State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

I have seen this book on "must-read" lists on the internet so when I saw it sitting in the "hot picks" section of the library I snatched it up! This is an adventure story that kept me turning the pages.

The book follows the story of Dr. Marina Singh, a pharmacologist, who must travel to a remote part of the Amazon in search of answers surrounding the untimely death of her friend and colleague, Anders Eckman. She is also tasked with determining the status of research done on a fertility drug that her employer, Vogel Corp., has funded. Heading the research is Dr. Annick Swenson, who has guarded the results of the research to the point of ridiculousness. Marina must convince Swenson to be more transparent with her results as the company's bottom line is dependent on the drug's commercial success.

I liked this book - it was fun. It wasn't a high brow literary work with a deeper meaning but I found the writing to be quite good and the characters complex and engaging. Patchett painted a great picture of the heat and oppressiveness of the Amazon, but it still made me want to go!

My only criticism is that I didn't like the ending. I wanted more as far as the outcomes of the characters in the story. The harshness of life on the Amazon is a big theme throughout the book and the reader definitely sees that played out in the book. The ending is "happy" in one sense but utterly heartbreaking in another. The reader goes with the protagonist on this adventure into the heart of the Amazon and experiences that hardships that go with that. I think that the unsatisfying ending is engineered to leave the reader with just that sense of being changed by the trip.

I would recommend this book for it's readability and it's engaging storyline. It's a good read, yo!

-Laurie