Rating: 
Summary: My first introduction to Powers
Review: Galtea was my first introduction to the novels of Richard Powers. I'm happy to be a new reader of his. Powers' is capable of a very fine, clear writing style. He also, as I've come to learn, often intertwines two or more stories into his narratives. Galatea is also somewhat of an autobiography, where the author refers to the real goings on in his personal history including his real name as that of the main character. One fault I had witht he novel was I found it a bit difficult to reconcile the two main story lines and think they didn't really mesh well into each other. One thing that puts Powers ahead of many of the other pomo writers (Delillo, Gaddis and later Wallace) is his ability to make the reader connect with the characters personal feelings, occurences and beliefs on a deeper level. I'd also go so far as to state that he is easily the most accessible. I found Galatea to be a very readable and well written novel that has led me to more of Powers' writings. I've already begun "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance" and am looking forward to "The Gold Bug Variations".
Rating:
Summary: My first introduction to Powers
Review: Galtea was my first introduction to the novels of Richard Powers. I'm happy to be a new reader of his. Powers' is capable of a very fine, clear writing style. He also, as I've come to learn, often intertwines two or more stories into his narratives. Galatea is also somewhat of an autobiography, where the author refers to the real goings on in his personal history including his real name as that of the main character. One fault I had witht he novel was I found it a bit difficult to reconcile the two main story lines and think they didn't really mesh well into each other. One thing that puts Powers ahead of many of the other pomo writers (Delillo, Gaddis and later Wallace) is his ability to make the reader connect with the characters personal feelings, occurences and beliefs on a deeper level. I'd also go so far as to state that he is easily the most accessible. I found Galatea to be a very readable and well written novel that has led me to more of Powers' writings. I've already begun "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance" and am looking forward to "The Gold Bug Variations".
Rating: 
Summary: As Complex as Life
Review: Having just finished Galatea 2.2 I turn to the Amazon.com reviews to see what other people got out of it - but have I really gotten out of the book or is this just another self referential extension of it? - maybe he will incorporate these reviews into his next "autobiographical" fiction! I loved the book. I have lived it for the last two weeks. I have no claim to an objective interpretation of it, but I rolled with it. I enjoyed the embedded literary references to works that I thought I had long forgotten. It reminded me how much I loved literature once and how important I thought it was. It reminded me of my own Taylors. The relationship with C. seems pretty integral to the story unless one is trying to read Galatea as sci-fi, which I don't think we can blame Powers for. That relationship and the book as a whole seem as ambiguous and complex as real life. Galatea was an illumination to me not because it provided any real answers, but simply because it cast more light in the dimness that often shrouds everyday life and everyday suffering. I enjoyed the cognitive noodling, but I didn't take it as science as much as metaphor: Waking up to the millions of ways the mind can look at itself and still not really know much about anything. Other reviewers seem to assume that the narrator and the author are basically identical. This is a big assumption. I personally think that Powers probably wove his story backwards from his previous books, and the only autobiographical elements are those that were already in the public record. As far as I can tell, no one really knows much about Power's actual life, and it is seems unlikely that he would forego the privacy he has striven to maintain by incorporating the details of his private life (esp. a relationship with "C.") in this book. Emotionally, I'd actually like to think of the book as autobiographical, but... I'll be rereading this book for a while, hopefully parsing some of the sentences that I couldn't figure out how to untie. Operation Wandering Soul is next on my list.
Rating:
Summary: An enthusiasic review of a well-written novel for the 90s.
Review: I am highly recommending Galatea 2.2, the newest book from the author Richard Powers.
Powers writes dense books with multiple story lines that wrap themselves around each
other like a double helix. Typically, his books weave these two stories (usually
featuring different points in time) into a fascinating tapestry that holds the reader's
interest until the very last page. Galatea 2.2 is no different. In this book, Powers relates
a partially autobiographical story of his life and love from college through the writing
of his first four books, with the story of his involvement in teaching a neural network
based computer how to learn -- a kind of Pygmalion story for the 90s (hence the name
Galatea -- she was the sculpture of a maiden created by Pygmalion and subsequently
brought to life by Aphrodite).
Like Powers' other books, this one features lush, beautiful language and imagery. The
book is bittersweet in that it relates both the tale of a love that finally broke down and
the tale of trying to build something from nothing.
For fans of Powers' previous books, this one provides enlightenment into the frame of
mind and life of the author when he was writing his previous books. For those who
were not fans of Powers before, Galatea provides a window to those earlier works
which should encourage readers to seek out the other works.
Galatea 2.2 was a recent nominee for the National Book Awards, garnering Powers a second nomination. He is also a past recipient of one of the McArthur genius grants.
I could hardly put this book down...and yet, I didn't want it to end. It leaves me
wanting for another of his books.
Rating:
Summary: An enthusiasic review of a well-written novel for the 90s.
Review: I am highly recommending Galatea 2.2, the newest book from the author Richard Powers.Powers writes dense books with multiple story lines that wrap themselves around eachother like a double helix. Typically, his books weave these two stories (usually featuring different points in time) into a fascinating tapestry that holds the reader's interest until the very last page. Galatea 2.2 is no different. In this book, Powers relates a partially autobiographical story of his life and love from college through the writing of his first four books, with the story of his involvement in teaching a neural network based computer how to learn -- a kind of Pygmalion story for the 90s (hence the name Galatea -- she was the sculpture of a maiden created by Pygmalion and subsequently brought to life by Aphrodite). Like Powers' other books, this one features lush, beautiful language and imagery. The book is bittersweet in that it relates both the tale of a love that finally broke down and the tale of trying to build something from nothing. For fans of Powers' previous books, this one provides enlightenment into the frame of mind and life of the author when he was writing his previous books. For those who were not fans of Powers before, Galatea provides a window to those earlier works which should encourage readers to seek out the other works. Galatea 2.2 was a recent nominee for the National Book Awards, garnering Powers a second nomination. He is also a past recipient of one of the McArthur genius grants. I could hardly put this book down...and yet, I didn't want it to end. It leaves me wanting for another of his books.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, but...
