State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

In State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, scientists discover a drug in the Amazon, which appears to extend female fertility into old age. An American drug company plans to market a “Shangri-La for ovaries.” Marina, a childless middle-aged pharmacologist, is sent to check up on the research and to collect the remains of her colleague, who had died mysteriously in the jungle. Marina is mistaken for a native due to her Indian American skin, especially after she loses all her luggage. Her perseverance, despite daunting hardships, makes her an admirable protagonist.

Patchett’s descriptions are wonderfully sensuous: “The outside air was heavy enough to be bitten and chewed.” Another scene involving an enormous anaconda snake in a boat was viscerally action-packed. I could smell, hear and even taste the Amazon, but what ruined the experience was that the non-indigenous characters all seemed to fear or to resent the jungle. The setting was an impediment to their work.

Cornwall, England - really!

I’ve done some field biology myself in challenging settings: in Kenya and in the Gulf of Mexico. I once found a tarantula on my sleeping bag. Elephants have charged me; I almost stepped on a poisonous snake and a bad jellyfish sting made me pass out. The physical hardships were daunting, but the beauty of the setting more than made up for it. A passion for science and the thrill of discovery makes fieldwork fun . . . at least for some of us. I got the sense that the author transferred her personal fear of the Amazon to her American characters.

State of Wonder, and Marina in particular, had so much potential but fell short, especially at the end. I disliked the narrative tone even as I appreciated the quality of the writing and all the fascinating, well-developed characters. Patchett is the most talented wordsmith. You can mine almost any page of her novels for gems. Perhaps my problem was only that I had such high expectations based on Patchett’s earlier work. Her Bel Canto, also set in South America, was nearly perfect. Patchett remains one of my favorite authors.

However, the South American authors Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez did a much better job of capturing how beauty balances the dangers of the jungle. Hey Amazon, why can’t we get One Hundred Years of Solitude on the Kindle? I just bought this gorgeous paperback copy for my son at the Borders closing sale. Talk about final chapters. Will 2012 be the year of the ebook?

Disclosure: no free products were received. While stowing my Kindle for landing in Heathrow Airport, I read about Patchett’s new novel (published June, 2011) in a magazine. I then sampled the first chapter and downloaded the ebook while waiting for the train to Cornwall. Kindles are great for travel!

Where I read State of Wonder: West Country, England

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@Barrie Summy