63 pages • 2-hour read
Playground: A Novel
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Book Club Questions
General Impressions
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of mental illness and illness or death.
Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.
1. Playground has a complex narrative that interweaves topics including technology, environmentalism, memory, and loss. Which aspect of the novel affected you most deeply, and why?
2. In what ways does Playground compare to Powers’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Overstory, particularly in its exploration of environmental themes and human connection? Does it remind you of other recent novels that address similar issues?
3. The novel uses a nonlinear narrative structure that intersperses Todd’s first-person memories throughout a broader third-person story that the novel later reveals is AI-generated. How did this approach and revelation affect your reading experience?
Personal Reflection and Connection
Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.
1. Playing games like chess and Go is central to Todd and Rafi’s friendship. Have competitive activities ever played a role in your important relationships?
2. Rafi and Todd both carry guilt. Have you ever felt guilty about something, and did that guilt influence your decisions in any way?
3. Evelyne feels truly at home only underwater because she feels a sense of peace. Where do you feel most at peace?
4. The “common task” in Fyodorov’s philosophy represents a unifying purpose that might bring humanity together. What do you believe could serve as a meaningful common task in our contemporary world?
5. Ina creates art from garbage that washes up on Makatea’s shores, finding beauty and meaning in discarded objects. Have you ever transformed something considered worthless into something meaningful?
Societal and Cultural Context
Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.
1. The novel describes how colonial powers exploited Makatea for phosphates, causing lasting damage. Where do you see similar patterns of exploitative resource extraction and resulting environmental damage today?
2. What implications might current developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have for our understanding of consciousness and personhood, as the novel explores through Todd’s AI device?
3. The “seasteading” project represents tech billionaires escaping regulation and societal constraints. What parallels do you see between this fictional endeavor and real-world relationships among wealth, technology, and democratic governance?
Literary Analysis
Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.
1. The contrast between Todd’s first-person narration and the third-person omniscient sections creates tension between subjective and objective truth. Why might Powers have chosen this narrative structure?
2. Think about Evelyne’s relationship with the ocean. What do Evelyne’s thoughts, feelings, and actions relating to the ocean reveal about the novel’s environmental themes?
3. Why do you think Powers chose to title this novel Playground? How is the title significant, and does it carry more than one meaning?
4. How did the revelation that much of the narrative was created by an AI device change your understanding of the characters and their stories? What do you think the novel’s message about AI is more broadly?
Creative Engagement
Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.
1. If you were designing your own version of Todd’s AI device, which memories or stories from your life would you prioritize preserving, and what gaps might exist in your narrative?
2. Imagine that you are a resident of Makatea facing the referendum on the US consortium’s project. Would you vote for or against it, and why?
3. Write a brief eulogy for either Todd or Rafi that captures what you believe would be most important about their life and legacy.
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