The Echo Maker

Richard Powers

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

On a winter night on a remote road in Nebraska, twenty-seven-year-old Mark Schluter's truck turns over in a near fatal accident. His older sister, Karin, his only close relative, returns reluctantly to their hometown to nurse Mark back from a traumatic head injury. But when he emerges from a protracted coma, Mark believes that this woman - who looks, acts, and sounds just like his sister - is really an identical impostor.

Shattered by her brother’s refusal to recognise her, Karin contacts the cognitive neurologist Gerald Weber, famous for his case studies describing the infinitely bizarre worlds of brain disorder. Weber recognises Mark as a very unusual case of Capgras syndrome and is keen to investigate. But what he discovers in Mark begins to undermine even his own sense of self.

Meanwhile, Mark, armed only with a note left by an anonymous witness, attempts to learn what happened on the night of his accident. The truth of that evening will change the lives of all three beyond recognition.

Set against the spectacular spring migrations of American Sandhill cranes, The Echo Maker is a profound and riveting novel that explores how memory, instinct and relationships make us who we are.

About the Author:
Richard Powers is the author of many novels, including Galatea 2.2 and The Gold Bug Variations, both of which were nominated for the US National Book Critics Circle Award, Operation Wandering Soul, which was nominated for the US National Book Award for Fiction, Plowing the Dark, Gain, and most recently, The Time of Our Singing, winner of the WH Smith Literary Award. He lives in Illinois.

'A compelling and thought-provoking novel.'

'Powers is a brilliant storyteller...as hard to put down as it is to fathom.'

Review by Jessica (310811) Rating (9/10)

Review by Jessica
Rating 9/10
Ribbons of crane birds play a part in this poignant tale.

When her brother, Mark Schluter, is involved in a road accident and ends up with brain damage, Karin is thrown into the deep end. Tense and distraught, Karin struggles with her emotions at his bedside and tries to keep him positive.

As time passes, she learns maybe three vehicles are implicated in the crash. She suspects his two friends. But perhaps Mark’s ex friend Daniel can help solve the disaster and the mysterious note? You reach out to Karin and feel her grief.

A very involving and touching read, written with descriptive words and a style no other can beat. Sheer brilliance, this novel is one of its kind.
Jessica (31st August 2011)