THE ECHO MAKER

by Richard Powers

I really enjoyed the two previous books I read by Richard Powers:  The Overstory (read review here) and Bewilderment (read review here). So, recently when I read Margaret Atwood’s book of essays, Burning Questions, and she raved about The Echo Maker, I knew I had to read it.  Only this time, I found Powers’ writing to be grueling.

The storyline of The Echo Maker is engaging enough.  Mark Schluter has a serious car accident and when he recovers, he believes that his sister, Karin who has returned to Nebraska to care for him, is an imposter.  Karin brings in a world-renowned cognitive neurologist, Dr. Gerald Weber, to diagnose and help treat her brother.  Powers develops three believable and sympathetic characters in Mark, Karin and Gerald.  But he goes into excruciating detail about Dr. Weber’s various diagnoses of Mark.  For what seemed like hundreds of pages, the reader is confronted with technical, neurological and psychological terminology – to the point that I found myself annoyed and bored.

The Echo Maker has the makings of a good novel, but unlike Margaret Atwood, I couldn’t sustain my interest due to the reams of medical details Powers included.  For that reason, The Echo Maker was not my cup of tea. (Liz)