A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book, recommended to me by Deena.
It follows a few people's stories during the Chechen Wars from 1996 to 2004. The book jumps around in time, but each chapter begins with a timeline with the date highlighted. The main characters include a little girl whose father is taken by the police, her neighbor who rescues her, and a doctor at the hospital he hides her in. But as the book unfolds, more characters who start out seeming like minor players become increasingly more relevant.
The writing was excellent - as was the character development. I also really enjoyed the unlikely connections he made between characters, some of which the reader knows before the characters do.
I didn't know very much about this part of post-USSR history, and the author did a good job of including enough background so I could follow the story but not so much that I was bored by the history. Definitely recommend reading this and since this is his debut novel (wow!) I look forward to future books of his.
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