Anne Patchett and Melanie Wallace
Anne Patchett
State Of Wonder by Anne Patchett, narrated by Nancy Baldwin
I chose this book because I enjoyed Anne Patchett’s Tom Lake, narrated by Meryl Streep. Thus, I presumed I would like "State of Wonder too, and I did. But, I was surprised by the contrast in theme and setting between these two books. Tom Lake is about theatre and actors, love affairs and betrayals. It is romantic fiction, mostly set in northern Michigan. State of Wonder is set mostly in Brazil’s Amazon rain forest and features research scientists searching for cures in a hostile environment. Unlike Tom Lake, there is little romance in State of Wonder.
In State of Wonder, Anne Patchett pits one naïve but forthrightly courageous young woman scientist against an older deceitful, cynical, unlikeable older woman scientist. They lock horns throughout the book, and their relationship remains ambiguous to the end.
I did a little investigation of Anne Patched. To begin, I wanted to see a picture of her, and the first picture I found shows her standing holding her dog in her arms. That is really all I need to know about her. She loves her dog so I know she’s a good person: good writer and a good person.
She’s written nine novels, one of which was nominated for a Pulitzer, and she has won other awards too. She lives in Nashville TN where she opened a bookstore intending to promote new writers. I now have two reasons to visit Nashville: Anne Patchett’s bookstore and the Grand Old Opry.
I expect to read more of her work in coming weeks But first…
The Girl in the Garden by Melanie Wallace, narrated by Elise Arsenault
The publisher’s note for this book poses the question, “Can the wrongs of the past ever be made right?”
That is a question for philosophers and religious scholars. However, being neither, I would say, no, you cannot make wrong, right. However, one can always make amends, which may somewhat cleanse the conscience and allow one to do better in the future. The character named Iris who, once widowed, abandoned her own daughter, walled herself away in her hose, rarely leaving it and rarely allowing anyone in. Did she eventually make it rights with her abandoned daughter? No, she didn’t but she may have atoned for it by rescuing a young woman. This charitable act did make her less odious.
No characters in the book have ordinary lives like mine: family, school, jobs, children, etc. No one in State of Wonder lives like that. All the characters live alone, not lonely, but alone. Each of them is uniquely damaged, and plays well off the others.
Melanie Wallace has written two other novels and one children’s book. She was born in England and lives in Greece and Paris, France. Why then did she set the story in the United States?
I am unable to place this book in a category of fiction. like romantic fiction or noir. It is neither. This is my failing, whci I am working to remedy. If I am to write about my books, I would like to place them in a category.