Playground

Pulitzer Prize winner Powers (The Overstory) presents an oceanic final frontier, replete with life, immense, and incalculably valuable to the people whose ancestors have dwelt on islands and atolls for millennia. Todd Keane extracted billions from his social media empire Playground and has crafted a seasteading venture to reshape the French Polynesian island of Makatea’s economy. As the island votes on whether to welcome this new invasion, Keane’s later-in-life reminiscences reveal personal motives. He recalls his unlikely friendship and falling out in youth with fellow Chicagoan Rafi Young, a brilliant Black poet disdainful of the rising computer age; their mutual adoration of Ina Aroita, who creates art inspired by her Pacific Islander heritage; and a midcentury children’s book by barrier-breaking marine scientist Evelyne Beaulieu. The moving individual stories of these individuals, as well as Makatea’s leaders, benefit hugely from a talented cast of narrators, each adding to the characters’ distinction and clarifying timelines. Kevin R. Free as young Rafi and Robin Siegerman as Quebecer Evie contribute stand-out performances.