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The Echo Maker

3.33 of 5 stars 3.33 · rating details · 4,391 ratings · 845 reviews

On a winter night on a remote Nebraska road, 27-year-old Mark Schluter flips his truck in a near-fatal accident. His older sister Karin, his only near kin, returns reluctantly to their hometown to nurse Mark back from a traumatic head injury. But when he emerges from a protracted coma, Mark believes that this woman–who looks, acts, and sounds just like his sister–is really...more

Hardcover, 464 pages

Published October 17th 2006 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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Oct 04, 2007 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: bird brains

Flowers for Algernon for the new millennium!!!!!

Okay, not really, no. Well, maybe a little...?

The best parts of this book were those written from the perspective of a character with severe traumatic brain injury. The rest of it was good too, but the characters were never quite convincing enough for me to suspend my disbelief and actually care what happened to them. Of course, I was helplessly distracted the entire time by the Man Behind the Curtain. Does Richard Powers do all his own research? W...more Flowers for Algernon for the new millennium!!!!!

Okay, not really, no. Well, maybe a little...?

The best parts of this book were those written from the perspective of a character with severe traumatic brain injury. The rest of it was good too, but the characters were never quite convincing enough for me to suspend my disbelief and actually care what happened to them. Of course, I was helplessly distracted the entire time by the Man Behind the Curtain. Does Richard Powers do all his own research? Where does Richard Powers live? Does he live in New York? Did Richard Powers haunt the neuroscience journal stacks of Columbia for two years while putting together this book? Because that is kind of what I was picturing. Also, for those who do not already know this, Richard Powers DOES NOT TYPE his novels. He hasn't in years. No, Richard Powers DICTATES his novels, using VOICE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE!!!

How can I POSSIBLY focus on what's going on in the novel, when I'm grappling with an image of THAT the whole time???

None of this is meant to imply that The Echo Maker is not engaging and absorbing fiction, because it definitely is. It is just not quite as engaging and absorbing as the idea of Richard Powers.

But let's face it, that's some stiff competition.

Does Richard Powers *really* know everything? Is Richard Powers a happy man? Is Richard Powers Richard Powers's real name? Does Richard Powers have children? Does Richard Powers have a dog? Does he love his dog? Does he love it more than he loves the children? Does Richard Powers really have the capacity to love, or is this somehow unusually difficult for him? Does Richard Powers feel smarter than everyone else? Does he feel smarter than his characters? If he really does know everything, it must be strange to write about people who do not. Can he empathize with them? Does he pity them? Or is he.... strangely, powerfully (!) jealous?

Is it a great burden knowing everything? When Richard Powers was in elementary school, did some other kids call him a know-it-all? When he was younger, did Richard Powers smoke cigarettes? Has Richard Powers ever taken drugs? What are Richard Powers's friends like? Are they also famous writers? Is Richard Powers pleased when he is referred to as being a "writer's writer," or do you suppose he sometimes wisfully dreams of being more of a "reader's writer"....?

Reading The Echo Maker will not definitively answer any of these questions. But if you read carefully, I'm sure you will notice some pretty big clues.(less)

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Jun 17, 2011 Jimmy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

"The issue of subjectivity is a hotly debated topic in the fields of philosophy and the cognitive sciences. But is subjectivity necessary at all? Why is it not just enough to see and react, as a robot might do? What advantage is conferred on the organism by actually experiencing something over just doing it? It is important to consider that animals may not have subjectivity but only react as if they do. Some in this field point out that because we cannot determine that animals do have subjective...more

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Aug 27, 2007 Phyllis rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one really

Mr. Powers, I have no doubt in your ability to write the sappiest story ever. Not only do you manage to force a sister-brother bond over whooping cranes and frost, you also manage to force a shameful-but-safe romance between said sister and said brother's successful counterpart. I hate you. Thanks to you I will never like a crane, I will never sympathize with head trauma victims, and I will never finish your dumb book. You may have fooled Oprah, but I've got your number!

