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LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2014 Seventy-year old avant-garde composer Peter Els opens the door one evening to find the police outside. His DIY microbiology lab - the latest experiment in his lifelong attempt to extract music from rich patterns beyond the ear's ability to hear - has come to the attention of Homeland Security. Panicked by the raid on his house, Els flees and turns fugitive, waiting for the evidence to clear him and for the alarm surrounding his activities to blow over. But alarm turns to national hysteria, as the government promises a panicked nation that the 'Bioterrorist Bach' will be found and brought to trial. As Els feels the noose around him tighten, he embarks on a cross-country trip to visit, one last time, the people in his past who have most shaped his failed musical journey. And through the help of these people - his ex-wife, his daughter, and his longtime artistic collaborator - Els comes up with a plan to turn this disastrous collision with national security into one last, resonant, calamitous artwork that might reach an audience beyond his wildest dreams.
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About the Author:
Richard Powers has been a recipient of a Lannan Literary Award and a MacArthur Fellowship, as well as a winner of the US National Book Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is the author of eight novels, including The Time of our Singing, Plowing the Dark, and Gain. He lives in Los Angeles.
From Booklist:
*Starred Review* Retired composer Peter Els has an unusual hobby, do-it-yourself genetic engineering. Is his work dangerous? We’re not sure, but when hazmat-suited government agents descend on his home, he flees, becoming perhaps the world’s least likely suspected terrorist, the “biohacker Bach.” On his prolonged cross-country journey, we learn Els’ life story in flashback: how he fell in love with music and with a woman, went to school at the height of the avant garde, and began a lifelong struggle between the urge to invent and the need to please. World events, from JFK’s assassination to 9/11 to H5N1, provide a kind of tragic meter. Els’ leap from music to genetics seems forced at first, but Powers (a National Book Award winner for The Echo Maker, 2006) plays the long game, sure-handedly building a rich metaphor in which composition is an analog for other kinds of human invention, with all the beauty and terror that implies. Like his protagonist, he makes art that challenges rather than reassures his audience. Powers has a way of rendering the world that makes it seem familiar and alien, friendly and frightening. He is sometimes criticized as too cerebral, but when the story’s strands knit fully together in the final act, the effect is heartbreaking and beautiful. --Keir Graff
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- PublisherAtlantic Books
- Publication date2014
- ISBN 10 1782391614
- ISBN 13 9781782391616
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages384
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9781782391616
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Longlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize. A fine, unread copy of a first edition, first impression hardback in a very good+ unclipped dustjacket. (1cm tear to top corner of dustjacket) All books are swathed in biodegradable bubble wrap and posted in strong, custom made book boxes to ensure undamaged delivery. Seller Inventory # 010664
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. This is the UK first edition / first printing, with the complete numberline 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. A great copy of this acclaimed novel, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The author won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for 'The Overstory'. We protect all our books with a removable plastic cover, and send them with care. Seller Inventory # 001586
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Orfeo >>>> A SUPERB SIGNED & LINED UK FIRST EDITION & FIRST PRINTING HARDBACK <<<<
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. A fine UK first edition, first printing hardback in a fine unclipped dustjacket - All my books are always securely packed with plenty of bubblewrap in professional boxes and promptly dispatched (within 2-3 days) - SIGNED & LINED BY RICHARD POWERS via a customary bookplate - Pictures of the book are available upon request. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 003028
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