Natural Wonders

Woodward (The Human Mind) delivers an intelligent and wildly imaginative novel. Jonathan, an acclaimed Earth and prehistory professor, has died. His young widow, Jenny, agrees to compile a memorial edition of Jonathan's lectures for publication. They married after only two months together, and Jenny knows much less about Jonathan and his work than his previous wife, Barbara, did. However, while weaving together anecdotes and fictionalized accounts of famed scholars such as Georges Cuvier, Henri Breuil, and Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, Jenny gains a clearer perspective on her late husband's existence. Through the process of searching through Jonathan's notes, Jenny makes surprising new discoveries and unearths a deeper understanding of herself and the world. Along with clever commentary on academia, Woodward skillfully entwines many themes into a single narrative that explores the changing nature of relationships and how humans remain in "inexhaustible creeping flux." (Apr.)