"Richard Powers, whose novels combine the wonders of science with the marvels of art, astonishes us in different ways with each new book."—Heller McAlpin, NPR BooksAn astrobiologist thinks of a creative way to help his rare and troubled son in Richard Powers’ deeply moving and brilliantly original novel.  Theo Byrne is an astrobiologist. He is also the widowed father of a most unusual nine-year-old. Robin is loving, funny and full of plans to save the world. He is also about to be expelled, for smashing his friend’s face in with a metal thermos. What can a father do, when the only solution offered is to put his boy on psychoactive drugs? What can he say, when his boy asks why we are destroying the world? The only thing to do is to take the boy to other planets, while helping him to save this one."Powers is an essential member of the pantheon of writers who are using fiction to address climate change. Bewilderment shows how tenuous their hopes may be"-Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles TimesRichard Powersis the multi-award-winning American author of 13 novels, who has now been shortlisted twice for the Booker Prize.