Generosity is Richard Powers' most exuberant novel yet, in which he dares to imagine what might happen when science discovers the genes for happiness...

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOKER PRIZE-SHORTLISTED BEWILDERMENT AND THE OVERSTORY

It all begins when a young Algerian woman, Thassa, arrives in Russell Stone's writing class. Her stories reveal a horrific past, but her presence sends spirits soaring. This glimpse of pure happiness in the most improbable of guises leaves Russell feeling as troubled as it does entranced. And he isn't alone: Thassa has caught the eye of Dr Kurton, a scientist in search of the 'happiness gene'. He sees in her the key to the breakthrough that will make his name and change history. But can the quality that makes her so valuable survive the ruthless glare of media attention?

Funny, fast and enchanting, Generosity celebrates both science and the imagination. In his most exuberant book yet, Richard Powers asks us to consider the big questions facing humankind as we begin to rewrite our own existence.

'Smart, tender and wrenchingly anxious about the approaching era... Generosity is a bracingly intelligent fable about the choices that face us.' Sunday Telegraph