A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - Anthony Marra (5 stars)

[KateNZ]

A beautifully written, challenging and desperately moving story of love, betrayal, redemption and humanity. The language is haunting and the characters totally believable. I particularly loved the fluidity of the timeline - it was both a useful narrative device and also a truth: we are not only the sum of our present, but also our past and our future.

I knew next to nothing about Chechnya before reading the novel, except one-dimensional stories about separatist terrorism on the one hand and Russian military occupation on the other. So it was illuminating to read more about the history of this beautiful but devastated nation, the customs of its peoples, and the atrocities that were committed during the two wars.

I loved The Tsar of Love and Techno even more, but I can't go past 5 stars for its predecessor too :)

[Amy]

It was a five star read for me too, and in my top ten. I’m grateful to PBT, as I would never have known about it or picked it up and it was truly unforgettable.

[Booknblues]

KateNZ wrote: "A beautifully written, challenging and desperately moving story of love, betrayal, redemption and humanity. The language is haunting and the characters totally believable. I particularly loved the ..."

I loved this book, It made the top ten the year I read it. I look forward to any book Marra writes and am eagerly waiting for his next one.

[[deleted user]]

So glad to hear you liked this one, Kate! I own the kindle book and still have not gotten around to reading it. Maybe during 2018?

[KateNZ]

Amy wrote: "It was a five star read for me too, and in my top ten. I’m grateful to PBT, as I would never have known about it or picked it up and it was truly unforgettable."

Same, Amy - I only heard about both his books through this fabulous group!

[Kimber]

I just finished Tsar of Love and Techno this morning--my favorite book of 2017. I have Constellation of Vital Phenomena on my book shelf and plan to read it this year. Glad to see you gave it the highest marks!

[Denizen]

Both of Marra's books are amazing.

My daughter got a Kindle for Christmas so the first thing I did was loan her Constellation to break it in.

[KateNZ]

Denizen wrote: "Both of Marra's books are amazing.

My daughter got a Kindle for Christmas so the first thing I did was loan her Constellation to break it in."

Love it!