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Apr 11, 2008 David rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've always had mixed feelings about Richard Powers. On the one hand, he is at work creating a new kind of American literary voice -- one fluent in the vocabulary of technology that anyone with a computer and a gadget fetish begins to incorporate into his or her discourse. It's a burning, living, thoroughly modern idiom that most writers -- pale and sheltered one sees them -- have ignored, maybe even with some disdain. But on the other hand, Powers has always been a writer uncomfortable with emo...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Will Byrnes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Here we are again in the world of literature. Powers is a powerful writer. The length of the book (451 pps) does not really tell the length of this work. It is not a fast read. There is much content woven into the pages, a tapestry of imagery and meaning that enhances the action of the story.

Kearny, Nebraska is a way station on the central flyway, a place where thousands of cranes congregate every year on their way north and south, providing an industry for the town. The descriptions of the migr...more Here we are again in the world of literature. Powers is a powerful writer. The length of the book (451 pps) does not really tell the length of this work. It is not a fast read. There is much content woven into the pages, a tapestry of imagery and meaning that enhances the action of the story.

Kearny, Nebraska is a way station on the central flyway, a place where thousands of cranes congregate every year on their way north and south, providing an industry for the town. The descriptions of the migration are quite wonderful. Mark Schluter is a twenty-something who crashes his truck and barely survives, suffering extreme head trauma. Karin Schluter, his sister, leaves her job to try to help with his recovery. Mark cannot accept her as his sister, believing that she is a copy. Karin seeks help from the famous neurologist, Gerald Weber, who comes to Kearny for a look see. Gerald struggles to figure out just what is going in with Mark’s brain. The case is very, very unusual.

There is a wonderful aide, Barbara, at the nursing home where Mark recuperates. She seems exceptionally tuned in and eager to help. She has a talent everyone can see but a past that she keeps to herself. Daniel is the local head of an environmental protection group, and was Mark’s best friend until they parted ways as teens. He also had a thing for Karin, and now Karin seeks his help for Mark.

Powers is after existential prey here. What is the nature of consciousness? What is reality? Does it have external constancy or is all reality just what our brains make of available input? Is the sequence always cause then effect? It is an invigorating ride. Is it connection to others that gives us anchors to life, keeps the drifting balloons that are our conscious brains from floating entirely away?

Along the way he offers us a few mysteries. Who is Barbara really? Why did Mark run off the road? Will the crane stopping point be saved? What will happen with Karin and Daniel? Will Mark ever return to his old self?

Payload is of crane behavior, river ecology, the climate of the area, water issues. A separate payload track is neuroscience. There is much in here that will not be found in the local paper about obscure brain malfunctions and their implications. This was an interesting and engaging read.
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Sep 14, 2007 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, psychology

SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT: I'm not giving away the ending here, but the following does give away some of the plot developments.

This won the National Book Award last year, and is by an author who has received one of the MacArthur "genius awards." Did it deserve it?

In the end, I can't endorse the choice, even though there is much to commend in this book. The basic story: a Nebraska factory worker flips his truck on a cold winter night, and when he wakes up, he believes that his sister has been swapped...more

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Apr 03, 2008 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am always intrigued by the names that authors give to their books – while they seldom explain; they usually evoke a mood or an image or, more directly, a theme. I am still grappling with the “The Echo Maker,” as I am with several of the images in this book.

It begins with the arrival of the cranes landing in great numbers on the Platte in Nebraska. They seem to be the only witnesses to a devastating car crash and the image of birds as witnesses comes up again and again in this intriguing novel...more

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Jan 23, 2008 Tempest rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Tempest by: The National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize Awards

The Echo Maker is akin to an Oscar-winning film. Dramatic, touching, well-executed, and conventionally conservative.

The story is backdropped against a small town that hosts a spectacular bird migration once a year. The hero is involved in a near-fatal car crash, from which he emerges from with Capgras syndrome; a disease which prevents him from recognizing his sister or his dog, instead believing them to be impostors impersonating the genuine articles. The novel follows them through his worseni...more The Echo Maker is akin to an Oscar-winning film. Dramatic, touching, well-executed, and conventionally conservative.

