Bewilderment

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of illness or death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The novel weaves together themes of parenting, environmental collapse, neurodiversity, and the search for extraterrestrial life. Which narrative thread affected you most deeply? What aspects of Powers’s storytelling made that element particularly impactful?

2. Bewilderment shares thematic concerns with Powers’s other works like The Overstory and The Echo Maker, particularly in its exploration of humans’ relationship with the natural world. If you’ve read his other novels, how does this one compare in its approach to environmental issues and human connection?

3. What did you make of the near-future political climate that Powers creates as a backdrop for the novel? How did this setting shape your understanding of Theo and Robin’s personal struggles?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Theo uses imaginary planets as bedtime stories for Robin. What stories or rituals from your childhood helped you understand difficult concepts or process complex emotions? Do these still resonate with you today?

2. Have you ever found yourself in a situation like Theo’s, where you weren’t sure if you were making the right decision for someone in your care? How did you navigate that uncertainty?

3. Robin’s fierce dedication to environmentalism mirrors his mother’s activism. Did someone in your life shape your relationship with nature or instill values that remain important to you? How did their influence manifest in your life choices?

4. After Currier’s treatment ends, Robin fights desperately against reverting to his former self. When have you experienced a positive change in yourself that later proved difficult to maintain? How did you handle this challenge?

5. In what ways does your own experience with climate anxiety compare to what the characters feel in the novel? Do you share Robin’s urgent activism, Theo’s analytical approach, or something entirely different?

6. Theo makes the controversial choice to pursue experimental neurofeedback rather than medication for Robin. What factors have influenced difficult healthcare decisions you’ve made for yourself or others? Have you ever chosen an unconventional path when traditional solutions didn’t feel right?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Which aspects of the novel’s political landscape do you see already emerging in our society today? What warnings might Powers be offering about our environmental and political future?

2. Robin briefly becomes famous as a child environmental activist through viral videos. In what ways do young activists impact our current environmental movement? Does society listen to children’s voices differently than adults’ regarding climate issues? Why might their voices matter most?

3. Throughout the book, Powers portrays various approaches to neurodiversity, from medication to experimental therapy to acceptance. How does this reflect current debates about neurodivergence in our culture? What message does the novel convey about supporting neurodivergent individuals?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What significance does the title Bewilderment hold for you? How does the concept of bewilderment manifest in different characters and situations throughout the story?

2. The invented planets Theo describes function as both scientific speculation and intimate bedtime stories. How do these planetary descriptions serve the narrative? What do they reveal about Theo’s worldview and his relationship with Robin?

3. Powers uses first-person narration from Theo’s perspective and presents Robin’s speech in italics without quotation marks. How does this narrative technique affect your understanding of their relationship? What does it suggest about how Theo sees himself in relation to his son?

4. Robin’s paintings of endangered animals become an increasingly important motif throughout the novel. In what ways does his art function symbolically? How does his artistic development mirror his emotional and social growth?

5. Alyssa remains a powerful presence despite being deceased before the story begins. How does Powers use memory, technology, and embodied influence to keep her character alive throughout the narrative?

6. Consider the novel’s cyclical structure, beginning and ending at the cabin in the woods. What other cycles and patterns appear in the book? How do these patterns enhance the novel’s themes about nature, loss, and human connection?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you could create your own planet for Theo’s index of potential worlds. What would your planet be like? What forms of life might evolve there, and what would this reveal about your view of existence?

2. Robin channels his environmental activism through painting endangered animals. If you were to create art about an issue you care deeply about, what form would it take and what would it depict? How might your creative approach differ from or resemble Robin’s?

3. At the end of the novel, Theo uses Currier’s machine to reconnect with Robin’s emotional state. Write a brief scene from Theo’s perspective describing what he experiences in this moment of neurological connection with his son.

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