State of Wonder

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2012 There were people on the banks of the river. Among the tangled waterways and giant anacondas of the Brazilian Rio Negro, an enigmatic scientist is developing a drug that could alter the lives of women for ever. Dr Annick Swenson's work is shrouded in mystery; she refuses to report on her progress, especially to her investors, whose patience is fast running out. Anders Eckman, a mild-mannered lab researcher, is sent to investigate.A curt letter reporting his untimely death is all that returns.Now Marina Singh, Anders' colleague and once a student of the mighty Dr Swenson, is their last hope. Compelled by the pleas of Anders's wife, who refuses to accept that her husband is not coming home, Marina leaves the snowy plains of Minnesota and retraces her friend's steps into the heart of the South American darkness, determined to track down Dr. Swenson and uncover the secrets being jealously guarded among the remotest tribes of the rainforest.What Marina does not yet know is that, in this ancient corner of the jungle, where the muddy waters and susurrating grasses hide countless unknown perils and temptations, she will face challenges beyond her wildest imagination.Marina is no longer the student, but only time will tell if she has learnt enough.

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Library Journal Review

Dr. Marina Singh reluctantly leaves her native Minnesota for a fact-finding mission to an unknown destination along the Amazon River. She arrives in Manaus and after the loss of her suitcase, the trip up the river, and finally the loss of her Western clothing to native Lakashis, she is reborn in the tropical womb of the rainforest. The practical scientific background of Marina and her colleagues is reinforced by Hope Davis's precise diction. She uses inflections and accents befitting the range of characters Marina meets in Brazil-Midwesterners, New Englanders, Brazilians, Africans, Australians-which helps build the remote Amazon research community within the listener's imagination. We are drawn into a fascinating and frightening world as -Davis and Patchett take you from one civilization to another. Recommended for all audio devotees. ["Patchett exhibits an extraordinary ability to bring the horrors and the wonders of the Amazon jungle to life...powerful and captivating," read the starred review of the New York Times best-selling HarperCollins hc, LJ 4/1/11.-Ed.]-Juleigh Muirhead Clark, Colonial Williamsburg Fdn. Lib., VA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.