An Amazon Adventure Story

I read State of Wonder by Ann Patchett this summer. I found it a great book that would be very interesting for discussion. Two research doctors are researching statins for control of cholesterol at a lab in Minnesota. One is sent to the Amazon to check up on the research of their colleague and primary research partner, Dr. Annick Swenson. When Marina Singh receives word that her partner, Anders Eckman, has died in the Amazon, her boss sends her to find out the details. The elusive primary research partner, Dr. Annick Swenson has been keeping a low profile and basically keeping the whole research team in the dark. Marina is ill equipped to deal with the strange world of Dr. Swenson and the way she runs her team. Frustrated and grief stricken she tries her best to find out the true story. Fascinating and full of details, we travel along with Marina and discover the mysteries of the Amazon. An adventure story of the first rate, I would recommend this to the reader who likes lots of detail in his books, especially of the scientific kind. Check the review by New York Times for more detail.

Cutting for Stone

I have been on vacation and have been reading the September book for the book discussion group and already I am so glad that it was recommended and that we chose it. Next Monday, the 29th at 7 pm we will be discussing the book, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I have written about that book earlier in my blog. I found it pure enjoyment. The humor was very British, and I believe that the author was poking fun at the British culture that is or always has been prejudice against the foreigners that live in Britain. It has been a long culture of discrimination, from the Jews back in the 1500's or earlier when the empire threw out all the Jews, and then when the immigrants from the Empire were coming into England, people were uppity. I don't know the whole picture as I haven't lived there, but I have watched enough British comedy that I have picked up on the prejudice. Think of South Africa, that was the worst, but it was the British and Germans who set the stage. This book is not a serious commendation on British prejudice. But it is a human book, and the reaction of the town people to the shop owners usually exposes the class distinction, but when the shop owner is Pakistani, there is the double prejudice, irregardless if people are born in this country or not. Is this that different in America? Do we believe that we are above personal prejudice? Come for an interesting discussion. The books are available at the front desk. Next month's book Cutting for Stone will be available after next Monday. It has everything in it. A saga of the birth of twin brothers in Ethiopia, orphaned at birth by an Indian mother who dies in childbirth with an unknown or abandoned disappearing father. They are raised by two Indian surgeons in Mission Hospital, run by the Matron and priest. The author, Abraham Verghese, is a surgeon with an Indian background. He lives in California and has written My Own Country and The Tennis Player. He is a gifted author Abraham Verghese's first novel, Cutting for Stone, remains #1 on the Independent Booksellers' paperback fiction bestseller list