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I was intrigued by the marketing for this novel which highlights its account of what seems to have been a very classical Jungian analysis. Although it is clearly autobiographical in origin, I did not feel this was autobiography thinly disguised as fiction. The book is well-plotted with characters and events that contribute to the symbolic themes and the central character, Bo Grayson, is believable and someone I could care about. The author has drawn on his own passion for skiing and may well have personal experience of trading on the Chicago stock market as well since the descriptions of both these arenas are convincing. However, unlike his creator, there is no indication that Bo Grayson has the remotest interest in Ancient Greek or is about to become a novelist.
The story concerns a young man on the run - initially from his parents' broken marriage and their obvious neglect of their only son and later from everything connected with adult responsibility and especially committed relationships. This is the story of someone who has lived the life of a puer aeternus in an entirely unconscious way and only later begins to discover the significance of his continual avoidance of commitment and emotional intimacy - with himself as much as with others. Here the author is particularly successful in conveying the world through unconscious eyes so that the (analytically informed) reader sees what the character himself cannot. Throughout his twenties, Bo lives as a ski-bum, working in resorts to fund his real life's adventure of skiing, whenever and wherever he can. Courting excitement and danger, he moves from one resort to another seeking the perfect snow - the ‘powder’ of the title. Gradually he begins to notice that while others are beginning to settle down and find their way in life, he is still acting like a 19 year old. Eventually he resolves to seek another way-making money.