Orfeo: A Novel

Richard Powers

Jan 2014 · W. W. Norton & Company

About this ebook

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Overstory, an emotionally charged novel inspired by the myth of Orpheus.

"Bravo, Richard Powers, for hitting so many high notes with Orfeo and contributing to the fraction of books that really matter." —Heller McAlpin, NPR

In Orfeo, composer Peter Els opens the door one evening to find the police on his doorstep. His home microbiology lab—the latest experiment in his lifelong attempt to find music in surprising patterns—has aroused the suspicions of Homeland Security. Panicked by the raid, Els turns fugitive and hatches a plan to transform this disastrous collision with the security state into an unforgettable work of art that will reawaken its audience to the sounds all around it.

Ratings and reviews

Astonishing and hypnotic. Powers is a writer with abundant gifts that tumble out for us like manna from a smashed pinata. The smartest and most accurate chronicler of 21st century America. An artist we are privileged to experience in real time.

Powers has a gorgeous grasp of the English language, reminscinent, but not quite at the level of, Vladimir Nabokov. The subject is fascinating and multifaceted, and the passion with which he writes about classical music has profoundly changed the way I appreciate the genre.

About the author

Richard Powers is the author of fourteen novels, including The Overstory, Bewilderment, and Orfeo. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Award. He lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.