Mercury Pictures Presents: A Novel

"Nearly a decade after his debut, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra returns with a sprawling story that ushers readers through the streets of pre-World War II Rome, the backlots and front offices of a B-movie studio in Hollywood and the halls of Congress. The novel centers on Italian émigré Maria, teasing through the tangled, complex relationships she has with the men who shaped her past, empowered her career, and inhibit or expand her dreams. But as compelling as the story and characters are, the real star is the writing. Marra’s ability to capture and render both the joy and pain of life, and depict the web of fate that encompasses and shapes our lives, remains unmatched."