![]() ![]() ![]() The novel, set in Chechnya, skips time between 19, bookended by the two wars that devastated the region. It’s a book of beautiful prose, a serpentine story filled with writing that reads more like the work of a seasoned novelist rather than an author just making his entrance in the literary world. It’s a book of ghosts, a story of people disappearing into the night, leaving family members with a hole the size of a human body in their hearts. That rare novel, as important as it is compelling.A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra’s debut novel, is a difficult yet rewarding read, the type of book that can make you cringe, laugh and cringe with laughter. AĬonstellation of Vital Phenomena-hailed as a masterpiece of 2013-is Some of the tenderness and human comedy of Joseph Heller's Catch-22Īnd Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated. Much about love, dignity, and grace as it is about tragedy, containing Although graphic scenes will bother some readers, the novel is as Three years after the publication of her book, A Small Corner of Hell:ĭispatches from Chechnya (2003), Marra eloquently re-creates the richĬulture that wove village life together and the violence that tore itĪpart. Inspired by Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered Novel reprises recent history, but, even more so, it magnificentlyĬaptures the destinies of people caught up in the brutality of war. Set during the Second Chechen War (1999-2009), Marra's first War, and at this he succeeds beautifully." SAM SACKS Lives of men and women caught in the pincers of a brutal, decade-long Marra is trying to capture some essence of the To keep readers grounded in his story, he stands apart from everyĮditorialist or citizen journalist with a Twitter feed: He is not trying Marra inserts just enough historical background Meaningful as the particulars of it." RAMONA AUSUBEL Reader's grasp of every knot-the sense of connectedness is as Intricate net, the pleasure of the book does not depend upon the Fortunately, though the author has woven an Which can be confusing and distracting if one gets too caught up in "Characters' destinies are intertwined in many ways, Novel, however, is how much human warmth and comedy he smuggles, like "The strange and invigorating thing about Mr. Marra manages all this withĭeftness and improbable humor." TRICIA SPRINGSTUBB Of the region written by one character, ranges as far back as the fall Memories of the region under Stalin and, thanks to an exhaustive history "It covers the First and Second Chechen Wars, tucks in Writing-that kept me committed to that world and the people in "The story, which takes place in Chechnya, moving back andįorth in time over recent history, includes some tough scenes, such asĭescriptions of torture and amputation. Haven't been so overwhelmed by a novel in years." RON CHARLES The future is freighted with anguish but flecked with hope. Ways too tragic and moving to anticipate, the past resolves into focus "As the elements of this complicated plot begin to align in Your enemy, this novel, full of humanity and hope, ultimately leaves you The rubble-or the paranoia that exists when your neighbor is very often Outside Sonja's hospital-the wall-less rooms, the massive craters, While Marra doesn't shy awayįrom the very real conflict of the region, whether describing the scene Keeps the focus on the relationships, struggles, and tiny triumphs of an "ith remarkable pathos and a surprising amount of humor, he Realizes the importance of maintaining her humanity in the face of an The fall of the Mongol Empire to Stalin to the Chechen Wars, Sonja This trio and others weave together stories of past and present, from May jeopardize the return of her missing sister. Their Muslim village after Havaa's father is accused of aidingĬhechen rebels and is killed. Sonja, a gifted, tough-minded surgeon who delivers babies in aīombed-out hospital, takes in Akhmed, an incompetent village physician,Īnd the eight-year-old Havaa when Russian soldiers drive them out of Group of characters' lives intertwine as they struggle to survive. THE STORY: In war-ravaged Chechnya in 2004, more than a decadeĪfter the fall of the Soviet Union and during the Second Chechen War, a A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is his debut novel. He has lived in Eastern Europe and studied Chechen historyĪnd literature. ![]() Iowa Writer's Workshop and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford Retrieved from Īnthony Marra, who lives in Oakland, California, graduated from the APA style: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.A Constellation of Vital Phenomena." Retrieved from MLA style: "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena." The Free Library. ![]()
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