The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

Along with much of the rest of America, I'm a bit obsessed with polygamy.  Both Big Love on HBO and Sister Wives on TLC hold my attention.  So when Mer A recommended this book I thought I'd like it.

The story is about a polygamist with four wives and dozens of children who goes through a mid-life crisis.  He meets a woman outside his marriage(s) and falls in love with her, causing great chagrin in a few spheres of his life. Meanwhile, each of his wives is facing her own personal crisis, as are several of his children.

I liked the way this book was very dryly humorous.  I don't think that always comes across well in novels, but the way the characters alternated who was telling the story, all from a third-person perspective, helped make it work.  Unfortunately, I didn't love the book overall.  I found the main character pathetic rather than sympathetic, and the other characters too minor to invest in. 

I could see this making a good movie.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

I am a huge fan of Ann Patchett (author of Bel Canto) and couldn't wait until this came up in my library queue.  Oh the jealousy I felt when I saw it in Thea's e-reader a few weeks ago.

The story caught my attention right away.  It's about a young woman named Marina who works at a drug company.  Her colleague Anders goes to the Amazon to check up on a researcher (Dr. Swenson, a former professor of Marina's) who has been incommunicado.  When Anders dies under mysterious circumstances, Marina is sent down there by CEO Mr. Fox (also her boyfriend) to find out more.

This book was great. It was a mystery, although not in a traditional way.  The characters were well-developed, and there were several secondary characters, each of whom was multi-faceted. Marina's journey - first to Anders' family's home, then to South America, and finally a village deep in the Amazon, was very thoroughly described.  What I liked best, though, was that the story was surprising. There were several parts of the story that were completely unexpected, some plot twists, and some of the characters' choices. 

Highly recommended.