8 Glorious and Triumphant Novels of Scientific Discovery

Ann Patchett’s deep research and lush worlds are nowhere more evident than in this novel of morality and miracles, science and sacrifice. Set in the Amazon, where pharmaceutical researcher Marina Singh investigates the enigmatic Dr. Annick Swenson, whose mysterious research is being jealously guarded in the most remote areas of the rainforest.

The engine that propels this juicy, smart novel is desire—sexual and intellectual, essential and existential.

Read Molly Prentiss’s review here.

Elizabeth Gilbert weaves an elegant, wise, and spellbinding tale that spans the ages and the globe with Alma Wittaker, botanist extraordinaire. Written in the bold, questing spirit of the nineteenth century, a time when the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were colliding with dangerous new ideas, Alma is relentless in her drive to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.

If the name Hanya Yanagihara sounds familiar to you, it's because her novel A LITTLE LIFE is a National Book Award Finalist and short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. A decade in the making, THE PEOPLE IN TREES marks the debut of a remarkable new voice in American fiction. Exciting, challenging, and visionary, this anthropological adventure story combines the visceral allure of a thriller with a profound and tragic vision of what happens when cultures collide.

In this stirring and elegant debut novel, two young scientists who have followed their professor all over the globe begin to understand that sometimes the step taken “in the name of science” is a step too far.

Set in 1840s Nantucket, this richly drawn portrait of desire and ambition was inspired by the work of the first female astronomer. Hannah Gardner Price strives to be something other than a housewife and mother, and when she meets a man who seemingly understands her dreams she will have to make choices that will change her life forever.

A series of brilliant revelations brings to life the parallel quests of two intrepid young women as they delve into the centuries-old mysteries of Easter Island, one of the most remote places in the world. But Easter Island has a haunting past, and they are forced to confront turbulent discoveries about themselves and the people they love, changing their lives forever.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate, he finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive. This story of incredible bravery, ingenuity, and insurmountable odds is now a major motion picture starring Matt Damon.