State of Wonder

The novel begins at the Vogel Medical Research Campus in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the news of Dr. Anders Eckman’s death. This news is delivered in the form of a cryptic Aerogram sent by Dr. Annick Swenson, the Vogel Corporations’ lead scientist on a research mission in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. Eckman’s colleagues, including fellow pharmacologist and former lab partner, Dr. Marina Singh, and her boss and covert lover, Vogel CEO Jim Fox, struggle to make sense of the ambiguous phrasing of Dr. Swenson’s letter and the mysterious circumstances of Anders’s death. The letter simply states that he died of a fever and was given a proper Christian burial.

Adding to the mystery and intrigue, Anders was originally sent to the Amazon not only to discover the secret location of Dr. Swenson’s research station, but to gather intelligence about the progress of her fertility drug, and to encourage Dr. Swenson to hasten that progress. Dr. Swenson, a world class scientist, whose Amazonian research and development station is funded by the Vogel Corporation, has for some time, cut off all direct contact with the company, refusing to disclose the location of her rainforest station, and the development of a drug that would potentially extend the reproductive age of women well past the traditional limits imposed by age and menopause.

Still troubled by the news of Anders’ death, Marina accompanies Mr. Fox to Anders’ suburban home, where they personally deliver the news of Anders’ death to his wife, Karen.

Karen, a mother of three, is overwhelmed, not only by the news of her husband’s death, but by the mysterious circumstances surrounding it. Initially in a state of shock and disbelief, she implores them to get Anders “out of there” and to bring him home. She collapses on the floor in grief, and after contacting Karen’s family and a neighbor to collect her children, Marina and Mr. Fox leave the Eckman home shaken by the encounter. 

Later, at a restaurant in St. Paul, Mr. Fox expresses his remorse for having sent Anders to the Amazon. From all accounts, Anders was a sheltered, unworldly and easy-going Minnesotan, ill-equipped for the harsh climate and hazards of the Amazonian rainforest. Fox reveals to Marina that the corporate board originally wanted her to go, but Mr. Fox overruled them against his own judgment, not wanting to send his lover on a potentially dangerous mission. Marina was not only better equipped for the journey, but she also knows Dr. Swenson personally, having studied under her during her medical training at Johns Hopkins.

Motivated by his guilt, Mr. Fox attempts to persuade Marina to go to the Amazon to track down Dr. Swenson and discover the progress of her research, and to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding Dr. Eckman’s death. Marina is initially reluctant to go. Her memories of her time as Dr. Swenson’s student at Johns Hopkins are mostly unpleasant, and the idea of a dangerous trip to the heart of the deadly and remote Amazon terrifies her.

To further pique Marina’s curiosity, Mr. Fox discloses more details about Dr. Swenson’s research, which involves the Lakashi, an Amazon tribe where women are able to reproduce well into advanced age. This trip would allow her to participate in the development of a groundbreaking fertility drug. 

While Marina initially refuses to take the trip, the pressure on her increases when she received a call from a distraught Karen Eckman in the middle of the night. Karen, desperate to find out what happened to her husband but unwilling to leave her three children behind, begs Marina to make the trip to Brazil in her stead. The chapter ends with the implication that Marina, persuaded by Karen’s heart-wrenching plea, will in fact undertake this harrowing journey to the Amazon.