Prisoner's Dilemma

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED BEWILDERMENT AND THE OVERSTORY Something is wrong with Eddie Hobson Sr., father of four, sometime history teacher, quiz master, black humourist and virtuoso invalid. His recurring fainting spells have worsened, and with his ingrained aversion to doctors, his worried family tries to discover the nature of his sickness. Meanwhile, in private, Eddie puts the finishing touches on a secret project he calls 'Hobbstown', a place that he promises will save him, the world and everything that's in it. 'Richard Powers is the most intellectually stimulating novelist at work in the English language today... Sentence after sentence has the razor-sharp quality of aphorism about the weird wired world we have made' Daily Telegraph

'Accomplished ... mature and assured ... A major American novelist' New Republic Eddie Hobson, Sr., father of four, occasional history teacher, quiz master, black humourist, and master invalid, is facing a mysterious ailment. His recurring fainting spells have worsened, and his ingrained aversion to doctors leaves his worried family scrambling to uncover the nature of his sickness. Meanwhile, Eddie secretly works on a project he calls ‘Hobbstown’, a place he believes will not only save him but the world. A dazzling novel of compassion and imagination, Prisoner’s Dilemma explores the profound power of individual experience and the lengths to which one man will go to protect those he loves and his vision for a better world.

'Accomplished ... mature and assured ... A major American novelist' New Republic Eddie Hobson, Sr., father of four, occasional history teacher, quiz master, black humourist, and master invalid, is facing a mysterious ailment. His recurring fainting spells have worsened, and his ingrained aversion to doctors leaves his worried family scrambling to uncover the nature of his sickness. Meanwhile, Eddie secretly works on a project he calls ‘Hobbstown’, a place he believes will not only save him but the world. A dazzling novel of compassion and imagination, Prisoner’s Dilemma explores the profound power of individual experience and the lengths to which one man will go to protect those he loves and his vision for a better world.