PlaygroundPlayground
What it's about
Todd Keane, a tech billionaire who built a world-changing online platform, is losing his mind to a rare dementia, and he's telling the story of his life and his friendship with Rafi, a brilliant Black poet he met in a Chicago high school. On Makatea, a tiny island in French Polynesia, Rafi, his wife, an artist, and Evie, a ninety-year-old pioneer of ocean diving, face a vote on a plan to build floating cities in the sea.
Why it's worth reading
It was longlisted for the Booker Prize and was a Goodreads Choice finalist. Richard Powers, author of The Overstory, writes about the ocean, games and artificial intelligence, and the ending is a famous surprise.
You'll love it if you liked
The Overstory
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and TomorrowGood to know
It's long and moves between several stories. There are many passages about ocean life and the game of Go.
By the numbers
- Readers58 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics15 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller28 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz51 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
On our reserve shelf: it's well reviewed, but isn't currently a prize winner, a lifetime bestseller or a book everyone's talking about, so we don't rank it. We check again every month, and it can still turn up in your 50 once you've read most of our ranked books.
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous, Thought-provoking, Dark
More by Richard Powers
If you like this, read next
Babel
The Dispossessed
Beautyland
Sea of Tranquility
Bliss Montage
AnathemExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Playground worth reading?
It was longlisted for the Booker Prize and was a Goodreads Choice finalist. Its Must-Read Score is 69.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Playground about?
Todd Keane, a tech billionaire who built a world-changing online platform, is losing his mind to a rare dementia, and he's telling the story of his life and his friendship with Rafi, a brilliant Black poet he met in a Chicago high school. On Makatea, a tiny island in French Polynesia, Rafi, his wife, an artist, and Evie, a ninety-year-old pioneer of ocean diving, face a vote on a plan to build floating cities in the sea.
How long does it take to read Playground?
About 10 hours (400 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Playground?
If you liked it, try The Overstory by Richard Powers, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr or Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.