A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader ~ 50 Comments
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
Publisher: Hogarth/Crown Publishing
Publication Date: May 2013
Categories: Literary, Chechnya
Source: Hogarth/Crown Publishing via TLC Book Tours
Description:
In his brilliant, haunting novel, Stegner Fellow and Whiting Award winner Anthony Marra transports us to a snow-covered village in Chechnya, where eight-year-old Havaa watches from the woods as Russian soldiers abduct her father in the middle of the night, accusing him of aiding Chechen rebels. Across the road their lifelong neighbor and family friend Akhmed has also been watching, fearing the worst when the soldiers set fire to Havaa’s house. But when he finds her hiding in the forest with a strange blue suitcase, he makes a decision that will forever change their lives. He will seek refuge at the abandoned hospital where the sole remaining doctor, Sonja Rabina, treats the wounded.

My Thoughts:

What I knew about Chechnya could have fit inside of a teacup. “Oh yea, that place where there’s been a lot of trouble. It’s in Russia, right?” I have a much better grasp of the events there after reading this book. Marra explains the past of this country in an accessible and moving way.

The story here isn’t as much about politics and wars as it is about what happens to the people and their relationships because of such hardships. Marra focuses on the humans caught in these events. How do they continue to carve out a life in a war-torn country? How do they survive the fear? What sacrifices will they make to continue to feel like humans at all? 

This is an incredible story about a young girl and the man who decides to take care of her when she is left alone in the world. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is powerful, emotional, and incredibly compelling. 
This novel is not to be missed. You’ll be thinking of it long after you’ve read the last page.

Stegner Fellow, Iowa MFA, and winner of The Atlantic’s Student Writing Contest, ANTHONY MARRA has won the Pushcart Prize, the Narrative Prize, and a scholarship to Bread Loaf. He is also the recipient of the 2012 Whiting Writers’ Award. He has studied, resided, and traveled throughout Eastern Europe. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is his first novel.

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Dun Dun Dun! Under the Dome!

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader ~ 32 Comments

Peer pressure strikes again folks! This time I’ve been coerced into reading Under The Dome by Stephen King. Alright, I’ll be honest. I saw some folks chatting about this on Twitter and I didn’t want to be left out. You can find all the sweet details here.

I’ve never participated in a readalong of a chunkster book. (Have I joined in any readalongs? I don’t think so.) To be frank, I don’t know how this will work for me. I read lickity-split fast and I’ve never read more than one book at a time.  THIS WILL FEEL ALL WEIRD! So, yea, first world problem for sure.

Want to spend the summer with me Jen? I sure do Uncle Stevie!

It’s been a long time since I’ve read King (not counting Rage, the novella I read in February) This should be a fun ride!

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when — or if — it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens — town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing — even murder — to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.

OOooOoooH! Sounds mysterious, no?