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By Kerry , flame-haired janeite · 21 posts · 40 views
By Kerry , flame-haired janeite · 21 posts · 40 views
last updated Oct 24, 2011 12:06PM
What Members Thought
Jonathan Evison, author of West of Here, writes of "the death of the slow unfolding," novels that take their time to open and disclose their stories. Today many novels often open briskly, if not with explosions. Witness Ann Patchett's Bel Canto--by the end of chapter one, a room full of dignitaries has been taken hostage by South American freedom fighters.
State of Wonder hearkens back to a "slow unfolding," although slow does not equal dull. It is a rich, satisfying story, with Patchett's usual ...more
State of Wonder hearkens back to a "slow unfolding," although slow does not equal dull. It is a rich, satisfying story, with Patchett's usual ...more
An amazing and powerful book, Ann Patchett's best yet, which takes the reader deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle where Dr. Marina Singh goes looking for a colleague who has died there while on a mission to check into the research progress of the formidable Dr. Annick Swenson, her own former medical school professor. Resonating with images, themes, and even characters evoking Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," "State of Wonder" gives us the dense, dark, deadly jungle as metaphor for the s
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Had to wake up early this morning to finish this book before Nina woke up and then, when she did, I let her play in her crib for a couple of minutes because the end was so good. Wonderful wonderful book.
It was obvious that Patchett did her research for this book, however, I felt that I couldn't get inside the skin of her main characters.I felt she didn't quite draw me in to the mystery of the story due to a lack of connection with her main female character nor the man who was missing.
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The writing is lovely, and the main character is vivid and real. The character of Dr. Swenson also comes alive, although she is a bit more of a cliche--a no-nonsense battle-axe of a doctor. Many of the plot developments, though, felt either heavy-handed (Marina losing all of her possessions) or implausible (not to give anything away, but most of the last quarter of the book). This book works best when thought of as a character study; the plot doesn't hold up to examination.
Lots of Conradian echo ...more
Lots of Conradian echo ...more
There were some extremely likable characters but the narrative was a bit unfocused. And the postmodern tendency to forgo any conclusion to the story is infuriating. This was a very good read but the ending left me thinking, "That's it?!" I needed about 50 more pages.
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Jun 10, 2011
Casey
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