Repro Madness

Ann Patchett's thriller imagines a utopia of fertility

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    In fact, the decision to become a parent--or not--is the dark heart of the book. In imagining state of ageless fertility, where does Patchett stand on the Western quest to bear children far later than nature intended? Her novel shows compassion for baby craving even while positing it as a form of greed, especially when set in contrast with the health issues that plague the developing world. ("Children die out here constantly, that's why so many of them are needed," Swenson tells Marina.) The wonder of State of Wonder is that Patchett poses essential philosophical and bioethical arguments in a story that still speeds along like a literary thriller, reaching a tremendous, deeply emotional crescendo. Bella scrittura.

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