Richard Powers cites Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow as the book that transformed his understanding of the novel during his teenage years. At 16, deeply interested in science, math, and history, he found the book’s complex structure and surreal elements unlike anything he had encountered before. It led him to believe that with sufficient creativity and passion, a novel could create its own narrative rules.
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Reflecting on 'perfect' novels, Powers admits it is a tricky concept. While he once aspired to perfection in writing, he now appreciates the value of messiness. He highlights Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams, a novel he regards as embodying wholeness and harmony, despite lacking a traditional plot or characters.
Currently, Powers is captivated by Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country, which he describes as conjuring the feeling of being trapped in a waking dream. He is struck by the mix of photorealism and stylized imagery, noting the book’s haunting gritty psychology and its ability to transcend time.
Powers also suggests D. M. Thomas’s The White Hotel, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1981, as a must-read. Although dense with historical and intellectual content, Powers believes it unfolds like a grand fairy tale and culminates in a profound exploration of human desire, perversion, and the tumult of the 20th century.