The Playground/The Overstory - Richard Powers ------------ 3.5 Stars/4 Stars

So, in preparing for this review, I really was excited to share about the second Richard Powers book I've reviewed. Of course, the first being the Pulitzer Prize winning, The Overstory. Except, when I looked through my blog to find my review of this book, I couldn't find it. That is super weird to me; in general, I review every book I read. Plus I really adored the The Overstory. So, wanted to make a note how much I enjoyed that book before sharing about the book I just finished - The Playground. While similar in many ways to The Overstory, I just didn't find it quite as satisfying or entertaining. Still good though!

Since I mentioned The Overstory too, both books really are quite similar. Both have to do with an important part of the Earth (trees in the first book; oceans in The Playground). The author makes a not at all veiled point of just how important the trees and oceans are too our world. Further, just how much humans are doing t
o cause harm to these things. Both books have a few main characters with seemingly unrelated timelines and stories that do come together at the end. Finally, both books really do have some amazing prose and storytelling.

This book is a pretty engaging and interesting read, that, aside from a few slow parts, really had a great pace. As Powers quickly will go from story to story (in sometimes non-sequential order), it keeps the reader on their feet and focused on the novel. I also just adore how beautifully he can share about the wonders of the world. In this book, his description of the ocean, fish, etc., is just amazing. You can't help but feel like you are in the water, visualizing these amazing creatures in your head. The book also has an incredibly unexpected ending that really made me rethink many parts of the novel. This was really not something I was anticipating and added so much more to the book.

As a whole, I really found both of these books to be enjoyable and entertaining. Although they can feel long at times, with a bit too much prose and detail about his favorite aspects of the novel's focus (trees/oceans), his great characters, amazing ability to create detail, and wonderful storytelling, go a long way to offset any annoyances the reader might have. I strongly recommend both books.