State of Wonder in WACKY READING CHALLENGES

Feb 27, 2015 Book Concierge rated it liked it

Shelves: library, concierge, science, strong-women, audio, nature, relationships, literary-fiction, medicine

Audiobook performed by Hope Davis
3.5***

From the book jacket: Dr Marina Singh, a research scientist with a Minnesota-based pharmaceutical company, is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr Annick Swenson, who seems to have all but disappeared in the Amazon while working on what is destined to be an extremely valuable new drug. Nothing about the assignment is easy: not only does no one know where Dr Swenson is, but the last person who was sent to find her, Marina’s research partner An Audiobook performed by Hope Davis
3.5***

From the book jacket: Dr Marina Singh, a research scientist with a Minnesota-based pharmaceutical company, is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr Annick Swenson, who seems to have all but disappeared in the Amazon while working on what is destined to be an extremely valuable new drug. Nothing about the assignment is easy: not only does no one know where Dr Swenson is, but the last person who was sent to find her, Marina’s research partner Anders Eckman, died before he could complete his mission. Marina embarks on an odyssey into the jungle in hopes of finding Dr Swenson as well as answers to troubling questions about her friend’s death, the state of her company’s future, and her own past.

My reactions
There is something about the plot summary that makes me think of those 1950s jungle sci-fi movies – where giant rodents or amoebic blob monsters will somehow attack the scientists (except for the pretty daughter of the old scientist, and the handsome young helicopter pilot sent to rescue them). But Patchett’s novel is not really like those ridiculous (if highly entertaining) movies.

There is a deeper undercurrent here as the reader watches Marina navigate her way through the jungle that is her past, present and future. I was fascinated by that personal journey and frustrated by it as well because I never quite figured Marina out. Was she a strong woman, confident and accomplished? Was she a damaged soul, unable to recover from the tragic losses she’d suffered in her life? Was she a passive automaton, mindlessly obeying the dictates of those around her to Stay here, Go there, Wait, or Run? She seemed in a fog for much of the book – who is so careless with her luggage (not once, but twice)?

And then there are the other characters. Dr Swenson is part mad scientist, part revered mentor, part no-nonsense practical matriarch, and part frail old lady. Barbara Bovender is a trusted gate-keeper, a dingbat hippie, a sophisticated world traveler, and a frightened city girl in the big, bad jungle.

There are passages that are beautifully written and evocative of place – the steamy jungle humidity, the constant noise of insects, the smells and sounds that frighten or soothe. Then there are sections of dialogue (mostly involving Dr Swenson) that seemed very stilted and abrupt.

Hope Davis does a fine job performing the audio version of the book. She had good pacing and sufficient skill as a voice artist to differentiate most of the characters (though she did sometimes forget that Barbara was an Aussie).
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Mar 04, 2018 Olivermagnus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: zjan-2022, 2022, fiction

Vogel pharmaceutical researcher, Marina Singh, is sent into an isolated region of the Amazon to investigate the death of her colleague, Anders Eckman. Her boss also wants her to take the opportunity to meet up with her former professor, Dr Annika Swenson who refuses to update the company on her top secret research. The drug, whose research Vogel is funding, is one that will prevent or undo menopause and allow women to give birth throughout their lives.

The descriptions of the Amazon throughout t ...more

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Dec 06, 2022 Karen rated it liked it

My neighbor recommended this as something different. It was different. I finished it so long ago that I really don't remember much about it except for the really weird tree chewing that I will never be unable to unsee in my mind. I read a Patchett short story/memoir that I really liked, but I don't seem to be a fan of her fiction. Oh well. ...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Brindi Michele rated it did not like it

Shelves: personal-interest-adult, book-club-reads, abandoned

I gave it 50+ pages and couldn't get into it....not really into the Amazon or medical/drug stories. I read the plot online because it's a book club book and I kind of want to discuss/ask questions. I liked the ending, sort of the-last-50-pages-are-the-best kind of book. ...more

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