A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Summary
Anthony Marra

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Overview

When Dokka is taken away from the small village of Eldar in Chechnya, his friend Akhmed takes Havaa, Dokka’s daughter, to a hospital for refuge from the government troops who will likely be looking for her next. So begins a novel in which men and women try to maintain their dignity and virtue in the midst of sometimes random and sometimes politically motivated violence against Chechens. Living under the constant threat of arrest and torture, with no certain refuge in fleeing, the characters in A Constellation of Vital Phenomena find that no matter what they do to make life bearable, they will still be freighted with memories and experiences that will force them practice that skill of making life bearable again and again.