Generosity: An Enhancement

I’d give 3.5 stars if I could, but any rounding here is down. Not to say that I didn’t deeply enjoy the book, or that I think any less of the great Mr Powers, certainly among our greatest novelists (and I don’t just mean greatest novelists now; I mean he’s among the greats). Yet the book has such a deep fatal flaw even he cannot write around it. The central drama is built around people’s perceptions of a young woman, Thassa, and their actions based on their perceptions. But from the start, Powers tells us about Thassa; he fails until some incidents towards the end to show us Thassa. We never see her ecstatic joy that so moves and threatens others. She is simply a collection of adjectives (and a very precise accent - I know, I married a similar accent). No book can overcome such a central flaw. And yet ... I loved the provocative ideas and gorgeous language and forward-movement of this book. I recommend, with caveats.

I can't remember where I heard that Richard Powers was an author to read, but wherever it was, I am glad it came my way. I started with this one, purely for the title. It made me curious. After reading it, I would definitely go for another Powers book.There are a lot of topics brought up in this story, and the ones I likes the most were about genetic manipulation/engineering. It made me think about where we are headed and where we came from, and how we pretty much don't learn our lessons very well.There is also a lot of interplay between technology, social media, and other "modern" distractions and habits.The wall between story and reader is thin, and gets broken down a number of times in the book, which at first annoyed me [I come from a pretty classical reading experience], but after a while, I liked it a lot. It reminded me of those movies where one or all of the characters break down the wall between the movie and the audience and talk to the screen, as if they were inviting us to share some secret, behind the scenes information about the story. They do it a lot on Modern Family for instance.The main character is majorly flawed and pitted against another major character who is "perfect" in mood and resilience. The pitch and tone of the story are enhanced by this dichotomy. A thoughtful pleasant and innovative read.

What's great about "Generosity": Memorable characters and a fascinating premise. What's not great: The inevitable depressing trajectory of the plot and the author's irritating attempts to break the fourth wall.You know from the beginning that this is going to be one of those literary novels whose theme is "anything good in the world inevitably gets ruined." I've read that book too many times already. And the author evidently thinks he's doing something really cool and clever by commenting on his writing process within the book. News flash: It's been done before, and better--Pirandello's "Six Characters In Search of An Author" is almost a hundred years old. In my opinion, unless an author has something really unusual to offer by intruding into the story, s/he should stay out of the way and let the story do the talking. I think the story would have been strong enough on its own (if still kind of a downer) without the authorial self-insertion, but if Powers didn't have that much confidence in it, maybe he should have written another book.Still, it's a well-written book and one I'm still thinking about, albeit with a high degree of irritation. What is happiness, anyway? For me, it's reading a story where the author stays offstage!

I read this book for English class, and it was one of the best books we read this semester. Generosity is a wonderfully touching story, with lovable characters. But like all really great books, it makes you think. Powers' novel explores the emerging role of science in our society. He creates a hypothetical situation, in which the "genes for happiness" have been discovered. But is it really our genes that make us happy?One of the things that I really appreciated about this novel is that it didn't come down directly on one side of the nature vs. nurture debate. It also steered clear of Oprah-esque ideas and sentimentality (in fact, one of the best scenes of the novel involves a satire of the Oprah show). If you aren't familiar with science, you should still read this book! But as a biology major, I was grateful that Powers actually had a pretty good grasp of genes and gene therapy. In addition, Powers has great writing style. It might not be the quickest of reads, but it is well worth it!

Many reviewers are taken with the topicality of Power's books - his interest in science and music, his command of detail, his obvious research and intellect, his clever writing. My belief is that Powers is a master of trying to unravel human nature and that his novels are his canvas for this.The story of Generosity is this - a nerdy writer takes a college class in creative non-fiction and meets two unusual women. His student, an Algerian refugee seems afflicted by permanent happiness despite her terrible personal story. He brings this up with a student psychology counsellor, Candace, and the pair decide to explore whether she is 'suffering' from a medical condition. They turn to a famous Ventnor type to test her and the ensuing action turns her life upside down and miserable.In all this, Powers demonstrates his prowess at exploring what is natural in human beings. The writer stands for the arts and human nature, Candace for reason and science - and they fall in love. It is obvious role reversal. Thomas Kurton (the Ventnor character) is pure masculine science - let's improve on mother nature - and the female science reporter who breaks the story is conflicted and changes sides from science to nature in the course of the plot. None of this feels contrived.At the heart of the drama is the lovely Thassa - the ultimate woman - a natural uniter, a charismatic lover of life who seems unstoppable until her encounter with science almost destroys her. She is not a real person, you think while reading, yet she sets off this amazing tale and keeps you involved.The Echo Makers is one of the finest novels I've read, and Generosity, though slightly behind it, contains enough stunning writing and intelligence to make me recommend the book warmly.

Richard Powers is very distinctive in style and certainly unusual in approach. His books delve into a particular arena, which will form the background to the characters and the story. Whatever he engages with, he does so at depth. This makes him a writer who thinks, and who appeals to people who like to think at the same time as reading a story. I really like this, and have enjoyed several of his books. If one purpose of a novel is to take you into places that you wouldn't normally go, and enrich your feeling for the world, then he accomplishes that consistently.I enjoyed Generosity more than any, because his writing is particularly crystalline, his characters very accessible, and the underlying investigation of what makes us happy is a worthwhile theme, underpinned with some interesting perspectives on what genetics can or cannot determine. If you haven't read any of his work, this is a great one to try first. If you have liked any before then I don't think this would disappoint. But if you have tried and truly not been engaged by his style and approach, then this probably won't win you over. Ripping Yarns is not what he does. But most of those are soon forgotten. His books aren't.

Brilliant. Enjoyed this more than Orfeo, which was also very good. Very well researched for the latest science, history and culture, with convincing characters and an absorbing tale. The device of seeing the story unfold through the eyes of the author worked very well, giving an extra dimension to the reading experience and demonstrating that it is the storytelling that matters, not any illusion of reality.

Good science fiction novel

A fascinating book in search of the happiness gene but in order to fully understand it some knowledge of Genetics, American business practice, the structure of a novel, the arts and media as well as the Algerian War would be helpful. There are several threads in this book so difficult to grasp in one reading but still worthwhile.