Generosity

Generosity by Richard Powers is hailed as 'Thrilling ... such wonderful storytelling' by the Observer. The Sunday Times praises Powers' 'acuity and satire' as being 'as sharp as ever', while the Sunday Telegraph describes it as 'Smart, tender and wrenchingly anxious about the approaching era ... A bracingly intelligent fable about the choices that face us'.

When Chicagoan Russell Stone begins teaching a Creative Nonfiction class, he meets Thassadit Amzwar, a young Algerian woman with a radiant presence. But her cheerful disposition disturbs him – how can someone from a country ravaged by conflict be so happy?

Puzzling the melancholic Russell, Thassa’s happiness prompts him to research her war-torn country and theories on happiness. His amateur inquiries lead him to college counsellor Candace Weld, who also falls under Thassa’s spell. Dubbed ‘Miss Generosity’ by classmates, Thassa’s joy catches the eye of notorious geneticist and advocate for genomic enhancement, Thomas Kurton, who claims to have found the genotype for happiness. Yet, as media frenzy builds, Thassa’s optimism is tested.

Richard Powers’ Generosity explores the implications of a genetic basis for happiness, questioning who would control it and how it could reshape humanity.