Playground

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

This thread is to discuss Playground by Richard Powers.

Pages: 381 pages

Length: 1 month (May)

Participants: Valerie, Lorraine, Cordelia

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Here are some questions to help get the conversation started! Feel free to look up discussion questions specific to this book or come up with your own. Just make sure any questions that contain spoilers are under spoiler tags.
Discussion questions are not required but may be a fun way to talk about the book and get to know each other!

Prior to starting:
What prompted you to join this buddy read?
Have you read this author before? What do you think of their other books?

Mid-read:
What character or ideas do you relate to the most and why?
Do you have any favorite quotes or scenes?

After reading:
What was enjoyable or not-so-enjoyable about this book?
Did this book change your perception about anything, either within the book (character development) or in real life?

[Valerie]

Going to make an early start on this one. Planning to begin reading it tomorrow.

Have read several of his books. My favourite is Bewilderment but I also really enjoyed The Overstory. Hope this is a good one too.

[Valerie]

At 30% (this book is not divided into chapters) and really enjoying it - so much so that I meant to comment before but was too captivated to stop reading! Multiple storylines are a bit confusing at first as it jumps quickly between them initially but they soon begin to be more extended and tie together. The French Polynesian setting is completely new to me so I’m learning a lot.

Have a busy few days coming up so I’ll probably not make much more progress until around the beginning of the month.

[Lorraine]

I’m a fan of Richard Powers and am working my way through all of his books as they’re published. So far, I’ve read Bewilderment (twice), The Overstory, The Echo Maker, and The Time of Our Singing. Bewilderment is my favorite, but The Overstory is also a strong five-star read.

I’m currently about 45% through Playground. Like many of Powers’ books, it starts slowly, taking time to introduce the characters and reveal the connections between them. I always find his characters refreshingly unique, with traits and personalities you don’t often see elsewhere, which I really enjoy. I’m still waiting to discover how they all fit together. Like Valerie, I’m not very familiar with French Polynesia, but the sea creatures have definitely sparked my curiosity!

[Valerie]

At 60%. Really impressed by the sheer scope of this novel! It takes great skill to keep an enthralling story going whilst managing to discuss science, politics, geography, and philosophy without losing the plot. I agree with Lorraine that the characters are just so interesting- every time he switches between stories they become my new favourite- and I’m enjoying how such a disparate group are all linked together. Wondering (view spoiler)[ what Todd’s project is and how it is linked. Is he the one behind the development? (hide spoiler)]
Really intrigued to see how this is going to play out.

[Valerie]

Finished. This was a really absorbing read for me which engaged me from start to finish. The ending (view spoiler)[ was very clever and unexpected. It took a bit of getting my head around what was real and what was fiction but I think it worked. The idea of feeding AI with information and letting it create an alternative and more satisfying life which resurrects the dead is both fascinating and scary. Of course finding out that it is a fantasy is sad- Rafi in particular seems to have wasted his chances although Ina seems to have made a life for herself - and the vision of the future is, we know, just not what will happen. In the end, the story seems to be designed to bring peace to Todd. (hide spoiler)]
Certainly a novel that leaves you plenty to think about.

[Lorraine]

Playground is another hit for me. I was fully drawn in by the writing, the atmosphere, and the emotional undercurrents throughout the story. It’s a compelling, unsettling read that lingers in your mind.

My only reservation is the ending. (view spoiler)[ It left me unsure of what was real and what was imagined—or perhaps that's the point. That ambiguity made the final pages feel a bit elusive, and I think a second reading might help me appreciate it more fully. (hide spoiler)]

I understand this book was listed for the Booker Prize, and in my view, it absolutely deserves the recognition. It’s the kind of novel that challenges the reader and stays with you after you’ve turned the last page.

[Cordelia]

I'm about 75% through the audiobook. Finding it really fascinating and engrossing. I can see that the characters are starting to be connected but really cant imagine what might happen at the end.

Wonderful author. Wonderful book

[Cordelia]

Finished. WOW!!! 5*

[Valerie]

Glad you enjoyed it, Cordelia.

[Lorraine]

Wonderful!