A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

First edition cover
Author	Anthony Marra
Language	English
Subject	Second Chechen War
Genre	Literary fiction, Historical fiction
Publisher	Random House
Publication date	May 7, 2013
Media type	Print
ISBN	9780770436421

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a novel written by Anthony Marra, published May 7, 2013 by Random House. The book was a New York Times best seller^[1] and received positive critical reviews. The work has also been referenced in academic journals, including War, Literature & the Arts^[2] and The Lancet.^[3]

Synopsis

Characters

Release

Reception

According to Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on thirteen critic reviews: six "rave", five "positive", and two "mixed".^[4] On July/August 2013 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a (4.5 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a summary saying, "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena--hailed as a masterpiece of 2013--is that rare novel, as important as it is compelling".^[5][6]

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena received starred reviews from Library Journal,^[7] Publishers Weekly,^[8] and Booklist,^[9] as well as positive reviews from The New York Times Book Review,^[10] World Literature Today,^[11] Kirkus Reviews,^[12] Chicago Tribune,^[13] The Washington Post,^[14] NPR,^[15] San Francisco Chronicle,^[16] Shelf Awareness,^[17] The Economist,^[18] and Entertainment Weekly.^[19]

The New York Times^[20] and The Boston Globe^[21] provided mixed reviews.

Accolades

Accolades for A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

Year	Accolade	Result	Ref
2013	National Book Award for Fiction	Longlist	[1]
	California Book Award for First Fiction	Winner	[22]
	National Book Critics Circle Award for John Leonard Prize	Winner	[23]
	Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction	Nominee	[22]
	Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books	Selection	[24]
	New York Times Notable Book of the Year	Selection	[25]
	Prix Medicis	Winner	[26]
2014	New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award	Finalist	[27]
	Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction	Winner	[28]
	PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize	Shortlist	[29]
	Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction	Finalist	[30]
	The Athens Prize for Literature - Περιοδικό (δέ)κατα	Winner	[31]
	Andrew Carnegie Medal for Fiction	Longlist	[32]
	Indies Choice Book Award for Adult Debut	Winner	[33]
	Notable Books	Selection	[34]
	Carla Furstenberg Cohen Fiction Award	Winner	[23]
2015	Dublin Literary Award	Longlist	[23]
	Barnes & Noble Discover Award	Winner	[35][31]

References

1. Marra, Anthony (2013-05-07). A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7704-3641-4.
2. Plichta, Katherine. "The Most Vital Phenomena" (PDF). War, Literature, and the Arts: 1–6.
3. Marchalik, Daniel (2015-06-13). "Saving the professionalism course". The Lancet. 385 (9985): 2346–2347. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)61093-5. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 26088632. S2CID 36796285.
4. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Book Marks. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
5. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Bookmarks. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
6. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Bibliosurf (in French). 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
7. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Library Journal. Archived from the original on 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
8. "Fiction Book Review: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. Hogarth, $26 (400p) ISBN 978-0-7704-3640-7". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
9. Wilkinson, Joanne (April 1, 2013). "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
10. Bell, Madison Smartt (2013-06-07). "Prisoners of the Caucasus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
11. Hagen, W M (September–October 2013). "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". World Literature Today. 87 (5): 60–61. doi:10.7588/worllitetoda.87.5.0060. ProQuest 1439796645 – via ProQuest.
12. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Kirkus Reviews. February 18, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
13. Barron, John (June 28, 2013). "Review: 'A Constellation of Vital Phenomena' by Anthony Marra". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
14. Charles, Ron (May 7, 2013). "Anthony Marra's 'A Constellation of Vital Phenomena,' reviewed by Ron Charles". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
15. Wolitzer, Meg (2013-05-13). "From A Debut Writer, A Polished, Passionate, Must-Read Book". NPR. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
16. Ausubel, Ramona (2013-05-03). "'A Constellation of Vital Phenomena'". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
17. Lavoie, Tom (March 6, 2013). "Maximum Shelf: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2013-05-11. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
18. "The crucible of war". The Economist. 2013-07-06. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
19. Parker, Sarah Jessica (May 9, 2013). "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
20. Garner, Dwight (2013-05-07). "The Horrors of Chechnya, With Humor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
21. Freeman, John (2013-05-13). "'A Constellation of Vital Phenomena' by Anthony Marra - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2013-06-08. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
22. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
23. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena – DUBLIN Literary Award". Dublin Literary Award. 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
24. Hooper, Brad (January 1, 2014). "Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2013". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
25. "100 Notable Books of 2013". The New York Times. 2013-11-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
26. "Anthony Marra". Whiting. Archived from the original on 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
27. "Young Lions Award List of Winners and Finalists". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
28. "Winners". Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
29. "KGB Reading: 2014 Bingham Finalists". PEN America. 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
30. "2014". Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
31. "2018 JCO Finalists". The New Literary Project. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
32. "2014 Winners". Reference & User Services Association (RUSA). 2020-10-20. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
33. "ABA Announces 2014 Indies Choice and E.B. White Read-Aloud Award Winners". the American Booksellers Association. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
34. "Notable Books: 2014". Booklist. March 15, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
35. "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel|Paperback". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2021-12-23.