Prisoner's Dilemma

There is no better way to sum up this novel than to steal from W.H. Auden. The first time through this book, I knew there was a wealth of power and beauty hiding underneath it. Perhaps this is a novel that you have to read at a vulnerable time. Perhaps events such as September 11th compel me to say to those of you who will read this review in the future "Read this book to someone you love and weep with them for the world we now inhabit. We have relinquished our own ability to see the magic inherent in the world." If, during the Grand Inquisitor scene in The Brothers Karamazov, Jesus deigned to respond to the questioner, this is perhaps what he would have said. It is a novel that attempts to free us from the gated enclaves of the suburbs, the fear and nightmare of double deadbolts, the paranoia of opening mail. Eddie Hobson, Sr. is a man who feels that he must take on the burden of everyone else's mistrust, no matter the personal consequences. He is reduced to speaking in symbols, the better to convey all the aching meaning he feels for his family and the world. He, who is the least physically able, warps his entire family to his side, forcing them to relive his transformation from naive child of the midwest to one who has seen the Brave New World brought about by anonymous men in secret offices. This novel is multi-layered, complex, and deep in ways that make this, IMHO of course, the best explanation of the American Experience since WWII. It's better than Delillo's Underworld by quite a way, and if, you want to escape from the realizations Powers forces upon you, there's always Chapter 11. Everyone's had their own version of Chapter 11, and it is gorgeous. I wanted to call people last night while reading it, just to share the wonder and beauty of it with someone. Fantastic novel, fantastic author, this book chides us with the realization that the only way out of the self-imposed isolation we've managed to hide ourselves in is to fight it every day.

I have yet to read "The Gold Bug Variations" and one other of this Author's works. However of the 5 I have read, this work was as good or better than the previous 4. Richard Powers writes with an expertise that is well above the norm, and his writing requires some adjustment, as his style is dense, his knowledge just shy of unbelievable, and the structures of his stories rarely follow a straight line."Prisoner's Dilemma" is much more than the title of this book. John Von Neumann and others utilized the concept when using game theory in real life planning for the US Government, amongst other times, during the Cold War. This is not in the book, so I spoil nothing for the next reader."Issei, Nisei" and "Bhagavad Vita", and other bits I could not fit like Mickey Mouse, encompass facts they cannot be discussed, without at least hinting at what I think the plot is. I have included them as they are just of few of the dozens of concepts that Richard Powers has not only mastered, but also handles with such dexterity.As with all his books only the Author knows what he intends to create, what he hopes the reader will take from the experience. My thoughts are not meant to contradict others, just express my own.Ed Hobson Sr. is the story; his Family and others are the effects of his life experience. Mr. Powers is always playing with life's bigger questions, and under his pen they become even larger and more complex. For me the reference to Cornell was the key, the conclusions drawn from the book thereafter would make for great debate. The story is about evil, how we as individuals, and as the collective that is our race, deal with our actions and their results.The Protagonist is constantly compressing all he can into the present, whether the receiver is his own mind or that of his Wife And Children. The refrain of do what you can now, do what you can while you can, ties neatly into the dilemma that is the heart of the Prisoner's Dilemma, not as a book title but as game theory.I place my wallet on the table and challenge you to do the same. The proposition is that whoever has the least amount of funds gets all their opponent has, which is at least double what the winner started with. Play the scenario out as it was done in the book, and your initial decision to play or to refuse might surprise you. And therein lies the dilemma, the choices we make, the faith we place in other's choices, and what actually transpires or results is, I believe, what at least a good part of this characteristic wild ride that is a Powers work, is about.Your understanding may be completely different, and no less valid. His writing is an acquired taste, but once done becomes an addiction.

It seems that Powers is setting out to bring order to the whole world, and with "Prisoner's Dilemma" he brings the tangled fields of sibling relationships and ailing parents under his masterful control. As his fourth work that I've read I begin to see increasing number of similarities, ranging from mundane to profound, but all of them seem aimed at exploring the small corner of the world with which the given book is concerned. Here Powers does so expertly and movingly, drawing on decades' worth of American history while telling the story of one family caught therein. A worthwhile read for anyone concerned about the state of our country, families therein, or modern writers.

This book seems, for quite a while, to be more modest, more confined to interpersonal relations than Powers' other books. Then, suddenly, the reader's mind explodes with the realization of just what the Prisoner's Dilemma is, the realization of the scale of the human problem that Powers wants us--and the characters of the family that are the novel--to confront. This book is not light, casual entertainment, despite the humor that enters throughout. It is a book one cannot forget.

Taking its title (and part of its story) from the well known group dynamics exercise of the same name, this novel asks us to examine what extreme individualism and self-sufficiency has done to our modern world. It beautifully examines the disintegration of one man as he recognizes the limits of personal initiative and education and the corrosive effect this disintegration has on his family. In a time when our so-called leaders play to our basest and most selfish instincts, this novel asks us to see the real need we have to be able trust each other and work cooperatively for the common good. Powers delivers this message in a fascinating and cleverly written work with complex characters with which we can identify and about whom we care. This is a book well worth reading.