Bewilderment

For this ISBN, there is an alternate cover edition available here.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning and #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory returns with a heartbreaking new book.

Following the loss of his wife, astrobiologist Theo Byrne raises his odd nine-year-old son, Robin, on his own while searching the universe for life. Warm and compassionate, Robin paints intricate drawings of creatures in risk of extinction for hours on end. In addition, he is going to lose his third-grade diploma for hitting his buddy in the face. Theo wants to prevent his troublesome kid from using psychoactive substances when he gets older. He finds out about an experimental neurofeedback program that trains the young patient on the recorded patterns of his mother's brain in order to improve Robin's emotional regulation.

Bewilderment is Richard Powers’ most personal and poignant book, with its soaring descriptions of the natural world, its alluring image of life beyond, and its story of a father and son’s fierce love. The fundamental query is this: How can we educate our kids about the realities of our lovely but vulnerable planet?