Book Report #154 State of Wonder

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

You really can't get going on a Patchett novel without first clearing your schedule for a few days. I straight up ate this book, and sometimes I wasn't even sure if I liked it, but that was beside the point.

The reviews all over it are tremendous. TL;DR - Best book ever written. But people should probably calm down a bit. It's pretty great but I still believe Bel Canto is her best.

State of Wonder starts off in Minnesota but is mostly set in the Amazon. Pharmaceutical researcher Marina has to go see what's happening with a drug that's being developed for her company, and see what she can find out about her coworker, who apparently just died there on a failed recon mission.

Patchett's greatest triumph with this book is how she puts us right there in Brazil. We hear it, breathe it, sweat it, and itch it. It's as horrible as it is compelling. And the consistently surprising thing about living so rawly is how authentic it is and how it blazes a trail for joy, as well as big love.

I fell in love with the child Easter in this story. I came to love the jungle for its wildness and ferocity. I loved the villagers for compulsively braiding all the women's hair and being undeterred by things that would drive a civilized person to tears. Swim in the murky, questionable river? Walk where camouflaged poisonous snakes could be napping? Be neighbors with alleged cannibals and anacondas?

The plot builds like a match and some kindling turned into a wildfire. It's a master at work, and we're lucky to be witnesses.

General consensus: Aptly named.