Review: I cannot dispute anything the other reviewers have said. Powers weaves a good tale, his characterizations are dimensional and believable, his erudition and knowledge of AI are impressive. Still, I am left with a feeling that, like his protagonist, he lacks inspiration. His themes, characters, and references all have depth, surely, but they also seem to have a bottom. For instance, when the main character is getting his dressing-down from a younger doctoral candidate for his hopelessly dead-white-male view of literature, both her arguments and his response are thought-provoking and believable. But there is no hint of anything that would go outside the boundaries of a traditional, faculty-lounge discussion; she never makes any radical attack on the terms of the debate. You get the feeling that Powers had to make his protagonist just a hint dumber than himself in order to make the character to lose the argument. Powers is smart, but something that fits neatly into his head is still limited. Still, I enjoyed the book, and it is an interesting take on important themes.
Rating: 
Summary: whatever...
Review: I promise that I'm not writing this to be contrary to the rest of the reviewers. Reading this book just wasn't that fulfilling of an experience for me, and I'm a bit surprised by the preponderance of top notch reviews it garnered. The book has some pluses, especially on the writing side (some of the phrases Powers turns are reminiscent of Martin Amis or Don Delillo--stylish, thoughtful, and immediate). But when I finished it, I was pretty underwhelmed. Yes there are some excellent bits of writing in here, but they are like pieces of driftwood in a vast, tepid sea. The artificial intelligence plot of the book showed promise, but in the end lacked originality with regard to the technical, behavioral, or social sciences, one of which is usually well-developed or at least well-pondered in a typical A/I offering. And then you've got the love story. Maybe I would cut Powers more slack if the main character wasn't him, but it was, so I found the whole plot line very self-absorbed and cry-babyish, and ultimately, it left me disinterested. FYI--usually when I read a review on amazon, I wish I knew even a tidbit of info about the reviewer so I know how much credibility to assign him/her. That said--I'm a 28 yr. old college-educated male with apparently too much time on his hands.
Rating: 
Summary: Knows a lot of words....uses most of 'em.
Review: I wanted to give this book a 2.2, but was limited by Amazon's rating system. This was a Christmas present, so I felt somewhat obligated to read it. What a bore! It was just like listening to your most self-absorbed professor in college drone on endlessly about his or her life at the cocktail party from hell. There are only three characters with any depth: Rick (AKA Marcel and Beauie), a writer with the same name as the author and who has written the same books; Lentz, the AI expert; and C., Rick's former common-law wife, with whom he's still obsessed. Powers uses first initials instead of names for some people and places, presumably out of his past. This is unoriginal and just annoying. The thinnest of plots involves Rick teaching a computer built by Lentz to read and interpret literature. But, this is just a premise for Rick to expound on his philosophy of life and place in the world. There are numerous self-serving references to the author's other books AND, incredibly, reviews of them. It reminded me of the rampant product placement in the last James Bond movie. Hey! That's an idea! Maybe Powers can cut a deal with Ritz Crackers for his next book. Anyway, I kept hoping Tom Clancy would fly by, drop a bomb on U., and end all this pretentious crap. No luck.
Rating: 
Summary: Story marred by ideosyncracies
Review: I wish I could join my fellow readers' joy and delight in GALATEA 2.2, but all I could find was a fascinating story ruined by authorial displays of self-conciousness. It's bad enough that the book is written by one "Richard Powers" who suspiciously has a past similar to the author's. But the annoying and self-indulgent pattern of calling characters by single initials (C. for the lover) and of naming obivious locations by initials (B for Boston and U. for Urbana, Illinois) only serves to distance the reader from Powers' work. Are we supposed to take his story seriously, or as some kind of fable he's constructed from his true past? Is there something wrong with calling a town and town? I found his characters fascinating, but best being Artificial Intelligence expert Lentz, a barely human creature who turns out to have a heart of sheer beauty. Others display the human foibles we all love. But C. is a sheer bore and the love story between her and the self-important "Powers" made me want to skip whole sections of the book. There are far too many authors today determined to prove that they can improve on the simple act of telling a good story. Powers falls into the trap of trying to distance us, create a myth instead of an all-out fictional tale, turn machines into objects of love and desire. The book has wonderful moments of mood and description, but the main character's disturbing ennui and the pathetic non-ending, made me sorry I even spent the time on this novel. Three stars for the writing. A big goose-egg for the tale.
Rating:
Summary: Good modern fiction, poor science fiction
Review: I'm an avid reader of science fiction, and I have a professional interest in anything pertaining to artificial intelligence. Accordingly, I was excited by the premise and promise of Galatea 2.2. It seemed likely that Richard Powers could explore this field in a thought-provoking, valuable, or interesting new way. Unfortunately not. This isn't really a book about Helen, or about AI. The whole concept of Helen exists only as a foil for the musings and life discoveries of the autobiographical protagonist; she could be replaced by a socially stunted colleague or disabled child and nearly none of the text would have to change. It may be worthwhile fiction, but if your interest is in the supposed topic rather than the author, look elsewhere.
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