stepping in.

Then Robin is referred to a radical experimental program that uses mind mapping for behaviour modification. Will this be successful and what are its ramifications?

‘Bewilderment’ is a work of literary science fiction that aptly demonstrates to those that continue to disparage the genre that it is capable of exploring serious, wide-ranging themes. Theo’s lifelong interest in other worlds, both in actuality and in his reading of science fiction, is highlighted, including mentions of ‘Flowers for Algernon’, a novel that has a poignant resonance with aspects of the story.

Overall, I found this an intelligent, thought provoking novel that explores the relationship between a father and son and encompasses themes of loss and bereavement as well as the possibilities inherent in human consciousness. It also made me weep. That’s a rare combination.

As I know that this is a novel that I shall want to return to and think upon, I had preordered its hardback edition.

I was pleased to see ‘Bewilderment’ shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction.

Very highly recommended.

A powerful, captivating and immersive story of an astrobiologist father and his son, who the school system want to medicate for Asperger's, OCD and ADHD against his father's wishes, whilst they are both trying to cope with the loss of the child's mother, a prominent animal rights activist who died in a car accident.

Robin becomes fixated on the causes his mother stood for, feels deeply about the state of the planet, and wants to make a difference. The school is dismissive and unsupportive of his efforts, seeming to want to find problems instead of celebrating his achievements, leading his father to resort to homeschooling him.

Uplifting and enlightening, heartwarming and heartbreaking. A poignant mixture of big topics including space exploration, nature, medicine, religion and politics, which remains intimate and impactful.

I was drawn to this book at first by its beautiful cover. Then I read the blurb and I had to read the book.

This is the first book that I have read by Richard Powers.

It is about a boy and his dad. The dad is an astrobiologist and he tries to discover new planets. His 9-year-old son Robin is on ASD and he is also trying to deal with the loss of his mum.

I really enjoyed reading about Robin and how he wanted to save all the worlds living creatures and how he couldn't understand how humans can be so cruel. I wish more people on this Earth were more like Robin and consider the Earth as a magnificent enigma.

I found some of the writing hard to understand and it was like I was reading in a daydream and not taking it all in. But then other parts really stood out to me and were written beautifully.

I don't really know how to rate this book. I loved what it was about and the overall premise, but I don't think it is that rememberable or a book that I would re-read.
I am giving it a 3.5 stars for now.

How much would you do for your child?

Bewilderment is a very emotional story of a single father, Theo and his nine-year-old son, Robin. Theo's wife died in an accident a few years back, but she is very present throughout the narrative - both the father and the son reference her very often, coping with their loss and grief. We see their life and relationship over the span of about 1,5/2 years, following the father's parenting struggles and the son't attempts to understand and awaken the desensitized world. Robbie also struggles with some mental health and behavioral issues and the way Theo chooses to addresses them is what drives the narrative.

This story is told in a very intimate, immersive way with a first person narrative. We witness the events through the father's eyes and we learn his worries and doubts as the story progresses. This novel focuses very much on parenting and the father-child relationship, which I usually don't gravitate towards, but this book kept me invested and attached (and annoyed a lot of the time). I did not really like neither of the characters, especially Robbie, which is a testament to how well Richard Powers wrote his child character - he was difficult to reason with, stubborn and overly sensitive. But I could still understand and empathize with their concerns and troubles on a human level, they felt very realistic and relatable. I especially appreciated the science and nature discussions interspersed throughout the novel, which made the story more original and rich. Finally, one of the overarching themes of this book was our relationship with nature and the respect, awe and veneration it deserves. That was my favourite part.

Bewilderment is a powerful new novel that asks an essential question: What are we doing to our children? They are our hope for the future, yet we seem to be leaving it up to them to figure out how we all survive. Promising 45-year-old astrobiologist and widower Theo Byrne spends his days building simulated worlds to help determine whether exoplanets beyond our solar system can support life. He's a single parent to 9-year-old Robin and they live together in Madison, Wisconsin. They are both still grieving intensely for Robin’s mother, Alyssa, a compassionate animal rights activist who died in a car accident two years ago, when much misunderstood Robin was only 7, after swerving to avoid hitting an opossum. Unfortunately, Theo’s young son has become prone to tantrums and violent outbursts which have resulted in him being expelled from school after he hit a classmate with a metal flask. It's at this point the situation has become so troubling that Theo puts his work on the backburner and seeks treatment for his temperamental and sensitive son. Under the care of several doctors, Robin is diagnosed with Asperger's, OCD and ADHD, but Theo refuses the psychoactive medication that they recommend. Instead, he decides to try a radical new approach and an unusual form of neurological therapy.

