A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

"The title is hard to wrap your mind around. It comes from a medical textbook’s definition of “life.” Set during Chechnya’s wars for independence from Russia, Anthony Marra’s novel begins in a small village where a young girl’s father has just been taken away by government troops. Her rescuer, the village doctor, seeks refuge in a barely functioning urban hospital run by a brilliant surgeon — a still-young woman whose emotions have been stripped bare by war. These and the other characters whose lives run through this story of life in the midst of war are among the most memorable I have ever encountered. They will break your heart and keep you reading."

"Anthony Marra’s “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.” And all the books I mention below. It’s been a great year for reading."

"I read straight through one particularly bad night, then turned back to Page 1 at 4:25 a.m. and started over again."

"Anthony Marra's "The Tsar of Love and Techno," because I was knocked out by "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena""