Ann Patchett's State of Wonder
I think I say this every time I read a book by Patchett, but I'm constantly amazed at how different her novels are. She just creates entire worlds every time she writes one, and damn, they're all dazzling. This one even rivals Bel Canto for me. The action starts when scientist Marina and her boss/secret boyfriend get a letter telling them a colleague is dead. He'd been off in the jungles of the Amazon investigating a mysterious project sponsored by their company that may or may not be going off the rails--and investigating the scientist creating the new drug. Soon Marina finds herself being sent off to the jungle herself to find out just what is going on down there, and what happened to her friend. Complicating matters--the scientist in charge is a former teacher of Marina's, whom Marina once feared and idolized in equal measure.
Patchett once again creates a world inhabited by captivating characters, and seriously, this story gets pretty intense. It touches on love (of all kinds), science and progress, ethics, and so much more. And the end kind of blew my mind a little. It comes out in June, but maybe don't take it on vacation with you if you're going anywhere tropical. A.
Had a big nightmare as anticipated about poor Easter, but I loved this book. It was engrossing AND genuinely interesting. Sorry I let it sit on my bedside table for more than 2 years. ha!
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