In a snow-covered village in Chechnya, eight-year-old Havaa watches from the woods as her father is abducted in the middle of the night by Russian soldiers. Their life-long friend and neighbour, Akhmed, has also been watching, and when he finds Havaa he knows of only one person who might be able to help. For tough-minded doctor Sonja Rabina, it's just another day of trying to keep her bombed-out, abandoned hospital going. When Akhmed arrives with Havaa, asking Sonja for shelter, she has no idea who the pair are and even less desire to take on yet more responsibilities and risk. But over the course of five extraordinary days, Sonja's world will shift on its axis, revealing the intricate pattern of connections that binds these three unlikely companions together and unexpectedly decides their fate. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is simply spectacular". (Ann Patchett).
I first heard about this book through the GoodReads First Reads programme where I won a copy. I was immediately drawn to the story from the first page; Anthony Marra paints such a vivid picture of the war-torn state of the Chechen countryside, the danger that both characters face and the gradual discovery of the characters’ respective personalities. The story is very much character-driven; the reader is compelled to learn more about the characters, why this smart Russian woman decided to stay behind in this war-torn region, why this man decided to help hide this little girl, etc. The novel also explores how inter-connected people can be.
Despite of the quiet wonders that occur throughout the novel, there’s this foreboding sense that things can go bad at any moment and the dangers that come with such a war state lurking at every corner. But despite of this danger, there’s a humour amidst these bad situations that is reminiscent of David Benioff’s The City of Thieves which serve as a reprieve to the tension. I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a good fiction novel to read.
My complete review of the novel was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2013/05/02/review-a-constellation-of-vital-phenomena/
