You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
montanomad 's review for:
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
by Anthony Marra
Hard to say much more than "Wow!" I'm a Russophile, so the topic already interests me, especially since I was in Russia when Chechnya first heated up in the mid 1990's. While this is a work of fiction, it is very much based on fact, and the fact that such horrible atrocities have occurred so recently is astounding. Worse still is the fact that so much of the world didn't bother to pay any attention. The atrocities and the world apathy toward them speak poorly of the state of humanity.
The book itself is wonderfully written. The cast of characters is small, enabling the author, Marra, an opportunity to fully flesh out their stories. Marra delivers through the brilliant use of flashbacks and flashforwards that build depth and reader interest in the characters while generating suspense. Despite the temporal bouncing, the book is easy to follow because it is so masterfully crafted. At the core of Marra's skill is the ability to generate a tightly interconnected web amongst his characters--his plot is amazingly well conceived and stunningly executed.
This is not a feel good book by any means, but the darkness of background helps generate the power of the book. Remarkably, given the content, Marra includes a remarkable amount of humor, further stretching the emotional range of the novel, and thus enhancing the emotional impact of the pages. The humor often hits in simple, single lines of text that pack an incredible punch. Too be sure, it is dark humor, but such is the nature of Russia and war zones.
If you aren't afraid to peel back the veneer of civility that most Americans can choose to hide behind, I highly recommend this book. Our contemporary world is not a pretty place and we have chosen to ignore so much of it. Commentary on humanity aside, this book is so well written that even if you choose to bury the fact that this work of fiction is deeply embedded in fact, it still retains its power as an incredible story expertly written.
The book itself is wonderfully written. The cast of characters is small, enabling the author, Marra, an opportunity to fully flesh out their stories. Marra delivers through the brilliant use of flashbacks and flashforwards that build depth and reader interest in the characters while generating suspense. Despite the temporal bouncing, the book is easy to follow because it is so masterfully crafted. At the core of Marra's skill is the ability to generate a tightly interconnected web amongst his characters--his plot is amazingly well conceived and stunningly executed.
This is not a feel good book by any means, but the darkness of background helps generate the power of the book. Remarkably, given the content, Marra includes a remarkable amount of humor, further stretching the emotional range of the novel, and thus enhancing the emotional impact of the pages. The humor often hits in simple, single lines of text that pack an incredible punch. Too be sure, it is dark humor, but such is the nature of Russia and war zones.
If you aren't afraid to peel back the veneer of civility that most Americans can choose to hide behind, I highly recommend this book. Our contemporary world is not a pretty place and we have chosen to ignore so much of it. Commentary on humanity aside, this book is so well written that even if you choose to bury the fact that this work of fiction is deeply embedded in fact, it still retains its power as an incredible story expertly written.