2013 book 128

Anthony Marra's A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
This book is getting a lot of buzz, which is pretty well-deserved, though I confess that it was REALLY a slow starter for me. I actually almost gave it up like a third of the way through--it just felt like a slog. But I'm glad I kept with it, because by the end I was totally involved in the story (and crying). It's billed as being about three characters in war-torn Chechnya in 2004--a little girl whose father was just taken by the Russians; her neighbor, the local village doctor who would rather be an artist; and the only doctor left at the local city hospital, a woman surgeon. And all those characters are great, though like I said, it took me a while to get interested in them. BUT there are also two other characters who are immediately great--another neighbor--an older man writing an epic history of Chechnya--and the surgeon's troubled sister. Marra's writing is strong throughout--he can really turn a phrase--but really shines when those two are involved. There are maybe like two too many coincidences, and definitely a couple of needless illicit romances, but really this was a straight-up good book. I predict that book groups will love this one. A-/B+.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on May 7th.