Book Review: "Bewilderment" by Richard Powers

Initially, when I read a book outside of my reading comfort zone, I don't have very high expectations (because seriously, who does?) and I tend to try to let my guard down bit by bit. I feel like because of this, I have been able to make more informed judgements to myself about books that exist within the 'realm' of being halfway into my comfort zone and halfway out of it. This is definitely true for this text which is entitled Bewilderment by Richard Powers. Have I ever read anything of this kind before? Sort of. Do I want to read anything else by Richard Powers? Probably. How do I feel about this book? On the fence.

Theo is an astrobiologist with a problem - he has a son that he cannot understand and his name is Robin. Robin is a child who likes nature, art and is a caring little boy who seems to love everything. However, after an incident involving injuring another child at school, Robin is about to be expelled. His father has no choice but to probably put his son on psychoactive drugs as he descends down a rabbit hole of anxiety, trouble and loneliness, extreme levels of isolation and the inability to feel. As Theo tries to find a cure, he learns of something that may help his son learn his dead mother's recorded brain patterns from when she was once alive.

Now, the first problem I have with this book is the finger-pointing it does at psychoactive drug therapy. The author seems to have a lot of nothing to say on it - apparently about the fact that it doesn't work. But that simply is anti-science. The truth is that psychoactive drug therapy can work for a lot of people and has even worked for me in the past and present. To state that something simply cannot work and to say that based on zero evidence whatsoever is something that put me really on the fence about this book. It did feel at times like it was more of trying to tell the reader what to do rather than focusing itself on telling a compelling story about a broken boy who's lost his mother.

There was one line that I didn't find very useful at all: "No doctor can diagnose my son better than I can." Actually, yes they can. Doctors see thousands upon thousands of these cases in their lifetime so the way they diagnose it will be far more accurate than some guy who is anti-science but also seems to like space and the stars, can.

One thing I did understand is the philosophical aspect of the novel in the idea of intelligent life developing over and over again. But I do feel like the character of Theo is not presented as smart as he is supposed to be. Why would a man who is asking these questions of the universe be against treating his child with modern, intelligent medication? It makes no real sense but it helps in developing Robin's story a little more and allows Theo to do that weird neurological experiment on him.

All in all, I felt a little cheated out of character development in this book. I feel like there were several problems with Theo that the reader simply doesn't get used to. Instead, we are forced to deal with it as Robin, a child, is basically refused the help he so desperately requires. To any woman with empathy for a child, this can be somewhat disturbing and I don't think that if Robin's mother were alive, she would enjoy this approach to her son's future behaviours.