by Richard Powers

isbn: 0374159963
subject: Fiction and Literature
finished: 8/2/1998

Gain tells two stories: one is the history of Clare, a massive soap company with roots in 19th century Boston, and the other is about a woman with cancer who lives near a Clare plant in rural Illinois. There were several differences between this book and Powers' previous work; it contains less of the fun but difficult rambling sections that characterized Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance, The Gold Bug Variations, and Operation Wandering Soul, and the characters seem more human -- they aren't as relentlessly intelligent as they have been in previous books. As I now expect for a Powers book, Gain was not only a joy to read but also a learning experience, this time about cancer and its treatment, and about the development of the corporation in America. Highly recommended.