The astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos while single-handedly raising his unusual nine-year-old, Robin, following the death of his wife. Robin is a warm, kind boy who spends hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered animals. He's also about to be expelled from third grade for smashing his friend in the face. As his son grows more troubled, Theo hopes to keep him off psychoactive drugs. He learns of an experimental neurofeedback treatment to bolster Robin's emotional control, one that involves training the boy on the recorded patterns of his mother's brain...
With its soaring descriptions of the natural world, its tantalizing vision of life beyond, and its account of a father and son's ferocious love, Bewilderment marks Richard Powers's most intimate and moving novel. At its heart lies the question: How can we tell our children the truth about this beautiful, imperiled planet?
From the author who told us about Baron Trump, comes another tale, this one lamenting the Democrat Party's socialist platform of 1896, and warning that the election of Bryan would be the last election for president, as the country would dissolve within a single four year term. Hence the title of the book 1900 or, The Last President. But, just who is the last president according to Lockwood? Is it Bryan, or the man with a a gleam of devilish joy in his eyes? Might it be the Baron Trump (or is it, Barron Trump) of his previous books? Might the passage of time reveal all?
Quarterlife is a groundbreaking portrait of a nation on the cusp of a new age. A group of young people converge in Mumbai after an election brings the divisive Bharat Party to power: Naren, a jaded Wall Street consultant lured home by the promise of better days, is accompanied by Amanda, a restless New Englander eager to live her ideals through a social impact fellowship in a slum. Meanwhile, Naren's brother Rohit, the charismatic talent scout, sets out to explore his roots in the countryside and falls in with the fiery young men that drive the Hindu nationalist machine. As they each come to grips with the new India, their journeys coalesce into a riveting milieu characterized by brutal debates and desires as fraught as they are compulsive. The result is an ever-widening chorus that feeds into a festive night when all of Mumbai is on the streets--and the simmering unrest erupts.
Quarterlife is as sweeping as it is intimate. With grace and precision, Devika Rege lays bare the moral and psychological roots of political belief in a time of reckoning for democracies worldwide. No one is spared, not even the writer. An urgent and prismatic debut, Quarterlife announces Rege as an evocative new voice in fiction and an author who is unafraid to test the limits of what the novel can achieve.
Ryan David Ginsberg bursts onto the literary scene with this hauntingly beautiful collection of satirical and speculative tales. From extraterrestrials observing Earth to human beings navigating dark, dystopian futures shaped by technology, capitalism, and authoritarianism, each story offers sharp, thought-provoking commentary on the state of our nation.
With a blend of dark humor and shattering insight, this collection takes readers on a compelling journey through the absurdities and shortcomings of modern life and the near future. As an added bonus, this collection concludes with the first three chapters of Ginsberg's (hopeful) debut novel, In the Algorithm We Trust.
Dog's Breakfast takes the reader behind the scenes as intrigue erupts in a backwater U.S. Embassy when Andy Pulano, the second-in-command, becomes fed up with being treated with less respect than the ambassador's prized Labrador. Craving career advancement, Andy sets out to undermine his boss by instigating a series of crises in their host country of Vodania, which hardly needs any outside help in falling apart. After someone attempts to poison the Labrador, Andy secretly assigns Tara Zadani, a newly arrived junior officer, to investigate.
Never having signed up to be a doggie detective, Tara suspects she's been set up to fail. If so, Andy just invited the wrong girl to the prom. His machinations create enough chaos to put the ambassador on the verge of being sent home in disgrace. Then Tara makes a discovery that puts Andy's entire scheme - and his fevered hopes for a promotion - at risk.
In Ingersoll Lockwood's 1900; Or, The Last President, a politically charged New York City is on edge after a political outsider overcomes stiff opposition to be elected President of the United States. Mob rule threatens, and marching protests rove up and down Fifth Avenue searching for symbols of wealth to destroy. Lockwood uses this setting to critique the socialist and collectivist mentality of his era and illustrate the inherent danger of the crowd. The story is a small and relatively unknown political satire from the late 19th century, which found new popularity after the election of Donald Trump in 2016.
John A. Kinley is a forty-two-year-old disillusioned United States Congressman from Indiana. Following John's retirement, an old friend introduces John to a mysterious group of investors. Their proposal stuns him--they want to provide a trillion-dollar budget for John to found his own country from inception to fruition. Though D.C. has made him skeptical, John hasn't given up on his dreams of creating a great nation. John accepts this task naively, with no idea of the strings attached to their deal.
Along for the ride, his loyal companion Mary is as supportive as ever, though with power and money comes temptation from his acquaintance Carlene, a tantalizing brunette with whom John shares a history.
Not only does John need to determine how to best run a country, starting from the ground up, but he's also determined to share his new life with the right person--though the wrong choice may have dire consequences.