Playground : A Novel

Playground: A Novel weaves together the lives of four characters across decades and continents, exploring the delicate balance between humanity and the natural world. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu’s underwater adventure in Montreal sparks a lifelong fascination with the ocean, while Ina Aroita’s nomadic upbringing on naval bases fuels her artistic soul. In Chicago, two high school rivals—Rafi Young and Todd Keane—forge an unlikely bond over ancient games and cutting-edge AI, their friendship shaping the future of technology.

The story converges on Makatea, a phosphate-rich island in French Polynesia, where residents debate a controversial plan to build floating cities. As the characters grapple with colonialism’s scars, climate change, and the ethics of innovation, Richard Powers’ prose dazzles with lyrical observations of marine life and human connection. The novel’s structure mirrors the ebb and flow of the ocean, shifting perspectives and timelines to reveal how small choices ripple through generations.

Powers masterfully intertwines themes of grief, creativity, and the quest for immortality, asking whether technology can ever truly replicate the complexity of nature—or human empathy. A late twist redefines the narrative, leaving readers to ponder the cost of progress and the resilience of ecosystems. The ocean itself emerges as a character, vast and mysterious, its survival tied to the characters’ ability to adapt and collaborate.

The book’s heart lies in its relationships: a mother’s love for her children, a friendship tested by betrayal, and a scientist’s devotion to the unseen wonders of the deep. Powers avoids easy answers, instead inviting readers to marvel at the fragility and beauty of life on a dying planet. Critics have praised it as “a magisterial achievement” and “a love letter to the ocean,” cementing Powers’ reputation as a literary visionary.