Contacting a university colleague and old friend of Aly's who has been experimenting with decoded neurofeedback, Theo decides to utilise a scan taken of Aly's brain during an experiment years earlier to bolster Robin's emotional control and try to bring about some mood stability. This behaviour modification matches brain-pattern activity to a model brain print from another individual. Amazingly, and much to Theo's relief, it appears to improve and transform Robin yet exaggerates his love of biodiversity as he finds fresh insights and an intense fascination with the natural world. He is happier and more inquisitive than ever before and his long-held motivation for partaking in protests fighting for environmental change and seeking to protect endangered species has grown exponentially even as he acknowledges the ecological catastrophe we are currently heading towards. Will this positive progress persist? This is a captivating, profoundly affecting and beautifully written novel which I am ecstatic has made it onto the Booker Prize Shortlist. Moving and fascinating, terrifying and compelling, Bewilderment is a fabulous parable about the state of the world and the mess we are bequeathing future generations and has at its heart a wonderfully touching and devastating father/son relationship.

Powers’ ability to craft a novel both sprawling and intimate never ceases to amaze me, and I feel this will resonate with a lot of readers in an emotionally impactful fashion. It is a dazzling, shattering tour de force encompassing such a wide variety of timely and intriguing topics including mythology, Mother Nature, space exploration, medicine, metaphysics, religion and interpersonal family dynamics, and I honestly didn't expect it to be as visceral as it was. The small cast allows you to truly get to know Theo and Robin and become thoroughly immersed in their world from beginning to denouement. Bittersweet, with remarkable attention to detail, soaring descriptions of the natural world and rumination on what other life forms could be out there in our vast universe, you become invested in this story almost instantaneously. It's primarily a dark, tragic family tale, but there are moments of wonder and immense joy that catch you off guard. I also adored the rich social commentary woven throughout the first-person narrative. With unforgettable imagery, the novel plunges deep into the inner life of father and son. Powers explores the puzzles that move every family in this harrowing piece and poses the question: What happens when the world ends faster than our future begins?

Gorgeous book. Told from the father's perspective.
Sadly, Robins mum had passed away some years earlier. He is now raised by his father.
Robin has a level of special needs and a temper. With education trying to have him medicated and his father against the idea. It takes an incident at a family gathering to trigger his dad into looking into ways of helping Robin.

A lovely story of how love can overcome fear.

A caveat to start: I adored The Overstory - it was one of those books that was magical, where the novel of ideas melded with the novel of character...

This story of Robin, the possibly autistic possibly ADHD son of an astrobiologist and a (recently deceased) environmental political lobbyist was wonderful but paled by the comparison. The ideas were sublime and Powers' writing about nature was gorgeous, but the characterisation felt rather flat...

Facing a challenging time at school, and struggling to come to terms with his mother's death, Robin is on the cusp of some sort of enforced medication which his father rejects, preferring camping trips and stories of life on other planets, until he signs him up for an experimental training programme trying to synthesise emotional response recorded from other patients, including Robin's parents, especially his mum Alyssa. There were some genuinely haunting moments as Robin learned things that seemed to come from his dead mother, and some gorgeous moments of nature writing - and humour - as Robin discovers kinship with the world around him. But the characters themselves felt - especially in the first half of the novel - like little more than ciphers for Powers' ideas.

Overall, a thoughtful read and an important novel but not as strong as The Overstory. In truth, I would like to give this 4.5 stars... but I cannot do that here!

Will it win the Booker? It - and many others - seem to tap into the current state of anxiety and grief....

This book is not for me.
If you are into sci-fi literature, science, astronomy, anthropogenic climate change, nature, parenting, autism "epidemic", etc., - go for it!
Even leaving the themes to a side, it is beyond me why this book gets so many favourable reviews.

It is ok.

Character development is flat, approach to themes is juvenile, plot is average, phrasing is pedestrian...best thing about it is the relatively modest page count (288).

The fact that it is within the same Booker shortlist as Anuk Arudpragasam's "A Passage North" just goes to show how subjective the appreciation of books can be.
Needless to say I was glad when I reached its end and this is as much energy, time and effort that I can dedicate to the reviewing of it.

