State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Title: State of Wonder
Author: Ann Patchett
Publication Date: June 2011 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Harper
Source: Library

State of Wonder is another of my final reads from 2011 that I absolutely loved. I think I devoured it in a day or maybe two which is really fast for me considering that I had other books last year that I was reading for weeks.

Marina Singh, a pharmaceutical research scientist, is sent to the Amazon to determine if any progress is being made by her former mentor Dr. Annick Swenson. Another purpose for her trip is to determine how exactly her colleague, Anders Eckman, died when he was sent on the same journey to find Dr. Swenson. Dr. Singh finds the research scientists working with Dr. Swenson to be very secretive about their exact findings and must spend more time in the jungle than she had hoped earning their trust.

The language used in State of Wonder is fantastic. The descriptive passages really drew me into the story while the story is kept moving with uncertain action. The characters are interesting with their depth and hidden secrets. The circumstances of life in the jungle force past relationships to surface and forgotten skills to be put once again to the test. The contrast between the comforts of Singh's life in Minnesota and the harsh beauty she finds in Brazil highlight the complacency most of us have in our own lives. Rarely do we travel so far outside of our comfort zone and challenge ourselves in a new environment. Patchett holds a mirror up to each reader as if to say see what you could become if you expanded your reality and moved beyond the routine.

Without giving anything away, I will say there was one aspect of the ending I was not thrilled with but I loved the twist to the story that I honestly didn't see coming. Even with the one tiny aspect that I didn't think fit well, I highly recommend State of Wonder . It was a great book that thoroughly captured my attention.


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