 Carbon or Silicon based?, 2002-11-03
Richard Powers is a gifted writer, a rather unusual measure of that are the reviews that people write about his work. With the usual exception, those that read his work take what he has written, and integrate it in to their own ideas. His books are not just entertainment. Another reviewer suggested the Author allows for this ambiguity in his writing, he allows the reader the freedom of opinion on outcome, the ability to make a choice. The primary subject he presents in this work is one that will continue to grow from theory, until it forces fundamental beliefs to be questioned, and bring out the most Fundamentalist of Luddites, and with them debate that will carry the potential for disruption, or worse, violence.
Mr. Powers has a talent for writing about arcana and making the subjects accessible. Unlike many reviewers, my knowledge of the pursuit of Artificial Intelligence is strictly that of an amateur. I found that Mr. Powers brought credibility to a theme that has been little more than bad Science Fiction in the hands of other Authors. He included all the tech-talk, but he used language in its most basic forms to first make the project appear possible, to bringing the true enormity of what will be required before anything akin to sentience can be achieved/created.
The written words, when he collected them into novel form, also became the deciding factor in his initial carbon-based personal relationship. When silicon took the place of carbon the importance of language was increased exponentially. Neither relationship was fruitful.
One reviewer queried that when we finished the book did the experience stop or is it continuing even now. If you have never read this Author, what I write might suggest I have a form of dementia. I admit that before I read "Plowing The Dark" I thought other reviewers were there, way, way, out there.
Mr. Powers is the perfect novelist, for when you are immersed in his work he suspends disbelief faultlessly. He does not intrude, and he does not preach. Making the decision to read his work is a bit like what Neo faced the red pill, or the blue? Once you start with the first book, you cannot stop reading until he stops writing.
Why isn't Powers better known in U.K.?, 2007-05-17
I discovered Richard Powers by accident. I found a copy of 'Gain' in a remaindered bookshop. It didn't look promising, with a picture of a tap and a bar of soap on the cover and a book description promising a corporate history of a soap-making company, but I vaguely remembered a faourable Updike reiew of 'Galatea 2.2' and thought it worth a shot. Later, I bought 'The Time of our singing', similarly reduced in price. Another rather lame title. Another over-literal cover design--black-and-white halves, with a black singer (too dark, in fact, for the character in the novel). The author's name also, on a subconscious level, put me off, with the dick-power associations of a pseudonymous author of macho thrillers. Both books languished on my shelves for months.
I now own all 9 Powers novels, and he has displaced Pynchon and Foster Wallace in my pantheon. His erudition is balanced by a powerful emotional punch that Pynchon never allows hiself, and the prose, though overwrought at times, constantly arrests, grabbing ones attention with startling similes, layered imagery and sudden changes of tone. Dialogue is contrived, mostly, but I'd rather read something that makes me think and wonder than something naturalistic. The themes are profound, I want to reread almost as soon as I've finished a Powers novel---quite simply, he's the greatest novelist I've read---and I've read a great many novels!
Any yet, when I mention his name to anyone, I just get a blank stare. What's the problem? I've alluded to some possibilities---his titles are often clunky and over-cute. 'Operation Wandering Soul', for example. 'Operation' because the protagonist (Richard Kraft---Power in German!) is a surgeon. 'The Gold Bug Variations'--punning, mildly embarrassing. The Time of our singing'---it's about singing, and it's about time! 'Gain', which sounds like the title of a boardroom blockbuster. Etcetera. When combined with the author's name (interestingly, in 'Galatea' he writes that he was advised to adopt a pseudonym--ironic, since his name already sounds like one) one feels disposed to misjudge the book by it's cover. The American covers I've seen, by the way, are far more tastefully designed than the British ones. Finally, all attempts to describe the plots (which, like the characters, are mostly vehicles for the ideas, and the virtuoso artistry of the prose) make the books sound awkward and contrived.
'Galatea 2.2' is a stunning book. I can't describe it. Just read it!
 Knows a lot of words....uses most of 'em., 1998-01-13
I wanted to give this book a 2.2, but was limited by Amazon's rating system. This was a Christmas present, so I felt somewhat obligated to read it. What a bore! It was just like listening to your most self-absorbed professor in college drone on endlessly about his or her life at the cocktail party from hell. There are only three characters with any depth: Rick (AKA Marcel and Beauie), a writer with the same name as the author and who has written the same books; Lentz, the AI expert; and C., Rick's former common-law wife, with whom he's still obsessed. Powers uses first initials instead of names for some people and places, presumably out of his past. This is unoriginal and just annoying. The thinnest of plots involves Rick teaching a computer built by Lentz to read and interpret literature. But, this is just a premise for Rick to expound on his philosophy of life and place in the world. There are numerous self-serving references to the author's other books AND, incredibly, reviews of them. It reminded me of the rampant product placement in the last James Bond movie. Hey! That's an idea! Maybe Powers can cut a deal with Ritz Crackers for his next book. Anyway, I kept hoping Tom Clancy would fly by, drop a bomb on U., and end all this pretentious crap. No luck.
computers, literature and university., 2001-04-06
this novel by richard powers is very autobiographical, the narrator baring his name and his frequent references to past novels make this book very good reading for any powers fans. The novel is a double barreled story of his past love and his present work at a university (university of illinois - if anyone cares) concerning a computer program. the novel is very well constructed and has many great things to say about literature, love and technology. the only down side may be that some of the computer jargon may be a little much for some people... defiantely worth a read.
An enthralling exploration of language and consciousness. , 2007-11-26
This year I discovered Richard Powers' writing. His books are extraordinary and ambitious in their scope and diversity. Galatea 2.2 is an exploration of the way thought and language construct a multi layered reality.It examines the way the brain talks to itself by trying to make a powerful computer imitate the uniquely human act of reading literature. Surprisingly, it is deeply engaging on an emotional level. He even made me empathise with the sufferings of an artificial intelligence!
The cover image is wonderfully apt. From the opening poem by Emily Dickinson to the final paragraphs I was satisfied at every level by his marvellous linguistic gifts and his ability to construct a tightly woven and constantly surprising tale. It was also interesting to encounter the fictionalised author as a character in his own text, not least because he reflects on what lay behind some of his earlier writings. This is an important book by a writer of exceptional gifts. Few novelists can match his erudition and originality. Best of all, his intellect does not detract from the humanity and emotional life of his characters.
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