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Book Salon
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

  • This month we're reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. Our faculty host is Anthony Marra.

    Listen to an interview with our Book Salon host.

    "This novel is about the people who are just simply trying to get by in the midst of conflict. It's about people trying to provide for their families, and trying to retain some small form of humanity despite the forces that are otherwise attempting to strip them of it."

    Anthony Marra, lecturer of English

About this quarter's book selection

“On the morning after the Feds burned down her house and took her father, Havaa woke from dreams of sea anemones.” In a small rural village in Chechnya, eight-year-old Havaa watches from the woods as Russian soldiers abduct her father in the middle of the night and then set fire to her home. Her lifelong neighbor, Akhmed, discovers her in the snow with a strange blue suitcase, deciding to take her through the forest to seek refuge in an abandoned hospital.

There they encounter Sonja Rabina, sole remaining doctor treating the wounded. Not wanting to take on more risk and responsibility, their unlikely arrival is an unpleasant surprise. Ahkmed convinces her to take Havaa for a trial period and over the next five extraordinary days, Sonja’s world will completely change and reveal the complex web that weaves together the pasts of these three unlikely companions and unexpectedly decides their fate.

Anthony Marra’s debut novel is a powerful story of love and the connections we make with one another that can transcend the world around us, even in wartime. An unforgettable world--A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and its characters leave a lasting impression long after you finish the book. 

The Stanford Book Salon [Seriously Unstuffy]