State of Wonder: A Novel [Paperback]

"Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchett's fiction."—New York Times Book Review

Award-winning,New York Timesbestselling author Ann Patchett returns with a provocative and assured novel of morality and miracles, science and sacrifice set in the Amazon rainforest. Infusing the narrative with the same ingenuity and emotional urgency that pervaded her acclaimed previous novelsBel Canto,Taft,Run,The Magician's Assistant, andThe Patron Saint of Liars, Patchett delivers an enthrallingly innovative tale of aspiration, exploration, and attachment inState of Wonder—a gripping adventure story and a profound look at the difficult choices we make in the name of discovery and love.

In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations,State of Wonderpresents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional resonance and moral complexity.

As Dr. Marina Singh embarks upon an uncertain odyssey into the insect-infested Amazon, she will be forced to surrender herself to the lush but forbidding world that awaits within the jungle. Charged with finding her former mentor Dr. Annick Swenson, a researcher who has disappeared while working on a valuable new drug, she will have to confront her own memories of tragedy and sacrifice as she journeys into the unforgiving heart of darkness. Stirring and luminous,State of Wonderis a world unto itself, where unlikely beauty stands beside unimaginable loss beneath the rain forest's jeweled canopy.

An engaging, consummately told tale.Emotionally lucid. . . . Patchett is at her lyrical best when she catalogues the jungle.This is surely the smartest, most exciting novel of the summer.The Amazon setting is something Patchett does rather marvelously.& The book is serious, but also so pleasurable that you hope it wont end.Outlandishly elƒ1