THE BRAND NEW NOVEL FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING, BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE OVERSTORY
'It changed how I thought about the Earth and our place in it. . . . It changed how I see things and that's always, for me, a mark of a book worth reading.' Barack Obama on The Overstory
'Really, just one of the best novels, period.' Ann Patchett on The Overstory
'Breathtaking.' Barbara Kingsolver on The Overstory
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Picked as one of the 'Best Books of 2021' in the Sunday Times
Theo Byrne is a promising young astrobiologist who has found a way to search for life on other planets dozens of light years away. He is also the widowed father of a most unusual nine-year-old. His son Robin is funny, loving, and filled with plans. He thinks and feels deeply, adores animals, and can spend hours painting elaborate pictures. He is also on the verge of being expelled from third grade, for smashing his friend's face with a metal thermos.
What can a father do, when the only solution offered to his rare and troubled boy is to put him on psychoactive drugs? What can he say when his boy comes to him wanting an explanation for a world that is clearly in love with its own destruction? The only thing for it is to take the boy to other planets, while all the while fostering his son's desperate campaign to help save this one.
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'The best book I've read in 10 years. A remarkable piece of literature ... a lodestone.' Emma Thompson on The Overstory
'Radical and exciting.' Jessie Burton on The Overstory
'A remarkable piece of fiction.' New York Times on The Overstory
'An extraordinary novel.' Guardian on The Overstory
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Imprint: William Heinemann
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Published: 21/09/2021
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ISBN: 9781785152634
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Length: 288 Pages
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RRP: £18.99
Reviews
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On The Overstory: It changed how I thought about the Earth and our place in it . . . It changed how I see things and that's always, for me, a mark of a book worth reading.
Barack Obama
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One of our most lavishly gifted writers
New Yorker
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Nothing less than brilliant
John Updike
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It's not possible for Powers to write an uninteresting book
Margaret Atwood
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With its first few pages, Powers' novel completely captivated us and with its last, it bowled us over. Powers creates a texture and specificity to our future that feels simultaneously sweepingly large and breathtakingly intimate, told through the most relatable point of view: the ferocious love of a parent for his child and his struggle to provide him a better tomorrow.
Leigh Kittay, Black Bear’s Head of Film
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On The Overstory: Really, just one of the best novels, period
Ann Patchett
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On The Overstory: Monumental . . . breath-taking . . . a gigantic fable of genuine truths
Barbara Kingsolver
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On The Overstory: Exhilarating . . . on almost every page you will find sentences that combine precision and vision
The Times
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On The Overstory: The best book I've read in ten years. A remarkable piece of literature
Emma Thompson
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On The Overstory: An extraordinary novel . . . an astonishing performance . . . he is incredibly good at turning science into poetry
Guardian
