Das grosse Spiel

Longlist Booker Prize 2024.

One island. Four seekers. Connected by what may be humanity's last great adventure. - The moving masterpiece by Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the world bestseller "The Roots of Life"

On Makatea, once a forgotten spot in the endless blue Pacific, the society of the future is to be created. Via detours and tides, four people come together on the island whose fates are inextricably linked to that of the planet: Evelyne Beaulieu, who dives into the depths of the ocean to decipher the mysterious game of the giant manta rays. Ina Aroita, who scours the paradisiacal beaches for materials for her sculptures - but for a long time now the sea has only been washing up plastic waste. And the dreamy bookworm Rafi Young and the visionary computer nerd Todd Keane, whose friendship threatens to collapse in their bold attempt to create a new world in order to save themselves from the demise of the current one. The great storyteller Richard Powers skilfully composes the urgent questions of our time - about the effects of the climate crisis and the hope of artificial intelligence - into a captivating and deeply moving epic.
"'The Great Game' is brilliant, gripping and important - and the best book I've read this year!" Andrea Wulf "Is there anything Richard Powers can't write? His new novel is like the ocean. Big and mysterious, full of depth and life." Percival Everett "An extraordinary journey through four lives that are mysteriously connected - utterly gripping, unsettling and yet full of hope." Emma Donoghue "This fascinating novel is a powerful message for this fragile planet." Kirkus Review "If Powers were an American author of the 19th century, which one would he be? Probably Herman Melville with 'Moby Dick'. His canvas is like that.