The story is backdropped against a small town that hosts a spectacular bird migration once a year. The hero is involved in a near-fatal car crash, from which he emerges from with Capgras syndrome; a disease which prevents him from recognizing his sister or his dog, instead believing them to be impostors impersonating the genuine articles. The novel follows them through his worsening paranoia. He begins to believe that everybody is an actor, that his town and his house have been replaced by replicas.

At the exact moment when everybody in the book is deep in their own despair, in waltzes a well known writer and neurologist. The sister has written, begging for help, and the writer ends up flying to their aid. The reader is repeatedly told that his wife and him have been married for thirty years. So exhaustively is this fact reiterated that it becomes obvious something is going to happen to threaten the marriage.

In the domestic scenes that the reader is privy to, the husband and wife refer to themselves as 'Man' and 'Woman', a running gag that is never explained and is never funny, nor profound. As the book progresses, his harmonious life begins to shatter. His newest book gets bad reviews and he is tempted to sleep with another woman.

The introduction of the neurologist/writer allows Richard Powers to pepper the novel with interesting stories. He sets it up so that the neurologist/writer is questioning whether or not he should be using these interesting stories of bizarre brain damage (such as not seeing anything on the left...etc.) to hook his own readership, or students. But then, the stories he is questioning are used in full to pull Richard Power's own readers more deeply into the novel.

That all being said, what kept me reading was the concept. As frustrated as I was with the emotional response Powers was trying to extract from me with conventions and formulas, how brains orient their people through the world is a fascinating study. During a rage against the novel, I was turned onto Dr. Ramachandran, a neurologist/writer who the neurologist/writer in Power's book is unabashedly based on. Ramachandran's books are also full of fascinating case studies, but they are presented as non-fiction. So, they contain the interesting parts of Power's novels without the uninspired writing.

As expected, the ending of the book makes everything more or less ok. Things aren't completely tied up, but the strings are in the process of being tightened. Happiness is inevitable a few chapters after the ending of the book. (less)

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Oct 17, 2007 C(h)ristine rated it 2 of 5 stars

National Book Award winner. Story about a character with a brain injury. Given to me by a friend (thank you thank you!). All signs pointing me to read this book! And Powers does have some languid prose that creates a crisp landscape in my mind. I will, for instance, never forget the cranes that he describes throughout the book. I mean, check out the opening lines below–are they not gorgeous?

But. But! The book’s momentum (ie., plot) is very slow. Maybe it’s my mood (I LOVED the book Out of Africa...more

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Mar 01, 2009 Djrmel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, fiction, mystery

Part medical mystery, part thriller, part (very) contemporary literature, and 100% metaphor for how much 9/11 changed the world means there is a lot going on in this book. A man is in a freak car accident that should have left him dead, instead it leaves him with Capgras Syndrom - he thinks that the people closest to him are imposters and his real loved ones are being kept from him. This includes his only sister, who gives up her attempts to break away from the small town they grew up in to tak...more

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Aug 29, 2009 Sergey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2007, fiction, read_in_english

The novel is a lyrical, tragic interlude into the mind, as complex as the mind itself.

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Nov 11, 2008 Robert Wells rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’m going to try a different approach to this. I’m going to toss out words or thoughts that come to me as I recall this novel.

migratory
self
questions of self, such as are we who we think we are, and the key word here is think. Does the conscious self come from within, or is it merely an echo?
stories and narration – do humans live the story, that is, do we need to see or hear something before we incorporate it into our own self. Powers uses the mockingbird to demonstrate this in the novel.
is who w...more

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May 14, 2009 HeiLi rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-did-not-finish

The book was described as a "psychological thriller" on its back-cover and that's why I bought it in the first place.

I read it more than half way through (a very slow, painful experience really - and NOT because I was down with the flu at the time) and then decided that there never was a lamer story ... ever.

