State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

For the first time in a long time, we found ourselves with a party of six for our meeting.  We were so pleased that JoAnn brought her friend, Laure, with her.  It certainly added to our lively discussion both at the dinner table and afterwards.  I’m still waiting for the perfect situation with my teenage kids to use the phrase she taught us, “Are you picking up what I’m putting down?!” J I cooked some Brazilian dishes to honor our book’s setting.  We noshed on Brazilian Shrimp Gumbo served with coconut rice, a tropical fruit salad, a green salad, cashews, and made-from-scratch corn pudding.

Brenda was kind enough to share a natural mosquito repellant recipe used by Brazilian fishermen:

2 cups rubbing alcohol

1/3 oz. cloves

7 TBS baby oil

Mix alcohol and cloves in a jar.  Let stand for 4 days shaking the jar 2 times a day.  After 4 days, add the baby oil and it is ready to use.  Apply just a couple of drops to legs, behind ears, .....

Synopsis:

Ann Patchett’s book, State of Wonder, focuses on Marina Singh, a scientist working in the lab of a pharmaceutical company in Minnesota.  Early on in the story, Marina finds herself on a journey to the jungles of Brazil to uncover the truth concerning the death of her colleague, Anders Eckman.  On this journey, Marina will discover truths not only about her co-worker, but more importantly, about herself.

Comments:

Marina is a very interesting woman.  We felt both sorry for her and frustrated with her.  So many things had been stripped from her during her lifetime, starting with her father, then her OB/GYN career, and even her luggage throughout her entire stay in Brazil.  It seemed as if nothing was within her control, and those things that she could control she didn’t appear to be willing to take the reins – like her relationship with Mr. Fox.  We surmised that Mr. Fox represented a father figure to replace her own father who lived abroad with another wife and family for most her life and who had died while she was in college.  Marina did not appear to have much of a voice in the relationship with Mr. Fox or really much of a voice in any aspect of her life.  However, by the end of the story, after many trials, surprises, and much review of her past, Marina had found her voice and earned the respect of her mentor, Dr. Swenson.

We speculated as to what Marina would choose to do after returning to Minnesota.  Would she go back to Brazil as Dr. Swenson predicted?  Would she finish out her OB/GYN training and become the doctor she had originally trained and planned to become?  Or would she return to Vogel Pharmaceuticals and Mr. Fox?  We were in complete consensus that she should not return to Mr. Fox no matter which direction she ultimately chose for her life!  If the story had continued past the initial return to Minnesota, we would have enjoyed witnessing how Marina would have used her newfound confidence to dump Mr. Fox and possibly change the direction of her career.

It was a toss-up as to whom we disliked more:  Mr. Fox or Annik Swenson.  Dr. Swenson’s lack of compassion and patience with her human subjects made her an unappealing character.  The young deaf boy, Easter, was kept dependent by the doctor as she chose to not teach him to better communicate.  She needed him and she was willing to keep him ignorant and lie to cover his past.  She cared more about herself and her research than anything or anybody.  She was condescending,  irreverent, and conceited as displayed in this quote regarding her experience with the tribe’s drugged ritual: “Yes, of course it was interesting to take part in the ritual, that was what we had come here to do….Seeing God was worthwhile, of course.  I doubt seriously that anything in our Western tradition would have shown Him to me so personally.” (p. 169)

As much as we enjoyed this book, we took issue with portions of the plot.  First off, the possibility that Dr. Swenson could fly from the United States to Manaus, Brazil each weekend and never miss her Monday lecture for years was unbelievable!  With the frequency of delayed and cancelled flights daily, the primitive traveling conditions from the jungles of Brazil, and the possibility of her contracting an illness, it was too much of a stretch for us to buy that part of the story.  Secondly, the idea that the company, Vogel, would not have better control of their finances is not realistic.  Companies have to closely monitor and report where their monies are being spent in their budget categories.  There is not an “open ended” spending policy given to their employees and clients.  The author portrayed Vogel as having no budget constraints or expenditure approvals required when it came to Dr. Swenson’s project.  Lastly, a few of our girls questioned just how durable and effective flip-flops would be in a jungle filled with snakes, spiders and rough paths!

Memorable Quotes:

“Never be so focused on what you’re looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find.” (p. 193)

“In this life we love who we love.  There were some stories in which facts were very nearly irrelevant.” (p. 182)

“But we cannot unbraid the story of another person’s life and take out all the parts that don’t suit our purposes and put forth only the ones that do.” (p. 180)

FAB Rating:

**** (4 out of 5 stars)

We found this book’s plot intriguing as we discussed the idea of just how far researchers and pharmaceutical companies should and do go in the name of scientific advancement. The majority of our discussion centered on Marina: her challenges and growth. It was heartening to see that by the end of the book, Marina was voicing her own ideas, standing firm and challenging her former mentor. We like our women strong!