A grand novel grand in its reach, grand in its themes, grand in its patterning. I say probably, because its not possible for powers to write an uninteresting book, and after that its a matter of taste. Then i will explain why our book club, for one, thought this book was. The echo maker, perhaps his best known work, won the 2006 national. There are too many detours into detailing characters that, on occasion, add nothing to the story.
After all this buildup, the echo maker turns out, happily, to be. About this guide the following author biography and list of questions about the echo maker are intended as resources to aid individual readers and book groups who would like to learn more about the author and this book. These questions are taken from the publishers reading group guide, which you can download in. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. The echo maker is a novel that will stab at your soul, it will challenge you to change your own personal beliefs of what the human mind is and how it affects the nature of us. The echo maker is probably the best powers novel so far. Richard powers recent and brilliant book the echo maker has been called an post 911 novel,a description that seems to fit in that its central metaphor is the yearning for a time before life became problematic. Set against the platte rivers massive spring migrationsone of the greatest spectacles in naturethe echo maker is a gripping mystery that explores the improvised human self and the even more precarious brain that splits us from and joins us to the rest of creation. This was such an amazing book club book to discuss and read about the history of the 1936 olympics and the events in the u. The echo maker a novel by richard powers winner of the national book award picador trade paperback isbn. Visa, mastercard, american express paypal, diners club and discover. Author bio birthjune 18, 1957 whereevanston, illinois, usa educationm. The echo maker is a 2006 novel by american writer richard powers. Buy the echo maker by richard powers online at alibris.
Find books like the echo maker from the worlds largest community of readers. Powers bounces back and forth through marks rambling thoughts, webers neurological theories, karins insecurities, and. Coping with the consequences of traumatic brain injury, mark lives with a blend of paranoid obsessions, including the. But when he emerges from a protracted coma, mark believes that this womanwho looks, acts, and sounds just like. Whether we are slaves to our emotions or not, one thing is for certain. This was the case for my group with the echo maker. Soon after his sister karin arrives at the hospital, mark slips into a coma. Published to wide critical acclaim and winner of the national book award, richard powerss the echo maker tells the haunting story of twentysevenyearold mark schluter, who survives a nearly fatal car accident only to face a devastating new perception of the world. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. His older sister, karin, returns reluctantly to their hometown to nurse mark back from a traumatic head injury.
On a winter night on a remote nebraska road, twentysevenyearold mark schluter has a nearfatal car. The echo maker book omaha public library bibliocommons. We are our brains, and it controls us, not we who controls it. The echo maker 2006 won the national book award and was a finalist for a pulitzer prize. What echoes do the cranes create throughout the novel. One of the discussion prompts was to cite examples of a writer who shows. Goodreads members voted the echo maker into the following lists.
In the interest of being fair to the author, for whom i have great respect see my post on the overstory, i will start with why critics liked this book and why it met such positive acclaim. It won the national book award for fiction and was a pulitzer prize for fiction finalist. Richard powerss 2009 novel the echo maker depicts a personal trauma post911 by. Reading guide for the echo maker by richard powers bookbrowse. Set against the platte rivers massive spring bird migrations, its a gripping story that explores one of the greatest mysteries of all, the human brain, and how it makes us who we are, thus bearing similarities to sebastian faulkss human traces. If powers were an american writer of the nineteenth centuryhed probably be the herman melville of mobydick. The echo maker 2006 won the national book award and was a finalist for a. Read free book excerpt from the echo maker by richard powers, page 1 of 5. Recently nominated for the national book award, powers novel. For novels of such length, there should really be more fascinating or exciting subplots and a better rise and fall of tension in the main story arc. When we first arrived we were surrounded by patriotic themes and olympic themes.
In the echo maker, richard powers proves himself to be one of our boldest and most entertaining novelists. Echo maker is both mystery and case history as mark struggles to investigate his accident through an anonymous note and weber attempts to sort through the nuance and plasticity of the mind in his own declining years. Lists that contain the echo maker by richard powers. Finalist, pulitzer prize, 2007 finalist, great lakes book award, 2007 the boston authors club 2007 reading list winner, national book award, 2006 noteworthy books. We hope they will enrich your book group s reading of this stirring masterwork. A novel by richard powers about the book published to wide critical acclaim and winner of the national book award, richard powerss the echo maker tells the haunting story of twentysevenyearold mark schluter, who survives a nearly fatal car accident only to face a devastating new perception of the world. The echo maker is the winner of the 2006 national book award for fiction. We hope that this guide will provide you a starting place for discussion, and suggest a variety of perspectives from which you might approach the echo maker. On a winter night on a remote nebraska road, twentysevenyearold mark schluter has a nearfatal car accident. Finalist, pulitzer prize, 2007 finalist, great lakes book award, 2007 the boston authors club 2007 reading list winner, national book award.
The ambition, richness and complexity of richard powerss the echo maker take us to. The echo maker richard powers, 2006 macmillan picador 464 pp. One of my favorite aspects of your national book awardwinning the echo maker, published a dozen years ago now, is the way its. A searing novel that probes the boundaries of trust between friends and lovers, healers and patients, siblings and parents, the echo maker gives us an inventive new glimpse of the minds powerful eye. Publishers weekly jul 10, 2006 a truck jackknifes off an arrow straight country road near kearney, nebr. Trying to describe it is a bit like four blind men trying to describe an elephantwhich end. Margaret atwood powers is better than the best of almost anybody else. But thats too pat a description, and it cheats against powers on going themes of characters trying to reintegrate themselves into what they view as an ideal past theyve either been. The echo maker by richard powers book club and brunch. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the echo maker by richard powers. On a winter night on a remote nebraska road, 27yearold mark schluter flips his truck in a nearfatal accident. It was difficult and i lost my way while reading it sometimes. Richard powers booklist richard powers message board. We hope that this guide will provide you a starting place for discussion, and suggest a variety of perspectives.
The echo maker by richard powers reading guidebook club. Goodreads members who liked the echo maker also liked. Winner of the 2006 national book award for fiction. On a winter night on a remote nebraska road, twentysevenyearold mark schluter flips his truck in a near. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the echo maker. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Our september meeting is coming up this monday, sept. The echo maker would be a wonderful novel if it were reduced by about 40k words. His older sister karin, his only near kin, returns reluctantly to their hometown to nurse mark back from a traumatic head injury.
We had a long discussion about what happened in the book. Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers. The echo makerwinner of the 2006 national book award, this. Whitney had a fun time coming up with ideas for the night. Book club thu sep 10 2009 the echo maker discussion questions. Richard powers is at once one of americas very best and leastknown novelists.
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