State of Wonder – October CC Book Club Selection

[ignatius]

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@Mary13

There are discussion guides online—I haven’t looked at them because I don’t want to know anything before reading, but it’s good to know they’re out there if we need a boost.

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<p>Wise Mary! I looked at a discussion guide and it revealed what it shouldn’t have. I now know something that removes much of the thriller aspect. Bothers me less than it would most (many) people. Approach any discussion guide with caution.</p>

[SouthJerseyChessMom]

<p>Good Point Ignatius- no spoilers allowed with this book!</p>

[Mary13]

<p>I just posted a warning on the new thread.</p>

[alwaysamom]

<p>Sorry I didn’t find my way back to this thread while the book was still being discussed but I’m so glad that I read it. I wondered for a good while if I was going to enjoy the book. I found the initial chapters, although beautifully written, not very engaging. In hindsight, it seems as though the characters blossomed once the ‘jungle’ part of the story started. Initially, they were all quite stilted and not particularly likeable. I found the transformation interesting and enjoyed the second half of the book tremendously. Patchett is such a talented writer. There were many times when I wanted to quote some of the beautiful prose to someone! :)</p>

<p>I found myself thinking about how this story would make an interesting movie. Did anyone else feel that? It was such a visually rich story and Patchett portrayed it in such excellent fashion. You could see, smell, hear, and feel everything that Marina was, and even the unevenness of the paths, I could feel myself watching for snakes and the roots that were just waiting to trip her! One of my favorite things about the second half of the book was the relationship that developed between Marina and Dr. Swenson. I enjoyed the conversations between them and it was clear to me that there was affection there, in both directions. </p>

<p>Thank you all for your comments, I enjoyed reading them!</p>

[SouthJerseyChessMom]

<p>Good to hear from you Alwaysamom, and agree with all that you wrote. It will make a stunning movie- Avatarish…</p>

[Mary13]

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@alwaysamom

I wondered for a good while if I was going to enjoy the book. I found the initial chapters, although beautifully written, not very engaging. In hindsight, it seems as though the characters blossomed once the ‘jungle’ part of the story started.

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<p>alwaysamom, you are not alone in that feeling, and it seems to be deliberate on the part of the author. From the interview posted earlier:</p>

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Ann Patchett: When I wrote this book, I knew that the pace really would pick up once they got on the river. But I also knew that everything that came before needed to come before. Yet I didn’t want it to be lesser. But I really struggled with that. Liz Gilbert read it for me when I was finished, and she said, “Everything that happens up to getting on the boat is good, and every single piece of it needs to happen. It just needs to be 75 pages shorter.” </p>

<p>[PowellsBooks.Blog</a> – Ann Patchett: The Powells.com Interview - Powell’s Books](<a href=“Powell's Books Blog”>Powell's Books Blog)

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<p>Even the interviewer had the same experience re sensing when the story really came alive:</p>

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Jill: How did you think about pace for this book? I noticed, as I was putting together questions, that I took tons of notes up until a certain point, and then the book became so page-turning that I couldn’t put it down in order to continue to take more notes.</p>

<p>Patchett: Did you stop taking notes at the point at which they got on the boat?</p>

<p>Jill: Yes, exactly.

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[Mary13]

<p>NJTheatreMOM posted this on our new December book thread, but I thought it might be nice to have it on our Patchett thread as well:
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/ann-patchett-bucks-bookstore-tide-opening-her-own.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/ann-patchett-bucks-bookstore-tide-opening-her-own.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[ignatius]

<p>I’m not sure whether this is the place to post this or not, but does anyone plan to watch the premiere episodes of The River tonight. State of Wonder piqued my interest in the TV show - not that the book and the show connect in any way, really … other than the Amazon …</p>

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Dr. Emmet Cole, beloved adventurer and television personality goes missing deep in the Amazon. After a fruitless search for him, his family and friends abandon hope and hold a memorial service to commemorate his amazing life. His grieving wife, Tess, reluctantly tries to face the reality that her husband is gone, while her son, Lincoln, is more than ready to bury his past. Six months later Emmet’s location beacon mysteriously begins to relay a signal. Tess persuades Lincoln to join her and Emmet’s film crew on a journey through the Amazon to find him, a journey on which horrifying and almost mythical events will push them to their limits.

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[NJTheatreMOM]

<p>I’m not sure whether I will watch the series, but coincidentally (if there is such a thing as a coincidence, lol) I am about to start reading a book with a somewhat similar theme – “Ghost Lights” by Lydia Millet, one of the New York Times notable fiction books of the year.</p>

<p>“A funny and haunting new novel from “one of the most acclaimed novelists of her generation” (Los Angeles Times).”</p>

<p>“Hal is a mild-mannered IRS bureaucrat who suspects that his wife is cheating with her younger, more virile coworker. At a drunken dinner party, Hal volunteers to fly to Belize in search of Susan’s employer, T…who has vanished in a tropical jungle, initiating a darkly humorous descent into strange and unpredictable terrain.”</p>

<p>“Salon raved that Millet’s ‘writing is always flawlessly beautiful, reaching for an experience that precedes language itself.’ In Ghost Lights, she combines her characteristic wit and a sharp eye for the weirdness that governs human (and nonhuman) interactions. With the scathing satire and tender honesty of Sam Lipsyte and a dark, quirky, absurdist style reminiscent of Joy Williams, Millet has created a comic, startling, and surprisingly philosophical story about idealism and disillusionment, home and not home, and the singular, heartbreaking devotion of parenthood.”</p>

[Mary13]

<p>“The River” sounds good! Connection or no, I have visions of Dr. Cole setting off his emergency signal after meeting a certain Dr. Swenson in the jungle…</p>

<p>I don’t know how quickly I’ll be able to get around to watching it. I’m working my way through “Downton Abbey” and there’s only so much laundry one can pretend to fold in front of the T.V. ;)</p>

<p>NJTheatreMom, let us know what you think of the Millet book when you’re finished. We’re always looking for new book club titles!</p>

[alwaysamom]

<p>Did anyone watch The River? I recorded it and finally got around to watching it yesterday. I had to force myself to watch the entire two hours of the pilot, and I have no interest in watching any further episodes. I found it laughably bad, cringe-worthy acting and writing, which probably means that it will be a hit!</p>

[ignatius]

<p>^^^</p>

<p>I agree. I don’t know how long I watched that pilot episode but definitely not too long. (And gee, I’m the one who posted about originally. My head hangs in shame.)</p>

[Mary13]

<p>Here is an interesting op-ed piece by Ann Patchett in today’s New York Times about the lack of a Pulitzer prize winner for fiction this year: <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/opinion/and-the-winner-of-the-pulitzer-isnt.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/opinion/and-the-winner-of-the-pulitzer-isnt.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[ignatius]

<p>and then again …</p>

<p>[Orange</a> prize 2012 shortlist puts Ann Patchett in running for second victory | Books | guardian.co.uk](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/17/orange-prize-shortlist-ann-patchett]Orange”>Orange prize 2012 shortlist puts Ann Patchett in running for second victory | Orange prize for fiction 2012 | The Guardian)</p>

[djohnson1122]

<p>whats in the cafe</p>