Good Reads / Community Library Notes
Bewilderment
Richard Powers
Review by Priscilla Comen
Bewilderment
Richard Powers
Review by Priscilla Comen
Bewilderment by Richard Powers is the story of Dad and his nine year old son Robin. Robin’s looking through a telescope at the stars and wonders if they could sleep outside this night. Dad had taken him out of school for a week for a time out. Robin seems happy and they fall asleep under four hundred billion stars. Dad believes science is everything—almost everything. Robin is an unusual kid, he sketches animals and plants memorizes scenes from movies, and will start a book he’s just finished from the beginning again. Why is he disturbed? Is he disturbed?
His mother was crushed to death in an auto accident as she swerved to avoid hitting a possum, and his dog died a few months later. Dad says everyone is an experiment and we don’t know what it’s testing. Driving to Vegas Robin sees a fox and gets excited, then sees a long-legged bird.
The next day is Robin’s birthday and Dad’s present to him is a digital microscope that attaches to Dad’s tablet. He stares at pond scum and cells from his cheek. They talk about his mom and how she loved watching birds, how the robin was her favorite. The whole third grade class teases him about his name. The next day they go into the woods each carrying their supplies. They’lll be alone this night with the stars. Robin sets up his tent alone then they go for a swim, crawling on the rocks and down the small rapids. Robin guesses this is where his mom and dad honeymooned.
His mom said the Buddhist prayer every night. She wanted everyone to be released from suffering. Dad had been a terrified parent, making all kinds of mistakes, but kids survive and Robin has. Mom knew Robin best and Dad asks Alyssa what to do when they return home. Along the way they come upon an accident and drivers are ogling the bears and Robin is ashamed as the strangers stare at them. When they get home they listen to “Flowers for Algernon”, a science –fiction novel about a mouse that Robin loves. Dad had become a scientist because scientists were finding life where other scientists said it was impossible. That was when a huge telescope was launched that could find anything and did. Then Dad found Alyssa who laughed at his jokes and taught him optimism and appetite and they became a couple. She worked for animal rights and rose to Midwest Coordinator.
This night Robin wants to watch a video of Alyssa testifying for a bill to outlaw killing contests. Dad says it’s too violent and they watch instead a farm video to protect pigs from abuse. Alyssa sounds like a radio announcer and Robin watches hypnotized. But the day before, Dad gets a call from the school/ Robin smashed his best friend in the face, and Robin waits for Dad in the principal’s office. Robin admits it was all his fault. He’d tried to breathe but his hands got confused. The next day Robin has an idea to paint every endangered specie and sell the paintings at Farmer’s Market and give the money to one of Mom’s favorite groups. He goes to the art store and buys colored pencils and good paper. He works for hours and at the library checks out books on those animals that are endangered. After he works for hours he puts it in a portfolio carefully. He’s a happy boy now. The animals all shout loudly, “Save Me” in vibrant colors.
The next day Robin has a melt –down when Dad says he must go to school. He throws furniture around, smashes the window in his room, and screams. Dad goes to see a friend of his who knows about behavior modification programs that could help Robin. It’ll be fun he says. Robin starts on the program where he’s inside a tube looking at dots and moving them around just by thinking about it. Slowly he modifies his behavior where he can visit his mom’s crazy family with gentle feelings. He and Dad visit at holidays. They call Robin “Brain Boy” the same as his Mom. Dad wonders if the Neurofeedback has made Robin too calm.
A program shows a young girl from Zurich who is like Robin and he falls in love with her. He draws a new slogan when he learns that only 70% of his collected money will go to help the creatures. He goes to the capital to protest and stands by himself. His Mom Aly had also stood there to demand Senators pass bills to stop killing animals. Robin wants to be home –schooled and talks his Dad into it.
Dad explores other planets with the Kepler scope but Dad wants to know if there is life there. Scientists have been asking this for years. Robin goes to train in the tube. Meanwhile the President sends troops to combat illegal immigration. Robin returns from training speechless and baffled. He shows a group of teen-agers where a horned owl lives and stays patient with them. He’s doing better now, home-schooling with math, reading, science, social studies and still has time for planet exploration. The government wants to cancel the science projects because of the expense of billions of dollars.
