State of Wonder
Ann Patchett
The setup of State of Wonder really drew me in: there’s a scientist, Dr. Swenson, who has gone into the Amazon jungle to develop some kind of miracle drug, but she’s stopped communicating with the Big Pharma bosses who hired her. The company dispatches another researcher, Anders, to find her, but months later, Swenson sends the shocking news that Anders is dead. Now, it’s up to his colleague and friend, Marina, to follow him and investigate the circumstances of his demise.
What seems to be a plot-driven thriller slows down quite a bit. Swenson does not want to be found, and Marina doesn’t seem to try very hard to advance her mission. She just gets stuck in the town adjacent to the jungle, distracted by the odd Australian couple who Swenson has hired as assistants. This middle section really dragged for me and felt like a needless narrative detour.
Things get more interesting when we do finally meet Swenson, along with Easter, a deaf indigenous boy who she’s taken under her wing. I enjoyed the character dynamics between the two scientists: it turns out that Swenson taught Marina in medical school, and even though they’re both professionals now, Marina still acts in a deferential way towards the older woman. And Swenson herself has a brusque, no-bullshit manner that I found entertaining.
I also liked the scientific and ethical details surrounding Swenson’s research. Her discovery—a type of tree bark that the indigenous tribes chew on—has the dual effect of prolonging women’s reproductive years, and inoculating them against malaria. Swenson knows that the former application is the gold mine that the company is after, but her real goal is to work on the latter in secret, which will save lives but not earn much revenue. It’s a fascinating dilemma, and I wish the book had gone deeper into this debate.
Despite the positives, this novel really fell down for me because of a couple of plot twists near the end which felt very contrived. Spoilers ahead…
First, it’s revealed that Anders is still alive, and is being held captive by a neighbouring tribe. Then, Marina is forced to trade Easter—whom she and Swenson have both gained maternal feelings towards—to get Anders back. But we learn that Easter came from that other tribe in the first place, and was essentially held captive himself by Swenson.
I think that the author was going for a big emotional rollercoaster to cap off the story, driving home the moral ambiguity of Swenson’s character. It didn’t work for me because the twists both stem from Swenson withholding information for no real reason. She’s like, “Oh, I said Anders was dead, but nobody ever saw his body. And I never told you where Easter came from because you never asked.” The reveals did not feel earned to me, and kind of ruined the whole book, unfortunately.
