Something is wrong with Eddie Hobson Sr., father of four, sometime history teacher, quiz master, black humorist and virtuoso invalid. His recurring fainting spells have worsened, and with his ingrained aversion to doctors, his worried family tries to discover the nature of his sickness. Meanwhile, in private, Eddie puts the finishing touches on a secret project he calls Hobbstown, a place that he promises will save him, the world and everything that’s in it. A dazzling novel of compassion and imagination, Prisoner’s Dilemma is a story of the power of invalid experience.
“A complex treatment of time…An absorbing view of history.” —New York Times Book Review
“Accomplished…mature and assured…Richard Powers is…a major American novelist.” —New Republic
“Enough plot twists and conspiracy-making ingredients to satisfy the most demanding aficionado of the genre.” —Irish Times
“Grand fiction…Prisoner’s Dilemma is magnificent.” —The Nation