Many thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an extraordinary and powerful novel, wrapping themes from the astronomical mapping of the universe and the inner life of a disturbed nine-year old boy into a coherent statement about the world. Theo Byrne is an astrobiologist, hypothesising from chemical clues as to the possibility of life on other planets, but he is also the father of Robin, a nine-year old boy, challenging and difficult in equal measure, and a boy who some would want to place on an aspergic spectrum and treat with psychoactive drugs. Both of them have been traumatised by the sudden death of Aly, the missing piece of the family – the wife and mother.

Theo and Robin start to deal with their problems physically by revisiting places in America and imaginatively by visiting other possible worlds in their minds. It’s difficult for both of them. A change is brought about through some research which Aly was engaged in linked to what is called Decoded Neurofeedback or Def-Nec for short. This is proposed as an advanced form of biological feedback achieving a changed state of mind by mirroring other minds. It turns out that Robin can link with the contributions made by Aly before her death so that he begins to flourish and learn to be himself, largely by beginning to see the world as his mother did. It’s an extraordinary ride.

This is where the book becomes something of an hommage to the story ‘Flowers For Algernon’ by Daniel Keyes and the parallel mental development achieved by Charlie Gordon, although in that story it is through surgery. And, of course, it does not turn out well!

As the story rolls on, the world is struggling with politics, viruses, right-wing hate and violence and, ultimately, it is the medical and research conservatives who limit Theo’s funding and stop Robin’s treatment. It’s a disaster, he regresses and although the end is tragic there is one slight spark of hope.

It’s a stunning book. It is so well researched that it convinces and the portrayal of Robin will be utterly convincing to any parent who has brought up a troubled son. The wider stage of the world in decline, scientific funding being cut and uninformed opinion threatening medicine is all there as a backdrop. I hope it wins a Booker Prize but, more than that, it deserves to be read.

Theo is a widowed astrobiologist who is struggling with the challenges of raising his young son Robin, who is not coping well with the loss of his mother, a renowned animal activist. Robin acts out at school and gets violent occasionally, leading the school to demand that he be put on medication, which Theo opposes.

While his wife was still alive, she and Theo participated in an experimental process for imprinting emotional states, run by a psychologist friend. Theo consults this friend about Robin’s issues, and he suggests getting Robin into the program. This seems to work but, as Robin becomes more immersed, and the treatment more intense, problems begin to emerge.

Through the character of Robin, Powers mounts the kind of cogent appeal for animal welfare as he did for trees in The Overstory. Theo (as in theorist?) models life that does not exist, while his son rails against him for not caring enough about the life that is vanishing before his eye.

I enjoyed this novel, but I have to confess that the parts where Theo and Robin theorised about planets left me behind; I could not understand what was going on in those scenes.

Richard Powers’ new, Booker-shortlisted novel is an exploration of uncertainty, both in relation to parenting and the future of the planet. It’s shorter than his previous shortlisted title The Overstory, and feels smaller in scope. It focuses primarily on the worries of a single father caring for his sensitive, anxious son. It also continues themes Powers explored in his previous book.

Bewilderment is an apt title for this novel, as we feel both Theo and Robin’s uncertainty about different things. Theo worries that he’s making mistakes raising his child after the death of his wife. Robin worries about the future of the planet in the midst of an increasingly worsening climate crisis. Both of them are grieving for their wife and mother, an environmental activist who dies prior to the opening of the novel.

Robin’s anxiety and anger over the state of the planet prompt Theo to offer a means of escape to other planets. This science fiction element adds another interesting layer to the novel. We accompany Theo and Robin on their journey to seek out life elsewhere. This aspect also fits in with Theo’s work as an astrobiologist interested in the prospect of life on other planets.

The sci-fi element is continued in the fact that this novel is set in the near distant future, where the climate emergency has worsened, and the United States has an unnamed authoritarian president who questions election results. It’s easy to infer that the dark tone of this novel was inspired by recent historical events. It feels quite pre-apocalyptic.

It’s a rather sad novel. It’s inspired by, and in some ways is a retelling of, another famous science fiction novel, but to say which one would spoil the plot. As Theo struggles to find a way to help his emotionally unstable son. Robin lashes out violently at school and is frustratedly fixated on the climate crisis. Rather than medicate his son, worrying about the damage to his developing brain, Theo tries an experimental procedure. Robin trains his brain on a new neural software that maps emotions. While the treatment is a blessing, Theo’s anxiety about whether he’s doing the right thing for his son is constant through the novel.

