We just got word that Ann Patchett (Bel Canto, Run), an author we've long admired, will be stopping by Turnrow this Saturday morning (July 1) to sign and visit the store. Drop by at 10 a.m. to meet her and get your book signed.
We recently finished reading her new novel, State of Wonder, a wonderful, page-turning literary thriller, just the thing for your summer reading pile. We have some signed first editions in stock and can get inscribed copies for you when she's here on Saturday.
The heroine in State of Wonder is Dr. Marina Singh, a researcher for a big pharmaceutical company in Minnesota. She receives word that her work partner, Eckman, has turned up dead in Brazil. He was sent down months earlier to bring back updates from a research station in the Amazon, headed by the brilliant Dr. Swenson, a doctor in her seventies who may have gone rogue. Eckman's wife and children want answers, and so does Marina's boss (also her lover), the elder Mr. Fox. He sends Marina to Brazil to investigate, and she goes reluctantly with the aim of returning Eckman's body to his family. Following a harried journey, she arrives at the far-flung river outpost to find extraordinary research going on in the village of jungle natives.
Think Heart of Darkness for the age of corporate medicine. This is a novel of fascinating ideas with smart and interesting characters, scenes that will stay with you, and the pace of an adventure novel.
