State of Wonder (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Dr. Annick Swenson: An prestigious, but arrogant research scientist in her seventies, who had been head of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins before being drawn into rainforest research. She followed her hero there for a summer, and stayed for the rest of a lifetime.
• Dr. Marina Singh: The novel's protagonist, a research scientist working for Vogal, a Minnesota pharmaceutical company, who goes to the Amazon to find out what has happened to a colleague, Dr. Anders Eckman.
• Mr. Fox: Dr. Singh's and Dr. Swenson's boss, who constantly pressures them to finish the research. He appears to care about Marina, however he frequently uses people to his own ends. Marina even has trouble calling him by his first name, Jim, which is unusual since she believes that she loves him and have had intimate relations.
• Milton: Reliable and lovable character in the book. Taxi driver and general solver of problems
• Dr. Anders Eckman: Marina's research partner, and a key part of the story. Marina is sent by Mr. Fox to Brazil, where she struggles to find out what happened to him.
• Barbara Bovender: Smart, sassy and fun Aussie. Seems an airheaded blond focused on fashion and self gratification when we meet her. Married to Jackie. They are both described as "bohemians". Her story leads to a key link in the story of Anders. She serves as a gatekeeper hindering access by the press or rival pharmaceutical companies to Dr. Annick Swenson.
• Jackie Bovender: Barbara Bovender's husband. Loves to surf and loves his wife. Seems a lay-about otherwise. Gets carsick, airsick, seasick, unless he is in control, as by doing the driving.
• Dr. Annick Swenson: As strong a woman character as you're likely to meet in fiction.
• Karen Eckman: Anders' wife and mother of their 3 boys. Loyal and loving spouse. Lives in Eden Prairie, MN home of the pharmaceutical company Anders works for.
• Dr. Budi: Devoted Indonesian research scientist working with Dr. Swenson in Brazil.
• Martin Rapp: Cold and calculating researcher, very single minded in his focus. By all accounts however, an amazing, talented and charismatic man who achieved wonders. Mycology, the science of fungi, was his specialty of research. Was the initial researcher to the Lakashi and the director of those who followed.
• Rodrigo: Shop owner, of an amazing and startling shop which has a little of everything anyone could want, and then some.
• Benoit: Native helper to Dr. Swenson who wants to be a eco tourist guide
• Dr. Alan Saturn: Researcher with Dr. Swenson in Brazil working on mosquito and malaria research. He is only a few years younger than Dr. Swenson. Dr. Rapp had a significant influence on his life when both were at Harvard.
• Thomas Nkomo: Black researcher who came from West Africa, works with the Lakashi and is trying to learn their language
• Dr. Nancy Saturn: Researcher who is married to Alan Saturn. She is a sociologist with a degree in public health. She was the second to travel to the Amazon after Dr. Rapp.
• Easter: Deaf boy, 11 or 12 years old, that Dr. Swenson and the researchers all take under their wing and raise. Key character; two or three of the key incidents involve him.
• Easter: A deaf boy from a jungle tribe who understands quite a bit about the foreigners in his homeland. A lot can be said simply by listening.
• Josh Su: Marina's ex-husband.
• Mary: Add a description of this character.
• Nixon: Front desk man at Dr. Swanson's Manaus apartment building.
• Linn Hilder
• ANN PATCHETT
• Doctora Swenson
• Jim Fox

Quotes edit see section history

• “"The next thing I knew I was sitting in a lecture hall and in walked the great Martin Rapp, his ankle sunk in a plaster boot, his crutches swinging forward. He came up to the lectern and he said, 'Gentlemen, close your books and listen. We have nothing less than the world to consider.' We were awestruck, every last one of us. We would have sat there for the full four years of college. I remember everything about that day, that room, the giant blackboards, the light coming in those leaded glass windows. What I saw in front of me was the character of a man. It was the most remarkable thing, and I've never had that experience before or since. It was some sort of aura he had. From ten rows away I knew exactly who he was and I knew I would follow him anywhere."”

  Alan Saturn

• “"He used to say we all had a compass inside of us and what we needed to do was to find it and to follow it. But we were undergraduates and for the most part we couldn't find our asses with our hands and so we followed his compass instead. Until we knew how to be men by our own standards we tried to be men like Dr. Rapp. We never would be, of course, but it was still a noble goal."”

  Alan Saturn

• “"Never be so focused on what you're looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find."”

  Dr. Swenson

• “Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and someone just keeps pulling it and pulling it.”

  Karen Eckman

• “In this life we love who we love. There were some stories in which facts were very nearly irrelevant.”

  Marina Singh

• “Research doesn't happen in a Petri dish, you know, and mice only go so far. It's the human trials that make the difference. Sometimes you have to be the one to roll up your sleeve.”

  Alan Saturn

• “The words coming out of her mouth felt hot.”

  Marina Singh

• “I know they need to have one answer, even if it's the worst answer you could think of. Hope is a horrible thing, you know. I don't know who decided to package hope as a virtue because it's not. It's a plague. Hope is like walking around with a fishhook in your mouth and somebody just keeps pulling it and pulling it.”

  Karen Eckman

• “Naivete may be the bedrock of reproduction, the lynch pin for the survival of the species.”

• “Your story tells as much by what you leave out as what you put in.”

  Nancy Saturn

• “That was Dr. Rapps's great lesson in the Amazon, in science: Never be so focused on what you're looking for that you overlook that thing you actually find.”

• “He's a deaf child. He does everything to make you forget that, so it is our responsibility as the adult to remember.”

  Dr. Swenson

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Eden Prairie, Minnesota: Home office of the Vogel Corporation
• Vogel Pharmaceutical: American pharmaceutical company employing and funding the research of Drs. Marina Singh, Anders Eckman, and Annick Swenson.
• Manaus, Brazil: Large city in the Amazon located at the confluence of the Rio Negro and Rio Solimões and home for Dr. Annick Swenson.

Organizations edit see section history

• Johns Hopkins Hospital: Add a description of this organization.
• Radcliffe College
• Harvard University

First Sentence edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Lakashi: Fictitious indigenous tribe of Amazonian people.
• Occiput posterior: When a baby is head-down but facing your abdomen, he's said to be in the occiput posterior (OP) position — or posterior position, for short. The term refers to the fact that the back of your baby's skull (the occipital bone) is in the back (or posterior) of your pelvis.You may also hear this position referred to as "face-up" or "sunny-side up."
• fascia: a layer of fibrous tissue that permeates the human body
• brio: vigor or vivacity of style or performance
• proscenium: The part of a theater stage in front of the curtain.
• beldame: an ugly evil-looking old woman
• Lariam: Drug used to prevent malaria collected from the bark of a certain, rare, tree.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

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• Friendship: Describe this theme.
• Loyalty

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Ann Patchett (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Orange Prize for Fiction (Finalist, 2012, Shortlist)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3566.A7756 S76 2011
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Reading Group Guides
• Ann Patchett's website

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books Cited by This Book edit see section history