Author: Anne Patchett
Host: Shirley
Insights and Opinions
Our discussions are always lively, and the discussion of State of Wonder by Ann Patchett was no exception. Some pondered the possibility that Patchett might be planning a sequel to the book, as we were in a State of Wonder about the following unanswered questions (FYI, every one of these unanswered questions will spoil the story for you if haven't already read it, so fair warning):• Will the bark-addicted and presumably now quite fertile Marina become pregnant from her roll in the hammock with Anders?
• Will Marina return to the Amazon to assume her position as Dr. Swenson's heir apparent?
• Will Easter be resurrected (again) and find his way back to the Lakashi and Dr. Swenson?
• Will Marina and Mr. Fox ever be on a first-name basis?
+ We all agreed the book is a real page-turner. Most liked the book, and several saw it as Marina's voyage into The Heart of Darkness. We were not unanimous about giving it a thumbs up, however. Blanche liked the novel enough to want to reread it, Joanne "did not much care for it," and Linda felt the indigenous peoples ("an intractable race...any progress you advance to them will be undone before your back is turned") were not dealt with respectfully.
+ Linda asked if others saw, as she did, a similarity between the way Henrietta Lacks was treated by the doctors at Johns Hopkins and the way the Lakashi were treated by Dr. Swenson and her associates, and she kept waiting for the Big Reveal that would explain why the Lakashi were so intimidated by Dr. Swenson that they allowed her to chart their menstrual periods and take their children's blood. Linda wished Patchett had tackled the issue of corporate greed and addressed the problem inherent in scientific exploration of how to extract whatever raw materials the scientists want without destroying the habitat and culture of the indigenous people who reside in the area under exploration.
+ Margy commented on the book's Minnesota setting and was unconvinced by Ann Patchett's thought that Minnesota (all cold and flat) is so easy to write about.
+ Our criticisms aside, Gail and Steve pointed out and we agreed that Dr. Swenson was a wonderfully drawn and fascinating character and Marina's personal odyssey was compelling. We were all interested in Patchett's admission that The Poseidon Adventure has been her most important artistic influence, and we could see that in this jungle thriller.
+ Liz missed the whole thing, having thought the session was on Tuesday rather than Monday.
Despite a plot that became increasingly improbable as the story progressed, I loved this book—the setting, the characters, and Patchett’s lively prose. Descriptions like this one were a treat: “The minute she stepped into the musty wind of the tropical air-conditioning, Marina smelled her own wooliness. She pulled off her light spring coat and then the zippered cardigan beneath it, stuffing them into her carry-on where they did not begin to fit, while every insect in the Amazon lifted its head from the leaf it was masticating and turned a slender antenna in her direction. She was a snack plate, a buffet line, a woman dressed for springtime in the North.” Having canoed the Boundary Waters wilderness for many years, I can relate.
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