Robin can’t handle the news his Dad listens to: cows are dieing from brain disorders, habitats are being destroyed by cairns. On another trip to the woods, Robin wades into an icy river to wreck the offenders. Dad finds him there and carries him home. What happens to the two of them, Dad and Robin? Science explains everything, Dad thinks, or does it? Is Robin all right with this experiment to talk about his Mom’s brain? Find out in this stunning book (awarded the Pulitzer Prize) on the new fiction shelf of your community library.
His mother was crushed to death in an auto accident as she swerved to avoid hitting a possum, and his dog died a few months later. Dad says everyone is an experiment and we don’t know what it’s testing. Driving to Vegas Robin sees a fox and gets excited, then sees a long-legged bird.
The next day is Robin’s birthday and Dad’s present to him is a digital microscope that attaches to Dad’s tablet. He stares at pond scum and cells from his cheek. They talk about his mom and how she loved watching birds, how the robin was her favorite. The whole third grade class teases him about his name. The next day they go into the woods each carrying their supplies. They’lll be alone this night with the stars. Robin sets up his tent alone then they go for a swim, crawling on the rocks and down the small rapids. Robin guesses this is where his mom and dad honeymooned.
His mom said the Buddhist prayer every night. She wanted everyone to be released from suffering. Dad had been a terrified parent, making all kinds of mistakes, but kids survive and Robin has. Mom knew Robin best and Dad asks Alyssa what to do when they return home. Along the way they come upon an accident and drivers are ogling the bears and Robin is ashamed as the strangers stare at them. When they get home they listen to “Flowers for Algernon”, a science –fiction novel about a mouse that Robin loves. Dad had become a scientist because scientists were finding life where other scientists said it was impossible. That was when a huge telescope was launched that could find anything and did. Then Dad found Alyssa who laughed at his jokes and taught him optimism and appetite and they became a couple. She worked for animal rights and rose to Midwest Coordinator.
This night Robin wants to watch a video of Alyssa testifying for a bill to outlaw killing contests. Dad says it’s too violent and they watch instead a farm video to protect pigs from abuse. Alyssa sounds like a radio announcer and Robin watches hypnotized. But the day before, Dad gets a call from the school/ Robin smashed his best friend in the face, and Robin waits for Dad in the principal’s office. Robin admits it was all his fault. He’d tried to breathe but his hands got confused. The next day Robin has an idea to paint every endangered specie and sell the paintings at Farmer’s Market and give the money to one of Mom’s favorite groups. He goes to the art store and buys colored pencils and good paper. He works for hours and at the library checks out books on those animals that are endangered. After he works for hours he puts it in a portfolio carefully. He’s a happy boy now. The animals all shout loudly, “Save Me” in vibrant colors.
The next day Robin has a melt –down when Dad says he must go to school. He throws furniture around, smashes the window in his room, and screams. Dad goes to see a friend of his who knows about behavior modification programs that could help Robin. It’ll be fun he says. Robin starts on the program where he’s inside a tube looking at dots and moving them around just by thinking about it. Slowly he modifies his behavior where he can visit his mom’s crazy family with gentle feelings. He and Dad visit at holidays. They call Robin “Brain Boy” the same as his Mom. Dad wonders if the Neurofeedback has made Robin too calm.
A program shows a young girl from Zurich who is like Robin and he falls in love with her. He draws a new slogan when he learns that only 70% of his collected money will go to help the creatures. He goes to the capital to protest and stands by himself. His Mom Aly had also stood there to demand Senators pass bills to stop killing animals. Robin wants to be home –schooled and talks his Dad into it.
Dad explores other planets with the Kepler scope but Dad wants to know if there is life there. Scientists have been asking this for years. Robin goes to train in the tube. Meanwhile the President sends troops to combat illegal immigration. Robin returns from training speechless and baffled. He shows a group of teen-agers where a horned owl lives and stays patient with them. He’s doing better now, home-schooling with math, reading, science, social studies and still has time for planet exploration. The government wants to cancel the science projects because of the expense of billions of dollars.
Robin can’t handle the news his Dad listens to: cows are dieing from brain disorders, habitats are being destroyed by cairns. On another trip to the woods, Robin wades into an icy river to wreck the offenders. Dad finds him there and carries him home. What happens to the two of them, Dad and Robin? Science explains everything, Dad thinks, or does it? Is Robin all right with this experiment to talk about his Mom’s brain? Find out in this stunning book (awarded the Pulitzer Prize) on the new fiction shelf of your community library.