The Gold Bug Variations
1991 book by Richard Powers
0-688-09891-6Dewey Decimal
The Gold Bug Variations is a novel by American writer Richard Powers, first released in 1991.
Plot introduction
The novel intertwines the discovery of the chemical structure of DNA with the musicality of Johann Sebastian Bach's harpsichord composition the Goldberg Variations. A similar theme is explored by Douglas Hofstadter in his 1979 book Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. The title also alludes to Edgar Allan Poe's 1843 short story "The Gold-Bug", which is also incorporated in the plot of the novel.[1]
The plot hinges on two love affairs: the first set in the 1950s, between two scientists intent on discovering the mysteries of DNA; the second in the 1980s, between two lovers who befriend the scientist featured in the novel's flashbacks.
Awards
The Gold Bug Variations has received the following awards:
- Time magazine Book of the Year, 1991
- Publishers Weekly Best Books of 1991
- Vrij Nederland Best Books of 1991
- New York Times Notable Book, 1991
- De Morgen Best Book of 1991 (named in 1999, in a compilation of the best books each year over the last half century)
- Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, 1991
References
- ^ "Genetic Coding and Aesthetic Clues: Richard Powers's 'Gold Bug Variations'". Mosaic. 31 (4). Winnipeg: 151. December 1, 1998.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to The Gold Bug Variations.
- Bibliography of editions of Gold Bug Variations.
- Listing of reviews and writings about Gold Bug Variations.
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Novels by Richard Powers
- Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance (1985)
- Prisoner's Dilemma (1988)
- The Gold Bug Variations (1991)
- Operation Wandering Soul (1993)
- Galatea 2.2 (1995)
- Gain (1998)
- Plowing the Dark (2000)
- The Time of Our Singing (2003)
- The Echo Maker (2006)
- Generosity: An Enhancement (2009)
- Orfeo (2014)
- The Overstory (2018)
- Bewilderment (2021)
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