The philosophical and intellectual depth of Richard Powers's writing makes it suitable for group discussions among sophisticated readers. Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance is filled with puns, subtle allusions, and several levels of meaning, all of which dictate that those who wish to derive the strongest insights from the book will discuss it with other knowledgeable readers.

It is a rare author who works so totally within the world of ideas as Powers does. Initially, this may discourage some readers who will not be able in his writing to identify easily the sorts of memorable characters that emerge from a Dickens novel or from the writings of such later writers as Willa Cather, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, or Reynolds Price.

Nevertheless, reading a novel like Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance and subjecting it to the collective scrutiny of a...