Playground

What Playground is about

Todd Keane, a tech billionaire living with dementia with Lewy bodies, tells his own story in the first person. He looks back on growing up in Evanston, Illinois, attending St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, and studying at the University of Illinois. He is also the creator of Playground, a gamified social media platform in the vein of Reddit and Facebook.

Between his chapters, the novel turns to three people who shaped him. Evie Beaulieu is a French-Canadian marine biologist and diver who contends with sexism and grows into a well-known voice for ocean science. Rafi Young, a brilliant student from a poor West Side Chicago neighborhood, becomes Todd's rival and friend over games of chess and Go. Ina Aroita, a sculptor raised on naval bases in the South Pacific, dates Rafi until a quarrel pulls the three apart. Rafi and Ina later settle on Makatea, an island facing a vote on whether Californian tech companies can build artificial islands nearby. Todd's passages are addressed to Playground's newest AI model, Profunda, and the other chapters are a tale it has composed from what it knows.

Richard Powers's 2024 novel was longlisted for that year's Booker Prize. It weighs friendship, rivalry, memory and the ocean against technology, and it should appeal to readers who like big ideas carried by human relationships.

Questions about Playground

When was Playground published?

Playground by Richard Powers was first published in 2024.

Was Playground one of the best books of 2024?

Playground is #15 on BookWard's Best Books of 2024, out of 33 2024 books that cleared our data bar. 300 readers have shelved it on Open Library; its Wikipedia page averaged 6,089 views a month recently.

Why is Playground on the Best Books of 2024 list?

300 readers have shelved it on Open Library; its Wikipedia page averaged 6,089 views a month recently.

More of the best books of 2024

• The Let Them Theory Mel Robbins, #1
• The Tainted Cup Robert Jackson Bennett, #2
• Lights Out Navessa Allen, #3
• The Women Kristin Hannah, #4
• Funny Story Emily Henry, #5
• The Wedding People Alison Espach, #6

See the full Best Books of 2024, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.