The Friends Book Group met to discuss State of Wonder by Ann Patchett last night. We all agreed that we were surprised that we liked the book as much as we did. I mean really, who would expect a book about a scientist who is trying to develop a fertility treatment to be a page turner? But it was.
As always, we couldn't resist trying to diagnose the characters. Some of us thought that Dr. Swenson had Asperger's. Some of us thought that Marina was pregnant. We actually spent quite a lot of time talking about whether Marina was pregnant or not, and then trying to figure out what the characters would do (after the book ended) if she was. It had not occurred to me that Marina was going to have a baby, but it seemed totally obvious to others, and it would explain why Marina did something that I didn't quite understand toward the end of the book.
Predictably, we talked a good deal about why someone would want to have kids at 70 years old. We also wondered what the impact on the global population would be if this could be done.
We decided to read Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan next. However, some of us have already read that one. The people who have are going to read a different dog book, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski instead.
Still Reading: Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson
Still Listening to: Helen of Troy by Margaret George
I just finished reading "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle".This book had just about everything for me....great writting, family drama, the bond between a boy and his dog and some truly amazing characters. I just hated the ending.
ReplyDeleteEesti, I'm with you (part way) on the ending. I hated what happened, but was left feeling that the ending was right. Here is what I said about it, when I also finished at 1 in the morning: http://sonotarunner.blogspot.com/2010/08/peace-in-tragedy.html
ReplyDelete