One thing I questioned in the novel is the fact that the idea of using money for space exploration to save the climate is never explored. I know that this is something that I wonder about, as someone worried about the climate myself. This is never addressed in the novel. Perhaps in the future that Powers envisions, any such shift in thought process would be too late to be of any help. It’s not stated how far into the future the story takes place, but the crises grow worse throughout the book, to the point where, at the end, it feels too late to do anything. It is quite a bleak story. It also feels like escaping to other planets is as much as the characters can do.

Another thing I wondered about was Theo’s reluctance to accept any kind of diagnosis for his son. I think this is explained in the story by the fact that the doctors don’t agree on how to diagnose Robin. Theo’s worry and reluctance felt all too real, though some may find it difficult to accept.

Robin is a delightful, singular child. He feels older than his years, and older than he should. Theo seems not to see him as human at times, and he does feel like he comes from another world in both his knowingness and innocence. I think the fact that his speech is written in italics highlights his uniqueness well. Powers writes the relationship between father and son beautifully, and it is the heart of this novel. You really feel for Robin’s helplessness to help the planet and Theo’s uncertainty how to help his child.

This is a very moving book. The way it intertwines world crises with the story of the bewildered father and son is masterful. This didn’t have the impact for me that The Overstory did, but it does accompany that novel in a way, offering a bleaker outlook, and perhaps a preview of our future on this planet.

At first I found this book hard to get into, but tried again following the nomination. It is such beautiful writing, and so imaginative with regards to the astronomy and new worlds. It is such a sad book, Theo's life is so difficult with the loss of his wife and the difficulties of coping with Robin's behaviour, but also such a loving relationship between father and son. The external situation with the climate crisis, endangered creatures, and anti-science politics makes the situation even more fraught. It is not clear whether the treatment that Robin receives makes him more susceptible as he has experienced his mother's brain. A very original work.

Bewilderment was recently shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, and I can understand why it’s a contender. It is a novel that works on a planetary scale, trying to condense vast galaxies of thought and feeling into a mere few hundred pages. Powers is an extremely creative author – the stories of other planets Theo invents for Robin are small works of art in themselves – and a person who feels something very deeply, as conveyed here in pretty much every line of text. Though for me it lacks the wild, specific magic of The Overstory, it is a book that is perhaps technically better written, and which wrestles with a by now familiar subject from a lesser seen angle, conspicuously failing to find answers or even much hope. Bleak, beautiful and somehow a desperate cry for help, this is the bewilderment so many of us are feeling poured out on to the page.

[full review available on my blog]

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

After the sweeping magnitude of The Overstory comes Powers’ new novel Bewilderment. A book that focuses again on environmental justice but takes an intimate view via a father and son.

Theo Byrne, an astrophysicist is plagued by the Fermi paradox - the contradiction between the lack of evidence of life on other planets despite its high probability. Unlike Bezos, Branson and Musk whose space exploration focuses on alternatives to planet earth, Powers uses Theo’s enquiries and simulations to act as a device to explore alternative ways of living on our own planet, and the necessary transformations of consciousness in the way that the best science fiction does.

Theo’s scenarios and stories of other planets serve to soothe his 9 year old son, Robin. Robin is a troubled child with a possible diagnosis of Aspergers or OCD or ADHD. Both father and son are dealing with the grief of losing Alyssa, wife, mother and prominent animal rights activist. Robin’s diagnosis, grief and eco anxiety all combine to make his days at school very difficult. He urges his father to allow him to be homeschooled. “There’s no point in school. Everything will be dead before I get to tenth grade.”

Rather than medicate his child, Theo enrolls him on an experimental neurotherapy programme which increases his curiosity, creativity and empathy.

Robin is inspired by his deceased mother and a 14 year old activist, Inga Alder who is Greta Thunberg in all but name. Inga Alder and the right wing president who is clearly Trump are where the book failed for me. It bounced me out of the narrative and into a reality which is quickly moving into the past, aging the book unnecessarily.

But that is a tiny criticism for a book that explores eco anxiety in children, that embraces the wonder of nature, a book that took my heart and broke it, that is beautifully and satisfyingly written.

More than anything this is a book about empathy and love in a dying world.

Thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for my eARC.

This is a wonderful book! It is beautifully written and made me look at the world in a completely different way. What it lacks in pace and action, it gains, in bucketloads, in tackling the ‘big’ ideas - human impact on the world, the existence of life on other planets, and probably the biggest one of all… the relationship between parent and child.