There is so much wrong with this book that I don't know where to begin. First of all, it is more a case-study than a thriller, and the only character of interest is Mark, the accident-victim...more

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Dec 28, 2008 Kremena rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book for its study of the human brain at different zoom levels; from the evolutionary scale of millions of years, our reptilian brain and deep-rooted animal instincts connecting us to the cranes, the intriguing species Powers has chosen to present his case. The narratives intertwining observations about the cranes, the water ways, and the human relationship to them (at once primevally close and irreparably distant) are beautifully woven and provide plenty of thought-provoking materi...more I liked this book for its study of the human brain at different zoom levels; from the evolutionary scale of millions of years, our reptilian brain and deep-rooted animal instincts connecting us to the cranes, the intriguing species Powers has chosen to present his case. The narratives intertwining observations about the cranes, the water ways, and the human relationship to them (at once primevally close and irreparably distant) are beautifully woven and provide plenty of thought-provoking material. A nice example, which I won't include because it may possibly be a plot spoiler, is at the end of pg. 416/ top of pg. 417.

Powers zooms in on the brain at the system level -- "unsponsored, impossible, near-omnipotent and infinitely fragile", it forges a coherent picture of the self, completely unique to each individual ("The man who had taught her than any life one came across was infinitely nuanced and irreproducible"). Then he goes deeper, lifting the cover and exploring the subparts, and how amazingly the system continues to function when they are damaged. Yet another level down to the neurons, the coldly scientific chemical reactions (eg -- Bonnie's distress at reading about the God module and the belief switch) and then in a circle back to the origin of everything, the chemical spark which created life in a single cell.

I found many fascinating topics in every level of this examination, from discussions about empathy and our connection to other people, to the deeply personal perception of ourselves, seemingly continuous and stable yet scattered, fragile and mind-bogglingly complex underneath the surface.

The reason I didn't really like this book is because of the characters and their stories. I get the feeling that they are mere vessels for the subjects I described above. The siblings with a bad childhood, the selfless environmentalist, the jerk who the girl keeps running back to, the mystery woman with a secret -- all of these are sort of flat stereotypes one finds in many American films/books/TV shows. The 'damaged', highly emotional, self-absorbed characters are a contrast to the intricate observations made about the functioning of the brain and humans in general. I liked the story of Gerald Weber and his wife a little better, maybe because it felt a bit more real to me.

Lastly, I find the style of writing too choppy -- I often had to reread sentences and almost struggle to string together the meaning in a paragraph. The presentation lacks subtlety and has an in-your-face quality that sort of matches the state of disarray the characters are going through, but which does not make for smooth, continuous reading. As a result, it took me quite a while to finish this book, and there are probably many things I missed (for example, I was oblivious to the whole The Wizard of Oz theme until I read it in the Wikipedia entry after finishing the book... however, perhaps this is probably due to my own mediocre powers of observation). I think the writing style, together with my feelings about the characters, made it feel a little bit like I was plodding through a gray story, from one gem section about cranes or neuroscience to another. However, I should note that I thought the way the story was presented, switching between the perspectives of the main characters, is masterfully done (in the sense that Powers captures his characters' voice well, even though I may not appreciate the characters themselves).

To conclude -- I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in neuroscience and the study of the way our brain functions and perceives the 'self' (especially from a more anecdotal, artistic perspective, rather than a purely clinical one), and who appreciates the higher-level exploration of topics such as the human connection with other species (in this case, the cranes) and with the environment (in this case, the inevitable exploitation of the river which is the cranes' migratory route stop). To me, that is the real strength of this book, and the actual plot and characters pale in comparison.

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Oct 26, 2008 Nathan rated it 3 of 5 stars

A scattershot review:

As a nascent cognitive neuroscientist, I'll have to admit that the name dropping of a slew of well-known neurological conditions gave me plenty of recognizable material -- much more than is normally included in a fictitious account. You can see that Powers has done his research, he covers all of the big findings in research in the sense of Self. Tying these cases together to show how essentially formless the Self is led to a couple short passages of insight extending beyond...more

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May 21, 2008 Rita rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: most-recent, ambivalent

Eh. It was all right. No spoilers (none more than what’s on the jacket flap).

Mark Schluter crashes his truck off of a highway in rural Nebraska and ends up in a coma for 14 days. His sister, Karin, leaves everything behind to rush to his side and care for him. When he emerges from his coma, he doesn’t acknowledge her as his sister. He suffers from Capgras syndrome, a rare condition where a person misidentifies someone closest to him—believes that person has been replaced by an imposter, or robo...more Eh. It was all right. No spoilers (none more than what’s on the jacket flap).

