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W. W. Norton & Company

Playground: A Novel

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Description

New York Times Bestseller Finalist for the 2024 Kirkus Prize Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize As Seen on CBS Saturday Morning • A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • One of the Ten Best Books of 2024, according to the Washington Post and AARP • A Time Must-Read Book of 2024 • One of NPR's "Books We Love" for 2024 • An Economist, The New Yorker, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2024 • Selected as Fall 2024 "Fiction to Read" by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, People, and Parade A magisterial new novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory and Bewilderment.Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel from Richard Powers, showcasing the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Overstory at the height of his skills. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up on naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped to feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity in a way only Richard Powers can. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company


Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 24, 2024


Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1324086033


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 31


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.48 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.1 x 9.4 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #16,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #11 in Political Fiction (Books) #67 in Friendship Fiction (Books) #379 in Literary Fiction (Books)


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Very powerful novel
Format: Hardcover
Very powerful, well-written story. Could be hard to read for some because of a tragedy that happens early in the book. An incredible look inside a prison.
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2026 by Karen
    • An Excellent Story and Cautionary Tale
Format: Kindle
"Playground" is a very interesting story. And it's a story that's compelling throughout, though the book is not of the caliber of Powers' masterpiece, "The Overstory." Most people will find the book very powerful, and I almost did. I liked the story and found the book quite readable. The book spoke to many things I care about. But there were a few aspects that I found just a little too off-putting. The Todd character is the primary one. He *is* a spoiled brat but at no point in the story did I find that brattiness charming or agreeable, which the author tried very hard to make happen. I just couldn't see how Ina and Rafi regarded him as such a great friend. I'm also always skeptical of stories where incredible computer software and capabilities just quickly materialize out of whole cloth masterminded by a single person the way they do in this book. It just doesn't work that way. I also didn't buy the allure of Keane's software playground. The whole thing seemed kind of boring to me; I don't think it would be the online mecca portrayed in the book. There are parts of the story that *are* beautiful. Evie's story is chief among them. You marvel at her fearlessness and are saddened by the lack of connection she has with her family. The island of Makatea and the people living there is another. Their stories are poignant and very compelling. Rafi, Ina, and their family is a third. You ache for their happiness. Finally, there is the beauty of the ocean which Powers describes so wonderfully. The story moves along very quickly. (Though I didn't like that Todd's story was printed all in italics.). "Playground" is definitely worth a read especially if you care about Earth's oceans. Recommended. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2025 by Kem White
    • A Novel About Science And Beauty
Format: Kindle
It starts with a friendship. Rafi is a young black boy, scarred by a family tragedy and growing up in poverty. Todd is a white rich kid with parents who ignore him. They meet at an exclusive academy, Todd through wealth and Rafi on a scholarship Todd's father created. The two boys find common ground in their love of games and the fact that they are the two brightest students at the academy. Soon they are best friends and tell each other the things they shared with no one else. Their friendship continues into college where a third person is added to their friendship. Ina grew up in the Polynesian islands, moving from naval base to naval base with her family. Both young men fall in love with her but she chooses Rafi. The friendship starts to diverge. Ina is an artist who makes huge sculptures. Rafi falls into literature trying to figure out the truths of the world. Todd takes another way, becoming engrossed in the rising computer industry and the birth of the Internet. After a huge fight in their senior year, the three fall apart. Meanwhile, Evie who is older than the three by a generation, lives for diving and exploring the sea. She was one of the earliest people to dive as her father created one of the first underwater breathing apparatuses. When grown, Evie marries and has children but the ocean is always her first love and fascination. She spends most of her time away from her family on diving trips to research the ocean, leaving the family responsibilities to her husband. Makatea is a small island in French Polynesia. Rai, Ina and Evie all end up there. The island had been gutted by phosphate farming years ago and is only now recovering. Now another American organization wants to develop Makatea and create self-contained floating cities that would be launched into the ocean. The island inhabitants will decide if this will happen. When Rafi discovers that Todd, who is now an Internet billionaire, is behind the plan, he leads the opposition. What will happen? Richard Powers is an American treasure. His interests lie in environmentalism and in technology. He uses this novel to bring the two together and question if technology could be the mechanism that can solve some of the environmental problems the world is facing. He has won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for fiction and been longlisted four times for the Booker Prize. In this book, the reader learns about the wonder of the oceans and the creatures who inhabit it while also learning about the history of the small islands in Polynesia. The main characters are both hard to warm up to although Ina is a delight as is the Queen of the island who keeps the traditional songs and stories of the island alive. This book is recommended for literary fiction readers as well as those worried about the environment and those who love the oceans. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2026 by Sandra Iler Kirkland

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