Playground by Richard Powers: A Brilliant, Chilling Reflection of Our Reality
Playground was my first Richard Powers novel, and I absolutely loved it. I’m still surprised it didn’t make the Booker Prize shortlist (it made the longlist)—though, at the same time, not surprised at all because we all know that readable books don’t tend to do well with the Booker. Honestly, this one maybe should have won.
If you enjoy literary fiction that’s intelligent without being pretentious, add this one to your list.
One of the things Powers does so well is telling a story through multiple perspectives. At first, the narratives feel separate, but as the novel unfolds, they start to intertwine in ways that are both satisfying and unsettling. He plays the long game, revealing connections slowly until everything clicks into place.
At the core of the novel is Todd, a tech genius who created an app called Playground. It’s a mix of Facebook and Reddit, but with engagement fully gamified through an in-app currency called Playbucks. Millions of users are hooked, and the lines between digital life and reality become dangerously blurred.
What makes Playground so compelling is that it doesn’t feel speculative—it feels like an extension of the world we already live in. Powers captures the influence of social media in a way that is genuinely unsettling. The novel explores how these platforms don’t just manipulate us but fundamentally shape how we think, interact, and see the world. It’s terrifying because it feels so real.
The Rise of Dystopia in Fiction
In recent years, there’s been a surge in novels exploring AI, social media, and the near-future consequences of our digital age. While Playground isn’t exactly a dystopian thriller, it taps into the same anxieties that drive dystopian fiction—the loss of agency, the rise of unchecked power, and the ways technology is reshaping society faster than we can fully grasp.
Why are so many books tackling these themes now? Maybe it’s because we’re already living in the early stages of these imagined futures. Powers doesn’t present a distant nightmare—he presents a world that feels just one step ahead of where we are now.
Climate Change, Decolonisation, and Who Holds the Power
Beyond AI and social media, Playground also weaves in themes of climate change and colonisation. It’s not just about technology but about who controls it, who benefits from it, and who gets left behind. Powers has a way of making these global issues feel deeply personal, which is what makes the book so powerful.
I loved this book. It’s ambitious, gripping, and way too relevant for comfort. If you’re into literary fiction that makes you think without making you suffer through 600 pages of self-indulgent prose, this one is for you.
Playground was easily one of the best books I read in January, and I still think it deserved more from the Booker. If you’re interested in the dark side of AI, the impact of social media, and where we might be headed, pick this one up—because life is too short to read bad books.