Mark Schluter crashes his truck off of a highway in rural Nebraska and ends up in a coma for 14 days. His sister, Karin, leaves everything behind to rush to his side and care for him. When he emerges from his coma, he doesn’t acknowledge her as his sister. He suffers from Capgras syndrome, a rare condition where a person misidentifies someone closest to him—believes that person has been replaced by an imposter, or robot, or alien.

A famous Manhattan neuropsychologist, Gerald Weber, is intrigued by the case and visits Nebraska to study Mark.

The book is largely about the dynamics of those three people. And cranes. The bird variety, not the construction kind. There’s a whole lot about cranes. More about cranes than any person might ever want to know.

There is an extended supporting cast: Daniel--the bird refugee enthusiast, Barbara—the mysterious nurse’s aide, Rupp and Cain—Mark’s witless buddies (who make brain damaged Mark look almost normal in comparison), Robert Karsh—the smarmy land developer, Sylvie—Dr. Weber’s wife, and then there’s a cryptic note written by an anonymous guardian angel. These people, along with the big trio, and the cranes, drive the book forward to try to untangle the mystery of what happened the night of the crash, since nobody witnessed it but the birds. It’s not a mystery though. The “mystery” is just the vehicle that moves the characters along to the end.

I did enjoy the neuropsychology parts a lot. But, that’s me. I have a degree in psychology and a minor in biology. At the time I was earning my degree, neuropsychology was a very tempting field for me, except for all the brutal and intense animal research. I was literally nauseated by the inhumane experimentation and the ruthless disregard for the animals in the field at the time, and that was enough to turn me away from pursuing that particular degree. But, the topic has always fascinated me—the intertwining of the brain and the mind and which is really in control.

I was sucked in by the different case histories presented. At one point, Dr. Weber is reflecting on phantom limb pain and how it used to be that the medical field dismissed it, telling the patient that their pain was all in their mind. And, he comments—as if there’s any other kind of pain. I found the neuropsych segments of the book worth the whole of it.

The cranes I could have done without. I skimmed a lot of the crane stuff. Yes, I understood the parallel between the cranes and the neuropsychology. I did understand the tie-in, I got the whole “co-dependency/interdependency/mythological symbolism” thing, but I found it very dreary and overbearing.

I also didn’t like the way the author seemed to kind of hate all of his characters. They were all unlikable in one way or another. For some of those people, he really had to work at bringing that element into their character. Some of the folks would have been just genuinely OK people—normal, likeable, regular folks. But, then he had to go out of his way to introduce some damnable fault. Look at them through someone’s eyes who saw something we’d missed before and now they were reduced and pathetic. I’m all for human characters, but I think his characters were human before making them say, or do, or be seen in such ways that made them become jerks.

I really can’t recommend it, but I wouldn’t NOT recommend it either, because there might be elements to it that someone else would like more than I did.

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Feb 20, 2008 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The other people I know who have read this book didn't like it, which brought me to think harder and more immediately about why I do like it, or think I like it. Which is good.

I do think I like this book but I don't think I can articulate why yet because it requires at least another read--or at least it requires me to re-read it. Its themes (consciousness, perception, identity, reflection, the way the passage of time affects all) are grand, delivered through its characters, the cranes, their my...more The other people I know who have read this book didn't like it, which brought me to think harder and more immediately about why I do like it, or think I like it. Which is good.

I do think I like this book but I don't think I can articulate why yet because it requires at least another read--or at least it requires me to re-read it. Its themes (consciousness, perception, identity, reflection, the way the passage of time affects all) are grand, delivered through its characters, the cranes, their mythology, and neuroscience and the questions the field has come to introduce. I'd say it falls into the category of books that require a bit of work in order to totally grasp.

There are events in the book I didn't care for upon the first read--Gerald Weber's behavior with Barbara, mainly because I don't understand what its purpose was--it seemed to be a strike of drama that didn't need to be there. Also, I was willing to accept Mark Schluter's miraculous comeback to his "original" self at the end because I've heard stories of something drastic setting aright brains that have turned upside-down. I didn't want a step-by-step sort of murder-mystery solution, but after all of the neuroscience that had been delivered up to that point, it seemed to me like cheating not to at least hint at how he may have recovered.

