![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/075-Bewilderment.jpg?resize=198%2C300&ssl=1\")
By Richard Powers\n\u00a9 2021, W.W.Norton & Company
\nASIN: B08X19W2HD
\nEbook File Size: 3245 KB\n
<\/p>By Richard Powers
\n\u00a9 2021, W.W.Norton & Company
\nASIN: B08X19W2HD
\nEbook File Size: 3245 KB\n
Following the death of his wife, astrobiologist Theo Byrne is raising their son Robin alone. Robin is smart, warm, deep, and in love with Nature, especially endangered animals. But Robin is also deeply troubled, and about to be expelled from school for his emotional outbursts. Theo struggles to find ways to help Robin cope until he stumbles upon an experimental program that offers to train Robin to control himself using neurofeedback patterns of his mother\u2019s brain.<\/p>\n
Powers, author of The Overstory<\/em>, is known for his beautiful prose, especially descriptions of the natural world. Bewilderment<\/em> is no exception. Throughout the book, as Robin struggles to understand humankind\u2019s ignorance of the effect it is having on endangered animals and their surrounding environments, Theo takes him camping deep in the woods of a nearby state park. Powers\u2019 descriptions of the forest, birds, animals, and waterways, are stunning, placing the reader squarely in-scene. He doesn\u2019t just describe the elements, but the feeling that being in that setting brings and the effect such a peaceful place has on a troubled youth.<\/p>\n But Bewilderment<\/em> isn\u2019t just limited to descriptions of Earth\u2019s beauty and savagery. As an astrobiologist, Theo frequently describes to Robin the potential environments of other discovered exoplanets, going into detail about what kinds of life would thrive there, and how it would differ from our own. The overall effect is to communicate the intimate tie residents of a world have to the environment in which they live. In the two Powers books I\u2019ve read, the author\u2019s strong eco-fiction message is prevalent, but not preachy. He doesn\u2019t tell<\/em> us we have to save our world. He shows<\/em> us what will happen if we don\u2019t and the effect it will have on the animals and<\/em> on the people.<\/p>\n This story is told through the eyes of Theo, but Robin is every bit as much a primary character even though we don\u2019t see anything through his eyes. Though it is clear throughout the story that Robin is not neurotypical, Powers never gives him a definitive diagnosis. Instead, he reveals in a conversation the \u201cvotes\u201d Theo has received from various doctors, including Asperger\u2019s, ADHD, and a host of others. Bewilderment<\/em> is not just a story of the effect we have on the natural world but of the far more intimate relationship between Theo and his son. Their shared moments as Robin spirals out of control and Theo struggles to find ways to reach him, to help him learn balance, are poignant and evocative. Any parent who has undergone a similar experience will surely find some measure of common ground here.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t offer any spoilers, but it is worth mentioning that Bewilderment<\/em> is a heartrending story, with no happy ending. Sometimes things don\u2019t work out well no matter how hard we try. That doesn\u2019t change the tragic beauty of Theo and Robin\u2019s story, but if you are looking for a book with a happily ever after, don\u2019t read this book.<\/p>\n If, on the other hand, you enjoy tales of human struggle, and especially of human\/Nature interactions, even when they don\u2019t end well, you may find what you seek in this book. Beautifully told, Bewilderment<\/em> will reach into your heart and mind and touch you in all the right places. And hopefully, when you turn the last page, you will walk away with more compassion for parents in Theo\u2019s shoes, for children like Robin, and for the plight of endangered animals and the natural world.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Richard Powers \u00a9 2021, W.W.Norton & Company ASIN: B08X19W2HD Ebook File Size: 3245 KB Following the death of his wife, astrobiologist Theo Byrne is raising their son Robin alone. Robin is smart, warm, deep, and in love with Nature, especially endangered animals. But Robin is also deeply troubled, and about to be expelled from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-NK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":710,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/knowing-i-dont-know\/","url_meta":{"origin":3084,"position":0},"title":"Knowing I Don\u2019t Know","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"April 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A few weeks ago, I got a rejection from a magazine for my short story \u201cUpshot.\u201d Rejections are part of a writer\u2019s life, but this one was unusual in that along with the \u201csorry\u201d came some helpful insight. 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