State of Wonder

A Novel

By: Ann Patchett

Narrated by: Hope Davis

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

A New York Times best seller

Orange Prize nominee

A Time Magazine’s Best Books of the Year

A Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Top Ten Best Books

A Wellcome Trust Book Prize nominee.

“Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchett’s fiction.” (New York Times Book Review)

Award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Ann Patchett returns with a provocative and assured novel of morality and miracles, science and sacrifice set in the Amazon rainforest.

Marina Singh is a research scientist at Vogel, a pharmaceutical institute in Minnesota, and inconveniently in love with her boss, Mr. Fox. When one of her colleagues is reported to have died while following up on the progress of a field team based in Brazil, Marina is dispatched by Mr. Fox to the Amazon to uncover the truth of his death. And his widow wants his effects.

She travels to Manaus, then down into the Amazonian delta, deep into the dense, dark, insect-infested jungle. The research team is looking into the development of a new miracle drug that could revolutionize Western society. A local tribe has the bark of a certain tree, it yields a substance which allows them to conceive late into middle age: many of the women are getting pregnant into their 60s and 70s.

The problem is that the team is taking too long: they have been silent for two years, and Marina has been tasked to find out what is holding back their progress. The second problem is more serious: the team is being headed up by the daunting figure of Annick Swenson, an eminent and fiercely uncompromising scientist who was once Marina’s colleague, and towards whom Marina has very complicated feelings. What Marina learns will change her life. In a novel that is packed with amazing twists and surprises, Ann Patchett returns with immense confidence to a broad canvas, teeming with atmosphere and characters and rich with narrative.

Remarkable events - fights with anacondas; encounters with cannibals; deaths; re-births - and profound moral decisions come together in a novel that will enthrall her many listeners and fans and is guaranteed to be a major best seller.

Infusing the narrative with the same ingenuity and emotional urgency that pervaded her acclaimed previous novels Bel Canto, Taft, Run, The Magician’s Assistant, and The Patron Saint of Liars, Patchett delivers an enthralling, innovative tale of aspiration, exploration, and attachment in State of Wonder - a gripping adventure story and a profound look at the difficult choices we make in the name of discovery and love.

©2011 Ann Patchett (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

Critic reviews

“An expansive page-turner . . . Patchett’s fluid prose dissolves in the suspense of this out-there adventure . . . that readers will hate to see end.” (Publishers Weekly)

“An engaging, consummately told tale.” (New York Times)

“A superbly rendered novel. . . . Patchett’s portrayal is as wonderful as it is frightening and foreign. Patchett exhibits an extraordinary ability to bring the horrors and the wonders of the Amazon jungle to life, and her singular characters are wonderfully drawn. . . . Powerful and captivating.” (Library Journal, starred review)

this was a cool story

this story was so interesting. I don't know how to explain it. it goes in every which way. you really don't expect all that happens. I would read another of her books. I like her style.

Pharma story naive

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Liked Bel Canto so listened to Patchett's latest from that experience.

Has State of Wonder turned you off from other books in this genre?

Probably

What about Hope Davis’s performance did you like?

Compelling

Could you see State of Wonder being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Hope not

Any additional comments?

Patchett is naive regarding how the pharma business works. The story is, kind of, the reciprocal of the finding of naturally occurring estrogen in the Barbasco tree of the Mexican jungle by Syntex resulting in the commercialization of Birth Control Pills.

Not particularly engaging

Never really satisfied with the story... anticlimactic ending
Story just chugged along never really going anywhere.

eh...

This is definitely a 3.5 star book. The writing is so beautiful and striking that I just couldn't stop listening - it's certainly the most understated yet engaging description of a jungle I've ever read. But for most of the book, there was a total lack of forward momentum - after the first third of the book or so, I felt kind of like I was hanging around in the jungle with the main character waiting for some larger purpose to emerge. Maybe that's the effect the author intended, but it left me rather frustrated. Given how long I felt that way, the ending seemed like more of a cop-out than a resolution.

Fascinating and creative story!

I loved the story. An amazing adventure that kept moving at a pace that kept you on the edge of your seat.

One that will stay with me for a long time.

If you could sum up State of Wonder in three words, what would they be?

Travel to an Alternate Universe.

What other book might you compare State of Wonder to and why?

I read it immediately after I read the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. In both cases, there are clashes of cultures, realities, ideas, and sensitivities. Women raised and nurtured in one set of realities enter an alternate universe. It's fascinating to find what endures and what must be cast aside for survival. Both are well written, but I think that Kingsolver digs deeper into the cores of the characters.

What about Hope Davis’s performance did you like?

She has an easy style and did a nice job sorting out the two main characters...Dr. Singh's voice sounded young and vulnerable....Dr. Swenson was done exactly right...stubborn and unbending (but never cruel)

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Searching for life in a forest of dreams.

Any additional comments?

Yes! I want an epilogue! What happened to Anders and his wife? Did their lives resume? Did Dr. Swenson live to complete her work? Did Dr. Singh and Dr. Fox sustain their relationship in the face of all that happened in the Amazon? Was the malaria vaccine ever tested? Did Easter return? Maybe this is why I will not stop thinking about this book!

Terrific novel of the heart and mind!

I purchased this not expecting much but was blown away by the quality of the writing and the richness of plot, characters and theme. Medicine, science, romance, suspense and beautifully painted characters...a total winner! I will go on to get all of Ann Patchett!

Lyrical Prose

Ann Patchett's superb writing is what kept me captivated throughout this novel. The setting is described with great care and the people of the land are developed to become one with the land. I found the story dragged in the middle. The narrator is appropriate and delivers the story nicely. Parts of this reminded me of The Poisionwood Bible in the way the setting was a character in the story and some of the characters were part of the setting while others are intruders and still others adapt to the land.

Interesting

Would recommend to other listeners! Great story with strange twists and you must have a good imagination.

Irritating plot line

The story irritated me from the beginning but it pulled me in nonetheless. Which irritated me even more. What company sends 1 person to the Amazon, then when they learn he dies, sends 1 more female after him? Huh? Oh well. I’m in HR so all of that was completely unreal from how I know it would be handled.