| The Gold Bug Variations | |
| Author: | Richard Powers |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Publisher: | William Morrow & Company |
| Release Date: | August 1, 1991 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Isbn: | 0-688-09891-6 |
| Dewey: | 813/.54 20 |
| Congress: | PS3566.O92 G65 1991 |
| Oclc: | 22665566 |
The Gold Bug Variations is a novel by American writer Richard Powers, first released in 1991.
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.
The Gold Bug Variations has received the following awards: