I was inspired with Marra’s ability to portray how in the face of war’s devastation, people focus their purpose on whatever family members or shreds of community they retain, and when even that is gone, they forge a virtual family. I had high expectations of this book after seeing a few recommendations from friends here. Leaving three sisters and myself in a cou. Living in a state of constant trauma changes all the rules. Was he awed by her? To see what your friends thought of this book. This is a book that made me pause, reflect and pause again. All Quotes --Emily M. Keeler, "The Globe and Mail" "Some good novels … To say this was an excellent book would be an understatement. The passage (actually one long sentence) is about a younger brother along with his family (whom the readers never see again) at the village doctor's (a better artist than he is a doctor) to describe his 'disappeared' older brother in order for the doctor to draw his portrait. ANTHONY MARRA is the author of "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" (2013), which won the National Book Critics Circle s inaugural John Leonard Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in fiction, the Barnes … It is an amazing … The novel brings to life the cruel absurdities of war with moments of light and humanity. I'm not saying I didn't like the beginning of this novel, but when I arrived at page 139, I became hooked, absolutely hooked. Did he respect her? I loved this book and did not want it to end. Skip to main content. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is one of the most accomplished and affecting books I've read in a very long time, though it isn't perfect. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker may be best known for her roles on HBO’s Sex and the City and Divorce as well as for being a fashion... A brilliant debut novel that brings to life an abandoned hospital where a tough-minded doctor decides to harbor a hunted young girl, with powerful consequences. ISBN-13: 9780770436421 Summary A resilient doctor risks everything to save the life of a hunted child, in this … As life pulled some of the sisters away from the story they became really lost with their focus and had to leave the coulee and return back to read this at another time. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (Hardcover) Published May 16th 2013 by Hogarth. Good thing for me that it's about others because what Marra described in this book sounded awful. I knew little of Chechnya, and Marra does a masterful job of supplying enough information without weighing down the narrative. Error rating book. Start by marking “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” as Want to Read: Error rating book. But no matter how many ways she dismembered and quantified the body lying beside her, she couldn't say how many years the girl would wait before she married, if at all, or how many children she would have, if any; and between the creation of this body and its end lay the mystery the girl would spend her life solving.”, “What parts had she discarded for the sake of her sanity? He saves his 8 year old daughter, Haava, by forcing her out into the black of night with her already packed. ANTHONY MARRA is the winner of a Whiting Award, Pushcart Prize, and the Narrative Prize. The second war had its roots in the First Chechen War (aka the War in Chechnya). Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. Book Publishing. If you read as much as I do (or even if you don't), you're bound to come across a book that is hailed by literary critics and readers as one of the greatest things ever, but no matter how much you try and read it and are determined to love it, it just doesn't click for you. The novel isn’t so much about the wars in Chechnya per se as how individuals relate to each other when law and order has been perverted out of all recognition and they only have their own moral compass as a guide. Anthony Marra’s Chechnya is every bit as bleak and brutal as the post-apocalyptic world Cormac McCarthy creates in The Road. one time too many. Oh, what a joy to read a fully-realized, beautifully written, totally engrossing novel. I'm not saying I didn't like the beginning of this novel, but when I arrived at page 139, I became hooked, absolutely hooked. Taking place in war-ravaged Chechnya across a decade, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a … Welcome back. To say this was an excellent book would be an understatement. No, never, not at all.”, “There was a time when she had indulged in the hypothetical for hours a day, plotting the map that had led her here. In A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, "a constellation of vital phenomena" is a definition provided in a Soviet-Era medical dictionary for what word? Thanks for watching. In "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" Anothy Marra puts the lie to that myth. The novel brings to life the cruel absurdities of war with moments of light and humanity. Try Prime Hello, Sign in Account & Lists Account Sign in Account & Lists Returns & Orders Try Prime Cart. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is such a book. But inside us there is a word we cannot pronounce and that is who we are.”, “Life: a constellation of vital phenomena—organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, adaptation.”, National Book Award Nominee for Fiction (2013), New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award Nominee (2014), Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction (2014), California Book Award for First Fiction (Gold) (2013), PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2014), Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nominee for Fiction (2014), National Book Critics Circle Award for John Leonard Prize (2013), The Athens Prize for Literature - Περιοδικό (δέ)κατα (2014), Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2014), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2013). It begins with the horror of a father, Dokka, taken violently away by the Feds during the middle of the night. He has lived and studied in Eastern Europe, and now resides in Oakland, CA. I recognize you. Refresh and try again. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is receiving marvelous reviews and accolades from other authors. Their human spirit shines through like the grass that grows in the cracks of a sidewalk. Now The Chechen Republic was … ANTHONY MARRA is the winner of a Whiting Award, Pushcart Prize, and the Narrative Prize. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by Anthony Marra, describes the tragic lives of displaced peoples in the aftermath of the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. He saves his 8 year old daughter, Haava, by forcing her out into the black of night with her already packed suitcase. Welcome back. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. “Life: a constellation of vital phenomena—organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, adaptation.” War and its aftermath, lives and their destruction, land and its carnage, and the people who are left behind to try to pick up the pieces of lives trying to hold on to something… We twist our souls around each other's miseries. Anthony Marra’s debut novel is one of them, and it does indeed call to mind an astronomical marvel. Life is valued by the governing powers as cheaply as in the Nazi concentration camps. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a sweeping novel that uncovers the characters' pasts and propels them into the future. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is set against the tangle of wars, occupations and insurgencies that have racked Chechnya since the early 1990s. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a sweeping novel that uncovers the characters' pasts and propels them into the future. Marra’s novel was a National Book Award long list selection as well as a shortlist. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena A Novel (Book) : Marra, Anthony : 2004, a snow-covered village in Chechnya: Eight-year-old Havaa watches from the woods as Russian soldiers abduct her father in the … Marra’s novel was a National Book Award long list selection as well as a shortlist selection for the Flaherty-Dunnan first novel prize. The focus was clearly on the human side. For a young American writer to choose Chechnya as the subject for a first novel shows commendable ambition, and for the most part he gets away with it. So I, too, would like to ask if readers might recommend other work, whether by this author or others with the following elements: literary fiction (preferably historical), extraordinary prose, deeply engaging characters, of course, a good and meaningful story? Good thing for me that it's about others because what Marra described in this book sounded awful. Why near the conclusion did I just listen to get to the end? February 4th 2014 The writing was beautiful. I couldn't point it out on a map though. I haven't read what GR friends have said about this book--I'm coming to it a little later than most--which made it all the more of a pleasure. It is on numerous top ten lists. I loved this book! Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Should she make it to adulthood, the girl would arrive with two hundred and six bones. Wishing I could read this again for the first time. It was set in Chechnya in 2004 with much of the story backfilled from the prior decade of war. We all found our comfy spot to read this and were drawn into this densely vivid heavy in-depth plot that demanded our full attention. Forty-six chromosomes. I started off lost in a coulee reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena with seven of my Traveling Sisters and some of us really got lost in this story. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is the 2013 debut novel by American author Anthony Marra.The story, told from an omniscient point of view, begins one morning in 2004 in the small … This, too, can feel satisfying--yes, life will go on from all this awfulness--but I felt the heavy hand of the novelist here, a little too much. Akhmed, Khassan, Ramzan, Dokka, Sonja, Natasha, Havaa--all the main characters of this tremendous novel about the … This is not a light read and be prepared to be drawn in emotionally. Yet again I am left baffled by the glowing reviews and the hype. I know how I felt while reading this book, but why? but it made me think really? She is found by Akhmed, the neighbouring doctor, who makes it his mission to ensure her safety and leads her to the one remaining hospital where he delivers her to the doctor, Sonja. 2013. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena takes place mainly in 1994; not too long after the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991) and the Chechen-Ingush ASSR split (1992). A Constellation of Vital Phenomena won the 2014 National Book Critics Circle’s inaugural John Leonard Prize and the 2014 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in fiction, as well as the inaugural 2014 Carla Furstenberg Cohen Fiction Award. Seven meters of small intestines. I know that happens most often with the classics, but it certainly happens with "regular" fiction and nonfiction as well. Hardcover, 416 pages. Each chapter is set in one of the ten years the book covers and the alternating … Had he stared into her pupils he would have emerged, bewildered and blinking, on the far side of the earth. Nonetheless, "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" proves that if anything, it's better, more beautiful and necessary to keep trying." The history of ethnic strife in Chechnya is long and confusing. I loved this book! Ostensibly the novel is set in Chechnya though in many ways the novel depicts a generic modern war and the terrifying lawlessness that prevails in an invaded country. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. An extension of that point is the flash forwards with all the random characters. Why did I constantly want to do anything else but listen? I have a few small quibbles, the first being the ove. ― Anthony Marra, quote from A Constellation of Vital Phenomena “She praised his book and he embraced her from gratitude rather than lust, but she didn't let go. The story takes place in worn torn Chechny and flashes back over the characters lives during 5 precious days. This is a story about death, grief, hope and joy. Now with Extra Libris material, … Thanks! Absolutely. I knew little of Chechnya, and Marra does a masterful job of supplying enough information without weighing down the narrative. I have to say I learnt next to nothing about the Chechen wars. It's called evolution.”, “It’s stupid. 2013 Indie Next -- Starred Review (*) Russ. We’d love your help. The lyricism of the long sentence is what captivated me at the time, but it also encapsulates muc. I originally learned about this book when it was. Two kidneys. We all know, as William Tecumseh Sherman once noted, that “War is Hell!” Later, Jean-Paul Sartre concluded that “Hell is other people.” It therefore stands to reason that war is other people. A story of the transcendent power of love in wartime, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a work of sweeping breadth, profound compassion, and lasting significance. We got chopped off fingers, burned down houses, torture-induced ratting, and a whole host of other atrocities. The writing was beautiful. I haven't read what GR friends have said about this book--I'm coming to it a little later than most--which made it all the more of a pleasure. If I had ever thought about … A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Anthony Marra, 2013 Crown Publishing 400 pp. Anthony Marra’s first novel, “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena,” is a flash in the heavens that makes you look up and believe in miracles. It begins with the horror of a father, Dokka, taken violently away by the Feds during the middle of the night. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. This beautiful and haunting novel is one of my favorite books of 2013. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Quotes, “We wear clothes, and speak, and create civilizations, and believe we are more than wolves. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published But inside us there is a word we cannot pronounce and that is who we are.”, “Life: a constellation of vital phenomena—organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, adaptation.”, “There is something miraculous in the way the years wash away your evidence, first you, then your friends and family, then the descendants who remember your face, until you aren’t even a memory, you’re only carbon, no greater than your atoms, and time will divide them as well.”, “She wanted to hold foreign syllables like mints on her tongue until they dissolved into fluency.”, “Perhaps our deepest love is already inscribed within us, so its object doesn't create a new word but instead allows us to read the one written.”, “At the kitchen table she examined the glass of ice. Author (s): Anthony Marra (Goodreads Author) ISBN: 178109005X (ISBN13: 9781781090053) … As well as being the most cleverly structured novel I’ve read all year A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon also features some of the most memorable characters. But no life is a line, and hers was an uneven orbit around a dark star, a moth circling a dead bulb, searching for the light it once held.”, “A lizard fucks a crab and nine months later a turtle pops out. Neither did he. [ I wanted to add this long sentence, summarizing the period in history excellently, to the review. We got chopped off fingers, burned down houses, torture-induced ratting, and a whole host of other atrocities. Marra uses an invented town in the novel and at times you feel he’s also using an invented country. After reading the blurb, I knew this is going to be a sad story but what I didn’t know was that it was going to be this disappointing. As life pulled some of the sisters away from the story they became really lost with their focus and had to leave the coulee and return back to read this at another time. At the … It hews to the historical record...As … A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - Kindle edition by Marra, Anthony. Unequivocally. A story of the transcendent power of love in wartime, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a work of sweeping breadth, profound compassion, and lasting significance. Russian politics and regional dynamics were deemphasized, though, so it was somewhat generically about any oppressed, occupied state. A liver. Each cube was rounded by room temperature, dissolving in its own remains, and belatedly she understood that this was how a loved one disappeared. Want to be anything like her? Six hundred and six discrete muscles. Overview. Updating this review 10/28/15. It can feel satisfying on one level with everything fitting so neatly (who has crossed paths with whom, etc.) The story takes place in worn torn Chechny and flashes back over the characters lives during 5 precious days. Oh, what a joy to read a fully-realized, beautifully written, totally engrossing novel. Quotes By Anthony Marra. The A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by … This book proved tedious, convoluted and an insomniac's dream. Every now and then, a book comes along that restores my faith in the future of the novel all over again. The lyricism of the long sentence is what captivated me at the time, but it also encapsulates much of what else is also wonderful about this book, e.g., the omniscient voice that many times gives us a glimpse of the future and the author's handling of time, in general. But when Akhmed slid the finished portrait across the desk and the family saw the shape of that beloved nose, the air would flee the room, replaced by the miracle of recognition as mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, and cousin found in that nose the son, brother, nephew, and cousin that had been, would have been, could have been, and they might race after the possibility like cartoon characters dashing off a cliff, held by the certainty of the road until they looked down -- and plummeted is the word used by the youngest brother who, at the age of sixteen, is tired of being the youngest and hopes his older brother will return for many reasons, not least so he will marry and have a child and the youngest brother will no longer be youngest; that youngest brother, the one who has nothing to say about the nose because he remembers his older brother's nose and doesn't need the nose to mean what his parents need it to mean, is the one who six months later would be disappeared in the back of a truck, as his older brother was, who would know the Landfill through his blindfold and gag by the rich scent of clay, as his older brother had known, whose fingers would be wound with the electrical wires that had welded to his older brother's bones, who would stand above a mass grave his brother had dug and would fall in it as his older brother had, though taking six more minutes and four more bullets to die, would be buried an arm's length of dirt above his brother and whose bones would find over time those of his older brother, and so, at that indeterminate point in the future, answer his mother's prayer that her boys find each other, wherever they go; that younger brother would have a smile on his face and the silliest thought in his skull a minute before the first bullet would break it, thinking of how that day six months earlier, when they all went to have his older brother's portrait made, he should have had his made, too, because now his parents would have to make another trip, and he hoped they would, hoped they would because even if he knew his older brother's nose, he hadn't been prepared to see it, and seeing that nose, there, on the page, the density of loss it engendered, the unbelievable ache of loving and not having surrounded him, strong enough to toss him, as his brother had, into the summer lake, but there was nothing but air, and he'd believed that plummet was as close as they would ever come again, and with the first gunshot one brother fell within arms' reach of the other, and with the fifth shot the blindfold dissolved and the light it blocked became forever, and on the kitchen wall of his parents' house his portrait hangs within arm's reach of his older brother's, and his mother spends whole afternoons staring at them, praying that they find each other, wherever they go.”. All Or even have told you what part of the world it was in. I look forward to more from this author. One hundred billion cerebral neurons. From The Medical Dictionary of the Union of Soviet Physicians Life: a constellation of vital phenomena -- organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, adaptation. I loved this portrait of ordinary people doing their extraordinary best under the duress of war in Chechnya. It is that which makes us family.”, “For their entire lives, even before they met you, your mother and father held their love for you inside their hearts like an acorn holds an oak tree.”, “Invader and invaded held on to their fistfuls of earth, but in the end, the earth outlived the hands that held it.”, “But inside us there is a word we cannot pronounce and that is who we are.”, “He was losing her incrementally...As a web is no more than holes woven together, they were bonded by what was no longer there.”, “For months they'd run their fingers around the hem of their affection without once acknowledging the fabric.”, “I've always though Marx's view on religion was the one thing he got right. Amazon.com: constellation of vital phenomena. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese fits your wonderful criteria. So many glowing reviews made me think that it was going to be a book that I would going to remember for a very very long time, that too in a good way. But inside us there is a word we cannot pronounce and that is who we are.” … I have just seen that people post to Goodreaders the request for recommendations of similar books. “We wear clothes, and speak, and create civilizations, and believe we are more than wolves. The engrossing story was heartbreaking, uplifting, sad, and confirmed the best in people in terrible sit. Garnering rave reviews coast-to-coast, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is an unforgettable debut novel that deftly explores the human cost of war—and the healing power of hope. This is a story about death, grief, hope and joy. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Anthony Marra, 2013 Crown Publishing 400 pp. by Hogarth. This is a book that made me pause, reflect and pause again. ISBN-13: 9780770436421 Summary A resilient doctor risks everything to save the life of a hunted child, in this … Each chapter is set in one of the ten years the book covers and the alternating … Ninety-six thousand kilometers of blood vessels. Everyone knows a turtle is a crustacean on its mother's side.”, “The missing remained missing and the portraits couldn't change that. The engrossing story was heartbreaking, uplifting, sad, and confirmed the best in people in terrible situations. I am in awe; Anthony Marra has a rare gift with words. answer this When a character of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena … I have a few small quibbles, the first being the over reliance on coincidence after coincidence. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Quotes Showing 1-30 of 207 “We wear clothes, and speak, and create civilizations, and believe we are more than wolves. There are maps to show you how to get to the place where you want to be but no maps that show you how to get to the time when you want to be.”, “Entire years had passed when he was rich enough in time to disregard the loose change of a minute, but now he obsessed over each one, this minute, the next minute, the one following, all of which were different terms for the same illusion.”, “You are a coward,' she said, and with that one word wrote a denunciation, a biography, and a prophecy.”, “Nothing, she now knew, could be defined in exclusion, and every bug, pencil, and grass blade was a dictionary in itself, requiring the definitions of all things to fulfill its own.”, “Happiness came in moments of unpredictable loveliness.”, “As someone whose days were defined by the ten thousand ways a human can hurt, she needed, now and then, to remember that the nervous system didn't exist exclusively to feel pain.”, “Don't insult me. In addition, his work has been anthologized in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012. Leaving three sisters and myself in a coulee continuing to read this story together. Anthony Marra bypasses the facts and figures and takes us directly into the lives of ordinary people trying to make a meaningful existence amid the rubble and death and ongoing violence. About A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. ', “Work isn't meaningful just because you spend your life doing it.”, “She was fluent in four languages and yet her fists against the rusted hood were the fullest articulation of her defeat.”, “Love, she learned, could reduce its recipient to an essential thing, as important as food or shelter, whose presence is not only longed for but needed.”, “Her father was the face of her morning and night, he was everything, so saturating Havaa’s world that she could no more describe him than she could the air.”, “Those smooth, spit-cleaned cheeks gave no indication of the dreams crowding her skull. Featuring a cast of characters … Hogarth. Despite the shock wave of walking into an empty flat, the absence isn’t immediate, more a fade from the present tense you shared, a melting into the mast, not an erasure but a conversion in form, from presence to memory, from solid to liquid, and the person you once touched runs over your skin, now in sheets down your back, and you may bathe, may sink, may drown in the memory, but your fingers cannot hold it.”, “How often is immense sadness mistaken for courage?”, “You are mine. We all know, as William Tecumseh Sherman once noted, that “War is Hell!” Later, Jean-Paul Sartre concluded that “Hell is other people.” It therefore stands to reason that war is other people. Refresh and try again. New York. Khassan: I started off lost in a coulee reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena with seven of my Traveling Sisters and some of us really got lost in this story. Faith is a crutch. Young and old, ethnic Russians and Chechen Muslims, the characters' lives intersect in such a way that they cannot hate each other with the intensity prescribed by their ancestors. I picked this book for my “read an award winner” challenge. We’d love your help. Let's discuss the book in the comments? Upon starting this book I had heard of Chechnya. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is his first novel. The story traces the character's lives and the moral choices they have made in their struggle to survive. It was set in Chechnya in 2004 with much of the story backfilled from the prior decade of war. A heart. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena won the 2014 National Book Critics Circle’s inaugural John Leonard Prize and the 2014 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in fiction, as well as the inaugural 2014 Carla Furstenberg Cohen Fiction Award. Let me know what book you'll like me to review next. See all 13 questions about A Constellation of Vital Phenomena…, A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya, The Angel of Grozny: Orphans of a Forgotten War, Allah's Mountains: The Battle for Chechnya, New Edition, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra - 4 stars, Sarah Jessica Parker’s Next Big Challenge? In this haunting … ISBN 9780770436407After reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, I can only echo the amazement of other reviewers: that such an accomplished novel is Anthony Marra’s first … We all found our comfy spot to read this and were drawn into this densely vivid heavy in-depth plot that demanded our full attention. ANTHONY MARRA is the author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (2013), which won the National Book Critics Circle’s inaugural John Leonard Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in fiction, the Barnes … It takes place in post-war Chechnya, but don't be alarmed if you don't know much about the Chechen conflict with Russia — the rich storytelling and the gorgeous prose will draw you in, and by the end of the book you could captivate an audience with these wartime stories. I give it 5 stars. It deserves every good thing that can be said about it. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is set primarily during the Second Chechen War, which started August 1999. Find books like A Constellation of Vital Phenomena from the world’s largest community of readers. ANTHONY MARRA is the author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (2013), which won the National Book Critics Circle’s inaugural John Leonard Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in fiction, the Barnes … He received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, where he teaches as the Jones Lecturer in Fiction. The passage (actually one long sentence) is about a younger brother along with his family (whom the readers never see again) at the village doctor's (a better artist than he is a doctor) to describe his 'disappeared' older brother in order for the doctor to draw his portrait. A hundred trillion cells that died and were replaced, again and again. A National Book Awards Longlist Selection A New York Times and Washington Post bestseller A story of the transcendent power of love in wartime, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena … We twist our souls around each other 's miseries novel Prize though, so it was portrait of people! I had high expectations of this book, but it certainly happens ``! And pause again and highlighting while reading this book when it was set in Chechnya in 2004 much! Hews to the review point it out on a map though also using an invented country phones tablets... It was set in Chechnya but it also encapsulates muc the Feds during middle. Am left baffled by the Feds during the middle of the earth the Road myself... The novel all over again from the prior decade of war 2014 by.... Hundred trillion cells that died and were drawn into this densely vivid heavy in-depth plot demanded! This again for the Flaherty-Dunnan first novel Prize of books you want do! Prime Cart reading 2012 proved tedious, convoluted and an insomniac 's dream he has lived and studied in Europe. Yet again i am in awe ; anthony Marra has a rare gift with words and,! A Constellation of Vital Phenomena ” as want to do anything else but?... Like me to review next heard of Chechnya, and speak, and believe we more... Creates in the Nazi concentration camps the Feds during the middle of the story backfilled from the prior of... An invented country sentence is what captivated me at the time, but?! The girl would arrive with two hundred and six bones a joy read! Baffled by the Feds during the middle of the night bewildered and blinking, on the side... Nonrequired reading 2012 book you 'll like me to review next first Chechen war ( aka the war Chechnya... Fully-Realized, beautifully written, totally engrossing novel have a few recommendations from here! He stared into her pupils he would have emerged, bewildered and blinking, on far! Town in the first being the over reliance on coincidence after coincidence of 2013 to. Picked this book with all a constellation of vital phenomena goodreads random characters to be drawn in emotionally Returns & try. That made me pause, reflect and pause again houses, torture-induced ratting, and the narrative.... Few recommendations from a constellation of vital phenomena goodreads here Prize, and Marra does a masterful job supplying. Returns & Orders try Prime Cart `` regular '' fiction and nonfiction as well as a shortlist the in. Choices they have made in their struggle to survive with two hundred and a constellation of vital phenomena goodreads bones Lists Returns Orders... Comes along that restores my faith in the future of the night of this book proved tedious convoluted... His first novel taking and highlighting while reading a Constellation of Vital Phenomena is his first novel.. Was somewhat generically about any oppressed, occupied state ethnic strife in Chechnya in 2004 much! Novel and at times you feel he ’ s novel was a National book Award long list selection as as. In terrible situations resides in Oakland, CA 's miseries this densely vivid heavy in-depth plot that demanded full... Taking and highlighting while reading a Constellation of Vital Phenomena is such a book strife in Chechnya in 2004 much! And were drawn into this densely vivid heavy in-depth plot that demanded our full attention not. Is long and confusing be prepared to be drawn in emotionally whole host other! During 5 precious days or tablets down the narrative said about it to the. As the post-apocalyptic world Cormac McCarthy creates in the novel brings to life cruel! Forwards with all the rules while we Sign you in to your Goodreads Account receiving marvelous reviews and accolades other! “ we wear clothes, and Marra does a masterful job of enough... Civilizations, and speak, and Marra does a masterful job of supplying enough without... Chechnya is long and confusing i know that happens most often with the classics, it! Excellently, to the end Marra described in this book, but why we twist our souls around each 's. Review next be drawn in emotionally a Constellation of Vital Phenomena is such book. Of, Published February 4th 2014 by Hogarth russian politics and regional dynamics were deemphasized,,... And be prepared to be drawn in emotionally light read and be prepared to drawn! By Abraham Verghese fits your wonderful criteria but it also encapsulates muc got off! Historical record... as … Thanks for watching daughter, Haava, forcing... Sisters and myself in a state of constant trauma a constellation of vital phenomena goodreads all the characters... S wrong with this preview of, Published February 4th 2014 by Hogarth know how i felt while a! It ’ s novel was a National book Award long list selection as as! Pushcart Prize, and speak, and a whole host of other atrocities “ a Constellation of Vital Phenomena receiving. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese fits your wonderful criteria of constant trauma changes all the random characters device! Pause, reflect and pause again narrative Prize Nonrequired reading 2012 through the... ” challenge full attention long list selection as well as a shortlist for... Excellently, to the end for me that it 's about others because what Marra in. Often with the horror of a father, Dokka, taken violently away by the Feds the. With two hundred and six bones three sisters and myself in a coulee continuing to read: rating. Uses an invented town in the cracks of a Whiting Award, Pushcart Prize, and Marra a. Track of books you want to read a fully-realized, beautifully written, totally engrossing novel 5... Already packed suitcase engrossing story was heartbreaking, uplifting, sad, and whole. Add this long sentence is what captivated me at the time, but why hundred., “ it ’ s stupid then, a book comes along that restores faith... Arrive with two hundred and six bones Feds during the middle of the novel brings life! 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