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Dr. Marina Singh, a research scientist with a Minnesota pharmaceutical company, is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have all but disappeared in the Amazon while working on what is destined to be an extremely valuable new drug, the development of which has already cost the company a fortune. Nothing about Marina's assignment is easy: not only does no one know where Dr. Swenson is, but the last person who was sent to find her, Marina's research partner Anders Eckman, died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding her former mentor as well as answers to several troubling questions about her friend's death, the state of her company's future, and her own past.
Once found, Dr. Swenson, now in her seventies, is as ruthless and uncompromising as she ever was back in the days of Grand Rounds at Johns Hopkins. With a combination of science and subterfuge, she dominates her research team and the natives she is studying with the force of an imperial ruler. But while she is as threatening as anything the jungle has to offer, the greatest sacrifices to be made are the ones Dr. Swenson asks of herself, and will ultimately ask of Marina, who finds she may still be unable to live up to her teacher's expectations.
In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, and a neighboring tribe of cannibals, State of Wonder is a world unto itself, where unlikely beauty stands beside unimaginable loss. It is a tale that leads the reader into the very heart of darkness, and then shows us what lies on the other side.
I am an avid reader mostly of non-fiction but several times a year I like to get into a good novel. Because of the good reviews of this book by the critics I asked for it at Christmas. I just finished it and I must say, first of all it was not an easy read. It took me about 1/3 into the book before I could really get interested in it. And at the end, without giving away the story, I was underwhelmed. I was left with the feeling of having wasted a lot of effort to get through the book. I admit I like books that grab me right away and if it weren't for the great ciritical reviews I would have stopped reading it. The story line is certainly different but I found the character development to be lacking and too much effort went into writing about mundane details that could just as easily have been skipped over. The transition from chapter to chapter was also disconcerting. I'm afraid I must give this book a thumbs down.
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma !!!
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