I absolutely adored the character of Robin, whom I recognised from so many of the children that I have taught. I found him to be complex, intriguing and totally believable, and he is presented to us with so much sensitivity and love, that I was rooting for him all the way through. After the first twenty pages or so, I really wanted to give Robin a hug, and the author kept this interest going all the way through the book. I also really felt for Theo, who represented so many of the dilemmas and struggles faced by every parent. Both characters were hugely likeable and yet hugely realistic. A masterclass in characterisation!

My only reservation in giving this book full marks would be that I have issues with the novel’s ending being somewhat rushed - there was a rather ‘blink and you miss it’ climax here, that I really wanted to be explored in greater detail. I rarely wish for novels to be longer, but in this instance, another 50 pages or so would have been welcomed.

There is a very strong ecological message in this book, and it is bang up-to-date in terms of the arguments and issues that are posed here. Fans of Greta Thunberg will love it! I was also introduced to a lot of ideas relating to the neuroscience and astrobiolology (a new one to me!) - I’ll be honest in admitting that I’m not sure how much of this is real, and how much is sci-fi though!

This is a gorgeous read, and perfect for nature-lovers, parents and anyone who finds joy in the unexplored.

Thank you to Richard Powers, NetGalley and Random House UK for this free ARC of ‘Bewilderment’ in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author.
I know this book is currently receiving a lot of buzz with its Booker Prize nomination, and I was surprised to find myself in the minority of not enjoying it. I understand and will take away the important message about our human impact on our planet, but in all honesty the rest of the book did not engage me at all. Unfortunately, I have to agree with a few other reviewers that it is sadly overhyped.

This has just as much of an environmentalist conscience as The Overstory, but a more intimate scope, focusing on a father and son who journey together in memory and imagination as well as in real life. The novel leaps between spheres: between the public eye, where neurodivergent Robin is a scientific marvel and an environmental activist, and the privacy of family life; between an ailing Earth and the other planets Theo studies; and between the humdrum of daily existence and the magic of another state where Robin can reconnect with his late mother. When I came to the end, I felt despondent and overwhelmed. But as time has passed, the book’s feral beauty has stuck with me. The pure sense of wonder Robin embodies is worth imitating. (4.5 stars)

With this novel recently being announced as a ManBooker shortlist title, I was very keen to read it - and the prompts from the publisher to share my thoughts spurred me on. Here, Richard Powers tells a multi-layered story: one that is about widower Theo and his troubled son, Robin, living in Wisconsin, in, perhaps, the near-future - certainly a dystopian world where environmental concerns are at the fore. This is an eco-novel - and it is Robin who obsesses about the natural world, and the damage that is being done to it, along with Theo, whose role as a university lecturer plays a part, too.

'Bewilderment' is beautifully written - it is essentially a human story, one concerning the relationship between Theo and Robin/Robbie. Aly, Theo's wife and Robin's mother, was killed - and many aspects of the novel draw on the grieving process the characters are going through, including her position as a protester and what led to her demise - something that is upsetting and evidently part of the ongoing struggle that Robin has in school, with bullying and the demands of conventional education. Parts of the novel verge on being sci-fi - I found the space jargon less appealing, but that's more about personal taste than anything else.

Essentially, this is a very good, original read, one that deserves its place on the ManBooker shortlist. I found the human elements most gripping - particularly at the beginning and close to the end when Theo takes Robin to the Smoky Mountains for respite and experiencing the great outdoors. It is, perhaps, less strong regarding plot but I think that's Powers' purpose. I didn't love this book - but I am pleased I read it, and grateful to the publisher for granting access to an ARC. Thank you.

This was a fantastic read. I am not one little bit surprised that it has been nominated for the Man Booker prize. It's unlike anything else I've ever read. It is non stop captivating. I really could not put it down. He put himself on the pages, his heart, his body, his mind. He made us feel exactly what he was feeling. From the dangers that our planet is facing to scientific research involving human beings and within all of that the innate need for one man to protect that person that is most dear to him, his young son, different and non conformist, who society deems a risk and wishes to control. This novel was emotional, mard hitting, honest and real. I really and truly loved it and I do not think I will ever forget it.

Bewilderment is a paradox. A book that’s as heart warming as it is heartbreaking and feels you with a sense of awe as much as dread. It’s like Mark Haddon cum Hanya Yanigihara and is one of my favourite books this year, if not ever. But it is heartbreaking.