Playground, Richard Powers

  "Playground" by Richard Powers has one of the best twists in modern literature. It is a subtle one that may be hard to realize at first. Spoilers: here is an explanation of the brilliant ending.

 Todd Keane has been writing letters to an AI machine that is in turn writing his life's story. Since he can't remember things from dementia, he has the machine write a story about how he would like to remember them, not necessarily how they were. For example, we are led to believe from the AI story that Ina and Rafi did not sleep with each other. At no point in the novel is it ever stated. Yet that is the only explanation for their abrupt rift, and is the reason Rafi no longer trusts Todd. Todd would like to forget this ever happened, and write a story about him that does not leave a bad impression on his readers. Every narrative in the novel that isn't written in italics is AI, while all the italics are actual letters from Todd to the machine to help generate a story.

 What is also fed to the machine is Evie's popular book with detailed descriptions of the marine world. Todd read it as a little boy, which inspired him to preserve the ocean. But this was a lost dream as greed propelled him into a career in tech. This regret is relieved in the AI story, as Todd saves the island his friends live on, with Evie also living there, who in reality is deceased like Rafi. This is why the book has so many beautiful, albeit quirky descriptions of the oceans. It really does read like AI in some parts, and I wouldn't be surprised if Powers actually used it, though highly doubtful- he would lose integrity over making a point. He is a gifted writer whose new book rivals "The Overstory" as his best. 

 The twist is that Rafi never lived on the island. He was dead the whole time. But the AI that Todd worked on his whole life resurrected him by changing history, as Rafi had once philosophized about the point of evolution. It's a rare book when so many loose ends are tied together at once. 

 This would make a great film, with many layered metaphors involving manta rays and the game of Go. It demands a re-read, at least for me.