The world is out of tune and hence the confusion (sorry for the joke). Dystopia is approaching because utopia was always too far away for a civilization like ours that increases exponentially in number as common identity decreases. Individualism is innate to being. Nationalisms and other ideologies make things worse. Hence, there can be little hope in joining forces to stop catastrophes. It does well, however, Richard Powers, in insisting on the pre-apocalypse as a new wake-up call from the most sensitive vision, the only one capable of causing the turn: our children.
Astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches the cosmos for life forms as he single-handedly raises his quirky nine-year-old son, Robin, following the death of his wife. Robin is a loving and cuddly boy who spends hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered animals and is about to be expelled from third grade for punching a friend in the face.
Despite his son's problems increasing, Theo tries to keep him away from psychoactive medications. Thus, he discovers an experimental neurofeedback treatment to enhance the control of Robin's emotions through training sessions with patterns recorded from his mother's brain ...
With sublime descriptions of the natural world, a promising vision of life beyond our confines, and the tale of unconditional love between father and son, Bewilderment it is Richard Powers' most intimate and moving novel. Inside it lies a question: How can we tell our children the truth about our beautiful and threatened planet?
You can now buy the novel "Confusion", by Richard Powers, here:
