Book Review: GENEROSITY - AN ENHANCEMENT by Richard Powers

Generosity: An Enhancement by Richard Powers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Technology changes what we think is intolerable."

I've stopped keeping track of how many Richard Powers books I've read. I only count the ones I have yet to read.

Reading his books needs to be spaced out between months, nay, years. Because whoever one reads afterward will ultimately suffer by comparison.

Powers' power lies in merging wordsmithing with science and technology. He blends the knowledge of a physicist by training with a humanist's eye towards the arc of civilization, and the dangerous places it can go.

In GENEROSITY, our main character is an Algerian refugee who astounds her college professor and classmates, and eventually, the whole world, with her seemingly unshakable happiness and love for life, despite going through the most harrowing of terrors.

Can we genetically code for joy? Just how much of our personhood is genetically determined?

In novel form, Powers summarizes both sides of the debate between nurture and nature, between those who would use Science to basically play God and select only good genes for future generations, and those who shrink from this frontier as annihilation of what makes us human.

Ultimately, Powers' book says, all life is already a gift we take for granted, and our generation's tendency towards despair is partly a result of the deadly yet popular practice: a performative life streamed live 24/7 on social media, numbing us to the miracle of being, already "luckier than all those who are unborn."

We all have it in us to reshape our stories, and our destinies, Powers believes. And the greatness of the human soul cannot simply be divided nor found in molecules.

Powers is no religious author, but in his faith in humanity and in our ability to use our collective knowledge to chart a better future is a bright infection well worth catching.

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Book Review: THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM (Remembrance of Earth's Past # 1) by Cixin Liu

The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"To effectively contain a civilization’s development and disarm it across such a long span of time, there is only one way: kill its science.”

I attempted to read this book way back in 2017. A dear friend generously lent me her copy, but I had to return it after reading about a third only. "I'm not smart enough," I told her ruefully.

Fast forward to now, and with the Netflix adaptation only months away, I felt compelled to revisit this challenging book (the first in a trilogy).

Perhaps it's the added wisdom from the extra years (I've become a substitute Science teacher, in the meantime), but I managed to more than power through... I enjoyed myself immensely!

It's truly worth the difficulty of the occasional Googling, as the author assumes the reader has a good grasp of physics, astronomy, and general science. This is scifi, so of course not all of it is true. But a great deal of it is! Which grounds the book in a reality jarring in its cruelty.

"Reality brands each of us with its indelible mark. Every era puts invisible shackles on those who have lived through it, and I can only dance in my chains," wrote Cixin Liu.

What can turn a human against her fellow humans? Cixin Liu gives a convincing response. He began with our antiheroine's girlhood during the Cultural Revolution, where she goes through unimaginable horrors.

The novel takes place across decades. In modern times, a mystery is afoot. Scientists are dying left and right, and a mysterious computer game seems to be at the heart of the problem. But who is behind this? And towards what end?

What elevates this book from a mere entertaining beach read to classic is the scope of Liu's vision, and the extensive world building. He basically came up with his own brand of physics for a new world.

Highly recommended for fans of RF Kuang and good scifi, as it has the immense weight and power of the best of them. Dune, Foundation, Ender... this series is more than worthy to stand beside these great classics.

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