A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

A review by Spencer

by Anthony Marra

Life: a constellation of vital phenomena—organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, adaptation. ~A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

I’m rarely stumped for words, but this book leaves me practically speechless. I’ll do my best, but I forewarn you, I didn’t understand, didn’t want to understand, or didn’t care about three quarters of this book.

What initially piqued my interest in this story was the setting of Chechnya, and the mentioning of little eight-year-old Havaa hiding in the woods at night as Russian soldiers snatched her father and set her home ablaze. After this initial scene my interest quickly waned.

It’s easier to mention what I liked about this book, otherwise, this review would be rather lengthy.

·      I like the story has a unique setting (Chechnya.)

·      I like little Havaa’s straightforwardness, and the mystery that centers on her blue suitcase of souvenirs.

·      I like that I completed the book, resisting the urge to stop reading after nearly every chapter.

Just to touch on a few of the many things I didn’t like was the omniscient POV, how Havaa nearly disappeared throughout much of the story, the nonlinear timeline, constant head-hopping of characters, lengthy sentences and paragraphs, cursing, the constant depressing images of rapes, killings, tortures, drug use, prostitution, and the sarcasm, hatred, and negativity. I realize this takes place during wartime, but I’d like to have had a break, however small, from the depressing and pessimistic outlook from every single character. The darkness was overkill, and despite the tragedies, I failed to sympathize with most of the characters.

I tolerated the second half of this book better than the first, but that’s not saying much.

I feel the need to purge my body of the dirty, nasty, reprehensible mental images I ingested. Harsh, but true.

I did not enjoy this read. I did not enjoy the author’s writing style. I did enjoy putting this book in my donation bag. I’m certain somebody out there will appreciate the author’s vision and hard work.

Publisher: Hogarth

Page count: 418

Purchase link: Amazon

Book Rating:

On the same page?

Uhh...yeah. 

Disclosure of Material Connection in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Blogging for Books has provided me a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

Review by Abi

By Anthony Marra

Havaa focused on her fingernails. She wanted to speak but didn't, wanted to flee but couldn't.~Quote from A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

The quote above pretty much sums up the way I feel about this book. I wanted to flee after the every chapter. I wanted to like the book, wished to give it rave reviews, wanted to find a reason to go on reading.

The only reason I continued was hope. Hope it would redeem itself. Hope I would connect to the characters. I lost hope halfway through. It was like watching a movie then wondering why I stayed to the end. I don't understand why this book is on the bestseller list. I've never given this low of a rating. Ever. However, I received this book in exchange for an honest review. And honest you will get.

Now, the book has great prose, wonderful metaphors and intensive research. That is the positive aspects of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.

Unfortunately, the book head-hopped constantly, causing me to pull out of the story, scavenge through pages to figure out what point of view the author switched to. Again. There were no scene breaks, no warning at all that the reader needed to hop into yet another character's point of view. Omniscient point of view or not, this is no excuse to bounce around like an out of control super ball. The non-linear timeline throughout the book is just as jolting.

I would've put this book down by the third chapter had I not agreed to write a review. So, I plodded through.

There were parts that were so unbelievable that I laughed out loud. For example: A blind man guards a door, a deaf child as his assistant. The deaf child pulls on the blind man's finger to signal when to let people in to see an underworld criminal.

Seriously?

The blurb is misleading. I wanted to read this book because of Haava, who, if one were to believe the blurb, is the main character. The first chapter introduced Haava, and then the character was forgotten. She disappeared for chapters on end.

On a positive note—and it's hard to find a positive—the author slaved through this book. He did his research. For that I give him credit.

I'm very disappointed. The only things I enjoyed about A Constellation of Vital Phenomena were the first chapter and reaching the last page, drawing a breath of relief that I was done. Finally.

I can't recommend this book. I will avoid reading books by this author in the future.

         

    Publisher: Hogarth

    Page count: 418

    Purchase link: Amazon

                                           

Book Rating:

On the same page?

No doubt.

Disclosure of Material Connection in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Blogging for Books has provided me a copy of this book in exchange for a review.