A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE

THE POWERFUL NEW NOVEL FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AND BOOKER-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE OVERSTORY AND BEWILDERMENT

‘Ascends to the plane of true, indisputable greatness’ OBSERVER
‘An ambitious, rapturous epic’ GUARDIAN
‘Magisterial, moving and thought-provoking … a beautiful love letter to our oceans’ NEW SCIENTIST

Rafi and Todd are two polar opposites at an elite high school. As adults, Rafi gets lost in literature, while Todd’s enters the world of AI. Elsewhere, Evie sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs; Ina grows up in naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home.

All of these people meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, marked for humanity’s next great adventure.

Set in the world’s largest ocean, Playground interweaves profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity.