Other people will enjoy this book more than I did. 🤷🏻‍♂️ The writing was too self conscious to have much emotional impact on me. ( )

Wow.. ( )

3.1/5 ( )

Unique, beautifully rendered, intellectually challenging . . .this book seems destined to be a classic. Marra uses a short story form, but for me, the book is a novel. The stories are definitely interwoven together, and as a reader, you have to work to find the links and understand the larger picture. I wish I had noted each character as I went and the linkages as I unearthed them. It reminded me of doing a crossword puzzle . . .with one word providing a clue to the next.

It's hard to provide a plot summary, but the short stories follow multiple generations of one family, a pair of brothers and one of the brother's lovers - - but the stories are not linear and the linkages are not immediately obvious, but rather are revealed. Some of the stories are very powerful and others served more as the glue that held the book together. The language was exquisite throughout.

All that being said, I enjoyed Marr's first book, [b:A Constellation of Vital Phenomena|18428067|A Constellation of Vital Phenomena|Anthony Marra|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408313066s/18428067.jpg|19926928] more - - yet I think the structure of [b:The Tsar of Love and Techno|23995336|The Tsar of Love and Techno|Anthony Marra|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428086934s/23995336.jpg|43596056] shows a more mature author. The writing revisits Russia and the Chechen War, but this sophomore effort is more original, more thought provoking and the writing so crisp. It is clear that every sentence is carefully considered.

Unfortunately, my overall feeling at the end of the book was one of awe as opposed to one of love. It's a book I'd thrust into the hands of aspiring writers, but not necessarily one I would share with all readers.

( )

Without doubt one of the more talented short story authors around. I learned quite a bit about life in Russia during and after the Chechnya crisis through each story though the title story was my favorite by far. Anthony has a very promising career ahead of him and I suspect some stories will be optioned for screen much like Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" was in the form of "Arrival", the Amy Adams Oscar nominee. Anthony's narrative style, sense of humor, characters, pacing and word choice are top notch in my world! ( )