“"The news of Anders Eckman's death came by way of Aerogram, a piece of bright blue airmail paper that served as both stationery and, when folded over and sealed along the edges, the envelope." I don't often jump on popular bandwagons with regard to my fiction reading, but I heard Patchett interviewed on public radio, and was intrigued. That, plus my sister in law traveled on a river cruise on the Amazon, and sent me photos of giant anacondas and sleepy baby sloths. I found State of Wonder to be very entertaining, and something of a page turner, though I took two days off after a scene featuring an anaconda. I've seen the book compared to Heart of Darkness, and while that comparison is apt enough, I think my comparison is to The Odyssey. Marina, a scientist from Minnesota, is sent on her quest/journey to the Amazon, to find out what happened to former colleague and friend Anders Eckman, and to return with his watch for his grieving family. Eckman had gone to the depths of the jungle to find out how the mysterious Dr. Swenson was progressing with research that promised to extend women's fertility well into their seventies. A personal aside: who the devil would want that? Anyway, our heroine, Marina, a woman with a fair amount of personal issues of her own, has all manner of obstacles thrown in her path before finding the elusive doctor and discovering the fate of her colleague. She even has brushes with death itself, like the mythical Odysseus. For me there was lots to like in this novel, an exotic locale, a large cast of characters likeable and not, hallucinogenic mushrooms, a clear and nuanced writing style, and plot points that bear discussion over a glass of wine. ”
