“If you want to make something smarter, teach it to play,” oceanographer Evelyne says in Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Powers’ fictional 14th novel, after observing a formidable manta ray soar over her scuba air bubbles.
“Playground” involves an ensemble cast of characters. Rafi and Todd, both raised in Chicago, bonded in high school through shared experiences with loss and troubled families. While studying at the University of Illinois-Urbana, Rafi grows close with artist Ina, subsequently drifting from Todd. Rafi finishes his PhD and Todd develops a soon-to-be wildly powerful artificial intelligence program. Meanwhile, French Canadian Evelyne ends up on the French Polynesian island of Makatea, aspiring to finish a profound book about the ocean. The non-linear storylines eventually converge in Makatea.
Powers primarily explores two vast topics: ocean and AI. The AI Todd obsesses over develops into an unsettling and unregulated powerhouse, eventually giving away a crucial piece of information on Todd. Powers cleverly localizes the issues of AI to Makatea, formerly a prominent phosphate mining location and now a possible headquarters for a new endeavor of building modular floating islands. On this smaller scale, the consequences of the conflicts echo much larger and alarm readers more effectively.
The characters feel real due to their actions and emotions, which is one of Powers’ greatest strengths. Todd serves as the most flawed and intriguing character and guides the story through a mysterious interview-like format. He puts the majority of the story together for the reader by framing the events unfolding in the other characters’ lives. However, his flaws develop over time, such as toward the end of the novel when Todd sinisterly declares himself a “creative disrupter” in a hearing with Congress after his AI begins to truly cause waves.
The weak spot in the novel, the non-linear timelines, might confuse readers in the first half. The storyline feels unclear and the amount of detail, while impressive, quickly overwhelms. Long lists and unnecessary descriptors can make the reader have to go back to the top of the page and reread. However, after a few key events in each storyline, the book comes together, resolving the issue until the ending tears it all apart again.
“Playground” proves intricate and compelling, much like the ocean the characters love and the threatening AI. Despite the massive topics it highlights, it localizes the issues in a way that is not only engaging but inspiring. “Playground” itself plays with readers, leaving them simultaneously warned and awestruck, continuing Powers’ fantastic train of novels.
5 somersaulting manta rays out of 5