One other thing that feels lopsided to me is the presence of mythology. When I began reading this book, a friend asked me if it had anything to do with Echo of Greek myth. I looked up the myth before I started reading the book and soon noticed the book had more to do with Native American mythology than Greek, but then there was a slew of myths listed part-way through (including the Greek Echo) and I thought I might find something after all, but then there was no further mention of these myths. Not that I want to be beaten over the head with it, but when I finished the book it was like that part never happened.

Something I wondered about throughout was the neuroscience-speak. About a year ago I read 4 or 5 books in a row on various aspects of the brain--it's composition, function, disorders, philosophy, etc.--and I was working for a couple of neuroscience journals, so reading neuroscience research became normal reading. That said, I wondered throughout The Echo Maker if, had I not done all of that reading, all the neuroscientific passages might have been too heavy, might have read like excerpts of research papers sifted in and turned me off. Hard to say at this point, but it occurred to me.

Things I think are impressive about the book: the dialogue is done well, especially for the characters in Mark's crew--sounds just like the banter of people I know who seem to be a lot like them. Also, I like the way that these grand ideas (that I'm not yet able to articulate) are demonstrated through the lives of characters who, in addition to dealing with the major trauma of Mark's accident and subsequent brain damage, are also normal people with childhoods, dysfunctional parents, money problems and the like. The fragility of the brain in the physical and--the more difficult to get at--consciousness are demonstrated on multiple levels--which is something I'd really like to explore more in the book. On top of it all, the plot is compelling and unfolds well. I needed to know what happened, even though, given the fragility of the brain and the way the passage of time affects memory and identity, I thought nothing could be solved for certain.

Upon a first read I'm able to list things that disconcerted me or put me off more so than things that got my gears turning. However, all the way through I saw lines, snippets, and passages that needed underlining and piecing together when it was all through and brought along into a second read. On a bit of a schedule, I haven't done the piecing together yet. For now, though, I think I like this book but I don't think I can decide for sure to what degree until I've been able to spend more time with it and grasp it in full (or not). The plot is interesting enough and its ideas rich enough to get me to read it again, but life is busy, so I'll see about doing that. I do wonder if some of the elements that put me off might be part of the book's grander themes in action, meta-wise, which I'd be happy to accept if it all came together that way. I'm not so put off by these parts to weigh them heavier than what I think are the book's strong and compelling points.

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Liza I agree. I feel that I missed so much in this book. It is so dense that I would also like to reread it, but I will probably just turn to another by Po...more
Feb 21, 2008 06:17am

Alice Nicely put, and although I am one of the notorious haters, I agree with everything you say here. I think for me it was just that all the strong points...more
Feb 21, 2008 07:03am

Sara Yes on the subway reading--I always wonder if I'm not getting all I could out of what I read by reading while balancing in a crowd of people on a movi...more
Feb 21, 2008 07:16am

Jan 16, 2008 Ben rated it 2 of 5 stars

Plot and formula won out over characters in this Powers effort. Although the description sounds quite intriguing, the execution was flat and undeveloped. To me, it seems as if Powers stumbled upon this concept of the Capgras Syndrome and decided to write about it. How interesting that a person could have this focused paranoia, where he believes everything in the world save one person or thing, whom he believes to be an impostor? Now, to write the book, it seems that Powers researched the disorde...more

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May 28, 2008 Ryan rated it 1 of 5 stars

I will look back on this and see it as a mistake. I should not pass judgment on a book that I haven't finished, and should keep quiet about my displeasure with a novel that seems to be universally loved. I know (because it always happens) that I will look back and realize how dumb I am.

