November 22, 2010 Ann Patchett is the author of five novels—not counting the forthcoming State of Wonder, which is due in June—and two books of nonfiction. Though her first published work was a short story which appeared in The Paris Review, and though she is the editor of the 2006 edition of Best American Short Stories, she is not especially well known for her own short fiction. Fortunately, the Holiday Fiction Issue of The Washington Post offers a rare example of Patchett’s mastery of the short-story form:
“With all due respect to Dr. Rapp and his enormous influence on my development as a scientist, the research I am conducting in the Amazon is my own.” It was the thing she had learned as early as their first trip to South America: She had to have her own research. All the boys did was pander to Dr. Rapp and parrot back his ideas. They had thought he was looking for a partner in mycology, when what he was looking for was another scientific mind.
Read the full story, “Studies in Modern Mycology.” here.
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