Generosity
Aug 2025 · Random House
Ebook
304
Pages
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Eligible
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infoThis book will become available on August 21, 2025. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
'Thrilling ... such wonderful storytelling' Observer
'Powers' acuity and satire are as sharp as ever' Sunday Times
'Smart, tender and wrenchingly anxious about the approaching era ... A bracingly intelligent fable about the choices that face us' Sunday Telegraph
When Chicagoan Russell Stone begins teaching a Creative Nonfiction class, he meets Thassadit Amzwar, a young Algerian woman with a radiant presence. But he is disturbed by her – how can someone from a country ravaged by conflict be so happy? Puzzling the melancholic Russell, Thassa’s happiness prompts him to research her war-torn country and theories on happiness. His amateur inquiries lead him to college counselor Candace Weld, who also falls under Thassa’s spell. Dubbed ‘Miss Generosity’ by classmates, Thassa’s joy catches the eye of notorious geneticist and advocate for genomic enhancement Thomas Kurton who claims to have found the genotype for happiness. Yet, as media frenzy builds, Thassa’s optimism is tested.
Richard Powers’ Generosity explores the implications of a genetic basis for happiness, asking who would control it, and how would it reshape humanity.
'Powers' acuity and satire are as sharp as ever' Sunday Times
'Smart, tender and wrenchingly anxious about the approaching era ... A bracingly intelligent fable about the choices that face us' Sunday Telegraph
When Chicagoan Russell Stone begins teaching a Creative Nonfiction class, he meets Thassadit Amzwar, a young Algerian woman with a radiant presence. But he is disturbed by her – how can someone from a country ravaged by conflict be so happy? Puzzling the melancholic Russell, Thassa’s happiness prompts him to research her war-torn country and theories on happiness. His amateur inquiries lead him to college counselor Candace Weld, who also falls under Thassa’s spell. Dubbed ‘Miss Generosity’ by classmates, Thassa’s joy catches the eye of notorious geneticist and advocate for genomic enhancement Thomas Kurton who claims to have found the genotype for happiness. Yet, as media frenzy builds, Thassa’s optimism is tested.
Richard Powers’ Generosity explores the implications of a genetic basis for happiness, asking who would control it, and how would it reshape humanity.
About the author
Richard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory and his most recent novel, Bewilderment, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He lives in the Great Smoky Mountains.
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