BOOK REVIEW: State of Wonder

STATE OF WONDER is my fourth book by Ann Patchett and I can tell you that this is not an author who writes from a formula. Her books are creative with a touch of magic.

We meet Dr. Marina Singh in her office as she receives word that her research partner at the pharmaceutical company has died. Dr. Anders Eckman’s death had occurred somewhere in the Amazon basin of Brazil.

Marina is sent to find out what happened to Anders, and, more importantly to the company, to find out what is happening with the valuable new drug that is being developed. She will be meeting with Dr. Annick Swenson, who has been in the jungle for years working on this very secretive drug.

To complicate matters, Dr. Swenson had been a mentor of Marina’s back in medical school when Marina had made a life changing mistake. Dr. Swenson, now in her seventies, had proven to be extremely passionate about her work in the past and she is still ruthless and uncompromising with her co-workers.

The book is mainly the story of Marina and her odyssey from Minnesota to the jungles of Brazil. Along the way she has to come to face her own past as well as poison arrows, devouring snakes, a neighboring tribe of cannibals, and Dr. Swenson’s part in her life.

The story is well told. Patchett describes the atmospheres of the small town in Brazil and the jungle very well. I could feel the heat, the poverty of the natives, the dangers of the snakes and insects. I also feel that she probably nailed it about how far the pharmaceutical world will go to protect their investments.

What I did not feel was a connection to most of the people. As I have often said, I like to see characters that are well developed. Outside of Marina, Dr. Swanson, and Easter, the small native boy, I never learned more about some of the important side characters. This may have been deliberate on the part of the author in order for the ending to work, but I felt a little cheated.

I will read more Ann Patchett in the future. I like the fact that she is original and always a bit surprising and, although I enjoyed STATE OF WONDER, it is not as good as her Bel Canto, one that I highly recommend.