Richard Powers Knihy

V korunách stromov je dielo plné horlivého aktivizmu a protestu, v ktorom sa ale zároveň pred čitateľom neuveriteľným spôsobom objavuje príroda – a kniha je teda aj ódou na ňu. Dvanásty román Richarda Powersa sa pred nami od koreňov ku korune a potom späť odvíja ako sústredené kruhy navzájom poprepájaných príbehov. Tie siahajú od New Yorku v období pred vojnou Juhu proti Severu až po boje o drevo na severozápade Spojených štátov koncom 20. storočia a ďalej. Existuje totiž svet, ktorý sa odvíja paralelne s tým naším – tento svet je nesmierny, pomalý, navzájom poprepájaný, bohatý, neuveriteľne tvorivý a našimi očami takmer neviditeľný. Prichádza príbeh o niekoľkých ľuďoch, ktorí sa tento svet naučia vidieť, a ktorí sú vtiahnutí do prebiehajúcej katastrofy. „Dômyselne vystavaný príbeh, ktorý sa vetví a týči ako stromy, čo sa nachádzajú v jeho jadre. Ich výnimočnosť a vzájomná prepojenosť pritom odráža ľudí, ktorí medzi nimi žijú,“ zhodnotila komisia, ktorá románu udelila Pulitzerovu cenu za beletriu.

Najnovší román držiteľa Pulitzerovej ceny za literatúru si kladie tie najzásadnejšie otázky o živote ako takom, zároveň je veľmi intímny. Astrobiológ Theo Byrne pátra po živote v celom vesmíre a sám vychováva svojho nezvyčajného deväťročného syna Robina, ktorý na mnohých pôsobí dojmom bytosti z inej planéty.Jedinečný a milý chlapec trávi hodiny maľovaním obrazov ohrozených zvierat. Zároveň sa ho chystajú vylúčiť zo školy, pretože napadol svojho najlepšieho kamaráta. Hoci je syn je čoraz problémovejší, Theo dúfa, že sa mu podarí udržať ho mimo dosahu psychoaktívnych látok. Pomôcť by mohla experimentálna liečba, ktorá má posilniť Robinovu emocionálnu kontrolu. Spočíva v tréningu chlapca podľa zaznamenaných vzorcov mozgu jeho mŕtvej matky...Svojimi opismi prírody, dráždivou víziou iného života a opisom lásky otca a syna predstavuje Zmätenosť najintímnejší a najdojemnejší román Richarda Powersa. V rozhovore pre Bookerovu cenu, na ktorú bol nominovaný, povedal: „Kniha má korene v dvoch rôznych svetoch. Čiastočne je to román o úzkosti rodinného života na poškodenej planéte. Je to však aj román, ktorý vzdáva hold súčasným aj klasickým autorom špekulatívnej fantastiky. Veľmi ma potešilo zrážanie toho, čo by mnohí čitatelia mohli považovať za úplne nesúmerateľnú estetiku, a užíval som si svetlo a teplo, ktoré toto spojenie vytvorilo.“

On a winter night on a remote road in Nebraska, twenty-seven-year-old Mark Schluter's truck turns over in a near fatal accident. His older sister, Karin, his only close relative, 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 an identical impostor. Shattered by her brother's refusal to recognise her, Karin contacts the cognitive neurologist Gerald Weber, famous for his case studies describing the infinitely bizarre worlds of brain disorder. Weber recognises Mark as a very unusual case of Capgras syndrome and is keen to investigate. But what he discovers in Mark begins to undermine even his own sense of self. Meanwhile, Mark, armed only with a note left by an anonymous witness, attempts to learn what happened on the night of his accident. The truth of that evening will change the lives of all three beyond recognition. Set against the spectacular spring migrations of American Sandhill cranes, The Echo Maker is a profound and riveting novel that explores how memory, instinct and relationships make us who we are.

In some respects, Richard Powers's The Time of Our Singing is just a big, absorbing drama about an American family, with the typical ingredients of an immigrant parent and some social obstacles--in this case, a biracial marriage in the Civil Rights era--to be overcome by the talented children. But Powers's lyrical gifts lift this material far above its familiar subject matter. His descriptions of music alone will transport the reader. The Strom family were raised with this common language: "Our parents' Crazed Quotations game played on the notion that every moment's tune had all history's music box for its counterpoint. On any evening in Hamilton Heights, we could jump from organum to atonality without any hint of all the centuries that had died fiery deaths between them." The central figure of this novel is the dazzling Jonah, who makes a life from singing, and who may be the only person around him who regards his racial heritage as irrelevant to his ambitions. Powers's is such a fertile writer, however, that he can't stay with any single story, but plunges into pages and pages of family and social histories. The result is a rambling, resonant, fearless novel that pulls the reader along in its wake. --Regina Marler

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2024, the book explores profound themes of identity and belonging through the lives of its richly developed characters. Set against a backdrop of societal change, it delves into their personal struggles and triumphs, weaving a narrative that challenges conventional perspectives. The author’s evocative prose and intricate storytelling invite readers to reflect on the complexities of human experience, making it a compelling addition to contemporary literature.

From the National Book Award-winning author of "The Echo Maker" comes a playful and provocative novel about the discovery of the happiness gene. Funny, fast, and finally magical, "Generosity" celebrates both science and the freed imagination.

An enthralling story about desire, new love and the mysteries of science from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory Stuart Ressler, a brilliant biologist, sets out in 1957 to crack the genetic code. His efforts are sidetracked by other, more intractable codes - social, moral, musical, spiritual - and he falls in love with a member of his research team. Years later, another young man and woman team up to investigate a different mystery - why did the eminently promising Ressler suddenly disappear from the world of science? Strand by strand, these two love stories twist about each other in a double helix of desire. 'A love story of charm and substance, brimming over with ideas, yet anchored in emotional truth' Sunday Telegraph

Something is wrong with Eddie Hobson, Sr., father of four, sometime history teacher, quizmaster, black humorist, and virtuoso invalid. Eddie is sick and heading into the illness's home stretch as his children try to understand what his illness stands for--but not what his illness is.

How to create your own contemporary interior: the ultimate resource for design-conscious living, from architecture to materials to furniture and decorative objects. This ambitious book is all about clean lines, elegant color combinations, maximizing indoor–outdoor relationships, artfully collecting and displaying objects, and utilizing open areas for lounging, cooking, and dining. Whether the living space is large or small, anyone can create a modern interior. Hundreds of photographs reveal stylish residences around the world, in particular from places where modern living has achieved its best expression, such as California, Brazil, Scandinavia, and Australia, but also from places where modern forms have been fused with vernacular styles or set against exotic vegetation. From desert to jungle, from city to country, Living Modern offers a boundless resource for achieving a personal vision of contemporary stylishness.