State of Wonder

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It happened!  I finished a book over the holidays!  I won't confess how long it's taken me to read Ann Patchett's State of Wonder, but I will tell you that I loved it.
Decades ago, Dr. Marina Singh was a budding obstetrician studying under a well-respected but incredibly demanding gynecologist and teacher, Annick Swenson.  Now, Marina works for Vogel, a pharmaceutical company, where she is partner to the kind and family-centered Anders Eckman.  When Anders dies under mysterious circumstances in the Amazon jungle while researching a new miracle drug, Marina is sent off to find out more from his team, including the elusive Dr. Swenson.
It may not sound like much, but it's such an intriguing start to a book.  Patchett is detailed without being overly verbose with her characters, so you'll be sucked in from the get-go.  Much happens within the nearly 400 pages, including an encounter with a cannibalistic Amazon tribe, interactions with 70-year-old pregnant women, and an attachment to an astute and gentle deaf/mute adolescent.  State of Wonder is definitely a book you could read in a weekend; if you're stuck inside with dreary weather, this is sure to transport you.

Bel Canto

Bel Canto is easily one of the most beautifully written novels I have ever read. Ann Patchett has imbued her characters with such heart and humanity, all while keeping the book well-paced and intriguing.
A lavish birthday party for a powerful Japanese businessman is being thrown at the vice president's house of a South American country, at which a world-renowned opera singer is also singing. At the tale end of the soprano's performance, a group of terrorists break into the house and take everyone hostage, inciting panic and anxiety inside and outside of the house. The hostage situation goes on for months, and the captives slowly develop their own rituals and relationships for the time spent together. The men left inside the vice president's mansion reflect on their marriages, great loves are discovered, and the beautiful sound of opera becomes a part of daily life. Their idyllic situation, however, is a dangerous and fragile one, and I should warn you that this book does not have a happy ending.
Although the book cover did not sell me on this, several recommendations from people whose opinion I respect convinced me to pick it up. Thank goodness I finally listened to reason; Ann Patchett is a phenomenal writer who can interweave the stories of several characters from a variety of backgrounds and cultures with great skill. The romances are gracefully portrayed, and the tenuous line between sympathy for the terrorists and desire for the hostages to be freed is constantly being crossed. You may find yourself longing to hear opera play as you read, or finish the book and feel grateful to go outside whenever you'd like. Bel Canto is spell-binding, and I promise that if you enjoy wonderful fiction, you will read it time and time again.