It is not often that a novel has an unreasonably long title. It is also extraordinarily rare that a book with a long title has such a rich and compelling story behind it. Finally, what is even more unlikely than these two scenarios is that this book happens to be the author’s debut novel.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is that book. It was one that left me staring at the back cover long after I turned the final page, its characters etched so deeply into my mind that I felt their pain, their anguish, their happiness, and their sorrow. It is an extraordinary piece of work that is a gem in the world of fiction.

Set within the time periods of two Chechen wars, the story centers around an eight year old girl named Havaa, who watches while she hides in the woods as Russian soldiers take her father and set her home on fire. Her neighbour Akhmed decides to take her under his wing and brings her to a severely understaffed hospital in which the sole remaining doctor, Sonja Rabina, spends her days.

The last thing that Sonja desires to have is another responsibility in the form of a little girl. But over the course of five days, these three companions become more inextricably dependent on each other than they would have ever imagined. They find love and beauty within the unspeakable horrors of war.

Poignant and riveting, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful. Marra is a true master with words as he creates a tour de force of a debut novel that proves that he is a force to be reckoned with. Quite a vital phenomena indeed.