Playground

Beskrivelse

Playground is a compelling novel by Richard Powers, longlisted for the Booker Prize 2024. It follows the intertwined lives of several characters connected by a mysterious board game and an ambitious oceanic project.

A story about human connection, innovation, and the uncharted frontiers of the ocean.

Rafi and Todd, two very different students at a prestigious high school, form a bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game that shapes their futures. While Rafi immerses himself in literature, Todd’s work leads to a groundbreaking AI discovery. Meanwhile, Evie Beaulieu finds herself sinking to the bottom of a Montreal swimming pool, equipped with one of the earliest aqualungs, and Ina Aroita grows up moving between naval bases across the Pacific, with art as her constant companion.

All their paths eventually converge on Makatea, a historically rich island in French Polynesia, poised to become the site for humanity’s next bold experiment: floating, autonomous cities set to roam the open sea. As the seasteaders approach, Evie faces the ocean’s ongoing challenge, Ina wrestles with impulses toward destruction, and Todd and Rafi, now estranged, remain locked in rivalry. Todd delves into a project aimed at redefining human immortality, while Rafi and the island’s inhabitants must decide whether to approve the transformative seasteading initiative.

Set against the vast backdrop of the world’s largest ocean, Playground delves into themes of technology, environmental change, and the essence of our shared humanity, all crafted with Richard Powers’ signature insight and reverence for nature.

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