Even so, I am fighting my way through Powers's writing. Is there anyone out there who feels the same? Is there no one who also feels that the writing comes off as amateurish and sentimental, and who is exhausted...more

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Mar 25, 2007 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the best Richard Powers I've read so far possibly because it continues to explore ideas that his other novels bring up. The Echo Maker is a great post-9/11 story about finding meaning in contemporary American Life and about what it means to be human when neuroscience increasingly sees the brain as a computer and the "mind" as nonexistent. But that's just what I think the Echo Maker is about because those messages resonate with me right now; you might find its other themes (the give and t...more

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Feb 24, 2008 Kate rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: gluttons for punishment

This book stunk so badly that I left it on the seat of the train as I was leaving.

A woman behind me said, "Excuse me, I think you left your book."

And I said, "Yeah, I kind of wanted to leave my book, in hopes that someone else would come along and not hate it as much as I did."

This book was long, boring, rambling and had one plot twist that was moderately interesting, but didn't show up until about page 400 (out of 450).

Skip it. Seriously. Spend time reading a neurobiology book, or a book abou...more

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Sep 30, 2008 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

I actually debated with myself whether to give this book three stars or four stars. What made the book really interesting to me was the window into Capgras and the potential psychological effects an both the sufferers and their families. I have to say, though, that without those elements, there wouldn't have been a whole lot left to keep me reading.

The characters were OK, but I found Karin, Weber, and Daniel a bit annoying at times. Mark was the only character I really liked.

Crane and Capgras me...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Shani rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people interested in neuropsychology

I must agree with another reviewer that this book is richly written and complex and laborious to read. I like the subject of the book but not Dr. Webber's personality or the underlying critism of those who write books about neurological patients like Oliver Sacks. I didn't think Dr. Webber 'lossing himself' had anythnig to do with Mike's syndrome, but with his failed book. I wish the book had focused less on the doc and more on Mike. And I think by the end of the book, I *GOT* the fact the doc d...more

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Jan 09, 2009 Kristin rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful book. The structure of the sentences is poetic, vibrant, and rich. You will see colors as you read. Characters are well-developed and complex.

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Jun 10, 2008 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was a lightweight human drama trying desperately to be esoteric and intellectual. If it was also trying to incorporate mystery, it failed miserably. JMO. That said, it does make you think about the nature of human relationships and perception vs reality and there was some fascinating information about how much we do and do not understand about the human brain. I wouldn't say that I'm really sorry I read this book and perhaps it is me who is not intellectual enough. Perhaps trying to re...more

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May 31, 2008 Bill Kerwin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Karin returns to her small town in Nebraska to care for her brother Mark, almost killed in a mysterious highway accident. When Mark regains consciousness, he insists that Karin is not his real sister and treats her as an impostor. In an attempt to cure Mark of his delusion, Karin contacts Dr. Weber--a neurologist modeled on writer Oliver Sacks--and asks him to examine her brother.

This is a fine novel with considerable narrative drive and a not unsatisfying conclusion. Its deeply philosophical na...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Luna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Non saprei dire. Tutto sommato un bel libro, denso come una cioccolata, non molla mai, ma questo significa che l'attenzione � sollecitata per 600 pagine non facili. Tre storie si intrecciano, tre persone ben distinte. Uno scrittore che non riesce a farsi coinvolgere dai suoi casi clinici, li tratta solo come una possibilit� di scrivere. Una donna, tanto forte nell'infanzia quanto insicura da adulta, che perde ogni identit� di fronte all'unico passato rimasto, questo fratello che non la riconosce...more

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Mar 04, 2011 Deb rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary, fiction

Karin Schluter is awakend one night by a phone call informing her that her brother was severely injured in a one car accident along a lonely strech of Nebraska road. Karin rushes back home to help her brother Mark through his recovery from his injuries, which include a brain injury that ends up making him unable to recognize her as his sister. Karin sticks with him, fulfilling a childhood promise to always be there for her, though it costs her a lot. She has to stay in their hometown, a place sh...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Alan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: The introspective and intricate

A strong and powerful novel which, like most of Powers' work, skirts the edges of science fiction - in this case, the science of mind. The central character, Mark Schluter, suffers brain damage as a result of a mysterious accident in his truck, on a lonely road in central Nebraska.

