After reading a bunch of ‘experimental’ fiction lately, Ann Patchett’s latest novel ‘State of Wonder’ came as a welcome relief. It’s old-fashioned storytelling at a very high level. She keeps us interested and entertained, and in the long run she also offers some valuable wisdom. More about that later.
Much of the book takes place in the Amazon jungle, and Patchett’s descriptions are so vivid as to be both horrifying and fascinating. As travel writing alone, the book is memorable and worthy read. The story is well crafted without being particularly inventive or non-traditional. Chapters are well formed and flow convincingly from one to the next. The writing is lively but did not strike me as mannered or exaggerated in any way.
Patchett touches on many themes here, including ‘going native’, overcoming our past failures and traumas, the complications of cross-cultural similarities and differences, and the inevitability of choice in our lives. No matter how many alternatives we have, we can only choose one at a time. We may never know the ultimate endpoints of the other paths, but we can make the most of the one we choose. And we can keep ourselves well informed from our experience and our intelligence so that the next choice will take us closer to where we want to go. There is a sadness in considering the paths not taken, but to try to combine all of them in a single life will probably not do justice to any of them.‘State of Wonder’ (not a great title for this book, I fear) is a fast and rewarding read. Pick a shady spot on a sunny warm fall day and enjoy.
Can't wait to read this! Thanks for the post.
ReplyDelete