
Playground
A Novel
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By:
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Richard Powers
About this listen
A magisterial new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory and Bewilderment.
Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel from Richard Powers, showcasing the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory at the height of his skills. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up in naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.
They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.
Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity in a way only Richard Powers can.
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- By: Kai Harris
- Narrated by: Zenzi Williams
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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An ode to Black girlhood and adolescence as seen through KB's eyes, What the Fireflies Knew follows KB after her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit. Soon thereafter, KB and her teenage sister, Nia, are sent by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing, Michigan. Over the course of a single sweltering summer, KB attempts to navigate a world that has turned upside down.
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Heart-Wrenching Story of Complex Love & Loss
- By Nicole Estes on 01-27-23
By: Kai Harris
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Within Arm's Reach
- A Novel
- By: Ann Napolitano
- Narrated by: Ray Porter, Marin Ireland, Gilli Messer, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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This spellbinding novel by bestselling author Ann Napolitano is a poignant reminder of how connected we are to those we love, even when we cannot find the words to say it. The unforgettable story of three generations of an Irish American family, Within Arm’s Reach is another rich and deeply satisfying novel from the author who captured the many dimensions of grief in Dear Edward and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood in Hello Beautiful.
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Didn’t realize it was old
- By Anonymous User on 12-23-24
By: Ann Napolitano
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Only the Beautiful
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Xe Sands, Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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California, 1938—When she loses her parents in an accident, sixteen-year-old Rosanne is taken in by the owners of the vineyard where she has lived her whole life as the vinedresser’s daughter. She moves into Celine and Truman Calvert’s spacious house with a secret, however—Rosie sees colors when she hears sound. She promised her mother she’d never reveal her little-understood ability to anyone, but the weight of her isolation and grief prove too much for her. Driven by her loneliness she not only breaks the vow to her mother, but in a desperate moment lets down her guard and ends up pregnant.
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Seeing the world in colors…
- By Bridgeman Family on 03-04-24
By: Susan Meissner
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Americanah
- A Novel
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be Black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.
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Exceptional
- By Suzanna on 02-01-25
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Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here
- The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis
- By: Jonathan Blitzer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Blitzer, André Santana
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone who makes the journey faces an impossible choice. Hundreds of thousands of people who arrive every year at the US-Mexico border travel far from their homes. For years, the majority came from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, but many more have begun their journey much farther away. Some flee persecution, others crime or hunger. They may have already been deported, but the United States remains their only hope for safety and prosperity. They will take their chances.
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How America Created its Own Border Problem
- By Amazon Customer on 04-19-24
By: Jonathan Blitzer
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The Librarian of Burned Books
- A Novel
- By: Brianna Labuskes
- Narrated by: Caroline Hewitt, Eleanor Caudill, Karissa Vacker
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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For fans of The Rose Code and The Paris Library, The Librarian of Burned Books is a captivating WWII-era novel about the intertwined fates of three women who believe in the power of books to triumph over the very darkest moments of war.
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Banned books, history repeating itself
- By Amazon Customer on 05-07-23
By: Brianna Labuskes
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Small Mercies
- A Novel
- By: Dennis Lehane
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessey is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to tradition and stands proudly apart. One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched.
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Sadly these streets are my home…
- By shipyardjay on 05-10-23
By: Dennis Lehane
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Rejection
- Fiction
- By: Tony Tulathimutte
- Narrated by: Micky Shiloah, Allyson Ryan, Quincy Surasmith, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Sharply observant and outrageously funny, Rejection is a provocative plunge into the touchiest problems of modern life. The seven connected stories seamlessly transition between the personal crises of a complex ensemble and the comic tragedies of sex, relationships, identity, and the internet.
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Trigger warning for one chapter, otherwise really creative
- By Amazon Customer on 10-06-24
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The Ascent
- By: Adam Plantinga
- Narrated by: Charles Halford, Christine Lakin
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Kurt Argento, an ex-Detroit street cop who can’t let injustice go—and who has the fighting skills to back up his idealism. If he sees a young girl being dragged into an alley, he's going to rescue her and cause some damage. When he does just that in a small corrupt Missouri town, he’s brutally beaten and thrown into a maximum-security prison. Julie Wakefield, a grad student who happens to be the governor's daughter, is about to take a tour of the prison. But when a malfunction in the security system releases a horde of prisoners, a fierce struggle for survival ensues.
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Engaging but too violent for me
- By Asly Petris on 02-25-24
By: Adam Plantinga
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The Overstory
- By: Richard Powers
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 22 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The Overstory unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fable that range from antebellum New York to the late 20th-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. An air force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits 100 years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself, dies, and is sent back into life by creatures of air and light.
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eye opening
- By Michael Stansberry on 05-23-18
By: Richard Powers
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Black Cake
- A Novel
- By: Charmaine Wilkerson
- Narrated by: Lynnette R. Freeman, Simone Mcintyre
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.
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Wonderful Listen
- By Regina on 02-04-22
What listeners say about Playground
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- Andrea Cull
- 12-03-24
The Novel I needed for 2024
wow. that's all I've got. I've been having trouble making sense of the world, but maybe it just doesn't make sense. These characters were as o relatable I wish they were real. And in some ways they are too real
Thank you Richard Powers for helping me make sense of a world I cannot make sense of.
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- Alex Mahoney
- 10-18-24
Expertly done
My first Richard Powers novel. It lived up to the hype. Great narration as well. I think this would appeal to a lot of people. The beginning was difficult to get into but stick with it. Very worth it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Living the Life
- 02-10-25
To AI or not to AI
It was a very interesting novel that makes one think about how computers and AI in particular can affect our environment.
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- Anna Sagatov
- 12-07-24
The most beautiful book for ocean lovers and more🥹
I hope my life is like Evelyne’s! Thank you Richard Powers for bringing such beauty into the world!
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- MonicainCA
- 12-22-24
Beautiful if at times confusing
Definitely a worthwhile listen. Nicely woven story lines and interesting characters. At times I was a bit lost and had to listen to some parts twice.
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- M
- 02-12-25
Beauty depth vast like the ocean itself
Not to be forgotten . I wish it was required reading for all humanity . Loved it.
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- Bill McBean
- 03-11-25
The lyric quality
Although not quite as much as the Overstory, Powers made it a point to say the earth’s oceans are being systematically destroyed. That’s something. I guess what I’m trying to say is he didn’t put a fine a point on it. Powers tries on the mask of game producer, and becomes one of the world’s richest men by manufacturing “Playground,” a game that mimics the environment of Planet Earth.
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- smcclure
- 03-24-25
Planet Ocean
Wonderful multi-layered story. I loved the span of time and development of the characters.
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- Bhamdo
- 04-14-25
Beautifully written
IMG this beautifully written story equals Power’s Overstory. I didn’t think possible. He weaves together the stories of four disparate people, Ema, Rafe, Keene, and Evie with the ocean and artificial intelligence, into an amazing Macrome.
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- Deb Hatch
- 11-08-24
What a tremendous story
I loved the book itself. As a diver and a marine conservationist, there was no question that I needed to read it. The book is fantastic. The story amazing. The writing makes me feel like I am under the ocean.
I didn’t care for the readers of the book. For some, the inflections seemed off and almost comical. I found that very distracting. In the beginning, it almost made me stop reading the book. I persevered simply because of the topic, and I’m so glad that I did.
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5 people found this helpful