State of Wonder

Marina Singh has lived her 40 plus years mostly in Minnesota. Living a seemingly mundane life, working as a research scientist for a large pharmaceutical company, even her affair with her much older boss appears quite conservative. But this all changes when she is asked to travel to the jungles of Brazil to learn more about the untimely death of her good friend and colleague as well as to convince the eccentric and secretive Dr. Swenson to share her information on a potential miracle fertility drug she has discovered there. Patchett’s writing puts you right in the jungle with the very reluctant Marina as she faces all kinds of obstacles both real and imagined. The jungle itself becomes more of a character than a setting and Marina is forced to face her secret past while having her moral integrity tested.