Mark comes out of coma with a particular disorder that should be at least somewhat familiar to any reader of Oliver Sacks' works about the mind (Sacks is himself, by the way, never mentioned in the book): Capgras Syndr...more

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Jan 06, 2009 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

I chose this book to read because it takes place not far from where I used to live in Nebraska, and its subject matters are the sandhill cranes on the Platte River and the functioning of the human brain. Since others had rated it rather low, I had low expectations going into the read. But the main theme (How does one know who they really are?) was engrossing. With all the new information discovered on how the brain really works, and because of my personal situation, I can't help but realize how...more

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About Richard Powers

Richard Powers is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology.

Powers was born in Evanston, Illinois, and his family later moved a few miles south to Lincolnwood, where his father was the principal at a local school. When Powers was 11, his family moved again, this time to Bangkok, Thailand, where his father had accepted a position at International School B...more Richard Powers is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology.

Powers was born in Evanston, Illinois, and his family later moved a few miles south to Lincolnwood, where his father was the principal at a local school. When Powers was 11, his family moved again, this time to Bangkok, Thailand, where his father had accepted a position at International School Bangkok and where he attended until the end of his Freshman year, 1972. In his time outside the United States, Powers developed a love of music, with notable skill in vocal music as well as proficiency in cello, guitar, saxophone, and clarinet. He also became an avid reader, enjoying classics such as The Iliad and The Odyssey, but primarily works of non-fiction.

At age 16, Powers moved back to the U.S., and following graduation in 1975 from DeKalb High School in DeKalb, Illinois enrolled as a physics major at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his first semester, however, he switched his major to English literature, receiving his undergraduate degree in 1978. He continued his education at Illinois, and in 1980 received his MA in literature. He decided not to pursue a PhD in the field because of (a) his aversion to strict specialization, which was also one of the reasons for his earlier transfer from physics to English, and (b) the apparent absence of pleasure in the reading and writing that graduate students and their professors do (see his novel Galatea 2.2).

After receiving his master's degree, he worked in Boston, Massachusetts, as a computer programmer until an encounter with the 1914 photograph "Young Farmers" by August Sander, at the Museum of Fine Arts, inspired him to quit his job and spend the next two years writing his first novel, Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance, which was published in 1985. The novel contains three alternating threads. The first is a fictional story about the three young men in the picture during World War I. The second is about Peter Mays, an editor for a technology magazine, who is obsessed with the photograph. The third is the author's own critical and historical musings, mostly concerned with the mechanics of photography and the life of Henry Ford.

Powers then moved to the Netherlands, where he wrote Prisoner's Dilemma, a work that juxtaposes Disney and nuclear warfare, and then his best-known work to date, The Gold Bug Variations, a story that ties together genetics, music, and computer science. Powers has said that he moved to the Netherlands to avoid the publicity and attention generated by his first novel. When asked about his reclusive tendencies, he responded, "All that sort of thing [author publicity] just creates confusion about the nature of the book, deflects attention from what you've done. That's what always seems to happen in this culture; you grab hold of a personality and ignore the work."[cite this quote]

Operation Wandering Soul, a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction in 1993,[1] is about a young doctor dealing with the ugly realities of a pediatrics ward. It was mostly written during a year's stay at the University of Cambridge, and completed when Powers returned to the University of Illinois in 1992 to take up a post as writer-in-residence.

Galatea 2.2 (1995) is a Pygmalion story, about an artificial intelligence experiment gone awry.

Gain (1998) is a look at the history of a 150-year-old chemical company, interwoven with the story of a woman living near one of its plants and succumbing to ovarian cancer. It won the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction in 1999.

Plowing the Dark (2000) is another novel with parallel narratives, this time of a Seattle research team building a groundbreaking virtual reality, while at the same time an American teacher is held hostage in Beirut.

The Time of Our Singing (2003) is a story about the musician children of an interracial couple who met at Marian Anderson's legen(less)

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Quotes from The Echo Maker

“On the ride back south, she tapped all the anger-management tricks they'd given her in job training. They played across her windshield like PowerPoint slides. Number One: It's not about you. Number Two: Your plan is not the world's. Number Three: The mind can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. (24)” — 6 people liked it

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