Bewilderment: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2021 by Richard Powers, the bestselling author of The Overstory

THE BRAND NEW NOVEL FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING, BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE OVERSTORY.

Theo Byrne is a promising young astrobiologist who has found a way to search for life on other planets dozens of light years away. He is also the widowed father of a most unusual nine-year-old. His son Robin is funny, loving, and filled with plans. He thinks and feels deeply, adores animals, and can spend hours painting elaborate pictures. He is also on the verge of being expelled from third grade, for smashing his friend's face with a metal thermos. What can a father do, when the only solution offered to his rare and troubled boy is to put him on psychoactive drugs?

What can he say when his boy comes to him wanting an explanation for a world that is clearly in love with its own destruction? The only thing for it is to take the boy to other planets, while all the while fostering his son's desperate campaign to help save this one.

Review

He composes some of the most beautiful sentences I've ever read. I'm in awe of his talent -- Oprah Winfrey

Both touching and finely written ― Daily Telegraph

Deftly crafted . . . packs an emotional punch ― Daily Mail

Heartfelt . . . with fantastical digressions to other planets and a rueful celebration of our own ― Guardian

Powers has the rare gift of being able to deal with big ideas while keeping you interested in the lives and emotions of his characters -- Sebastian Faulks

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Heinemann; 1st edition (16 Sept. 2021) Language ‏ : ‎ English Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1785152645 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1785152641 Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.3 x 2.1 x 23.4 cm