50 pages • 1 hour read
Anthony MarraA Constellation of Vital Phenomena
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
At the warehouse, Sonja continues to question Akhmed about the woman who knew Sonja’s name. Akhmed admits that he never asked her name and can’t remember exactly what she looked like, but Sonja still thinks it may have been Natasha. Akhmed says the woman was most likely headed to the refugee camps. Alu’s brother tells Sonja that he doesn’t think Akhmed is an informant. Back in the car, Sonja apologizes to Akhmed for not believing him. Sonja brings Akhmed to Grozny’s central square because she knows Akhmed has always wanted to see Grozny. Sonja points out the buildings that used to stand there. Afterward, Sonja and Akhmed visit an abandoned shopping center where someone tapped the phone lines and set up a phone bank in the basement. At the phone bank, Sonja attempts to call Brendan in London. The last time Sonja spoke to Brendan was a month prior. Sonja is hoping Brendan can put Natasha’s name into the Memorial or Red Cross database and see if anything turns up, but Brendan’s assistant tells Sonja that Brendan has already left for a meeting.
Chapter 14 Summary
In 1995 Natasha spends the winter in the City Park among others who “found the cold easier to sleep through than the fear of falling rubble” (193). A homeless man known as the City Park Profit looks out for Natasha, remembering how she used to give him change. In the spring, Natasha seeks out Sulim. Natasha begs Sulim to help her escape to the West, knowing Sulim still works as a smuggler. Sulim explains that Natasha will have to work, which Natasha understands means prostitution. Natasha is hoping to make it to London, where she believes Sonja will find her better work.
Natasha travels to the Dagestan border by van with five other women. From there, the women hike across the border into Georgia. The women are then divided in the city of Odessa. Natasha is put in the back of a delivery van and taken to Serbia. In Serbia, Natasha and 11 other women are trapped in a stone cellar. When Natasha asks the girl next to her where they are, she cryptically replies, “The Breaking Grounds” (199).
Chapter 15 Summary
As they drive out of Grozny, Sonja tells Akhmed about Natasha. Sonja admits that Natasha never told her how she ended up in Italy. Akhmed tells Sonja about his friendship with Dokka. Akhmed explains how he, Dokka, and Ramzan played chess every other Sunday. Eventually, Ramzan began running guns for the rebels and sometimes took Dokka on his expeditions. Ramzan never invited Akhmed. Akhmed became jealous of how much money Dokka was making. Akhmed was also jealous of Dokka’s wife and daughter, since Akhmed’s own wife was sick and they’d struggled to have children. Akhmed began spending time with Havaa and Dokka’s wife while Dokka was away, even sleeping in Dokka’s wife’s bed. When Dokka returned with his fingers missing while Ramzan returned unharmed, Akhmed realized Ramzan had become an informant. Akhmed and Dokka barely spoke after that. Sonja again apologizes to Akhmed for believing that he was an idiot and for questioning him at gunpoint, and Akhmed forgives her.
Chapters 13-15 Analysis
These chapters alternate between Natasha’s story and Sonja’s retelling of Natasha’s story to Akhmed. This structure further characterizes Sonja, Natasha, and Akhmed. At first Akhmed thinks Sonja is a bitter, unfriendly woman. Sonja doesn’t smile or chat with Akhmed. However, once Akhmed learns about Sonja’s past with her sister, he is more sympathetic toward her. The story reveals how Natasha was always considered the prettier sister, creating tension in their relationship early on, but Natasha later felt abandoned by Sonja after Sonja left for London.
Even though Sonja puts on a tough exterior, these details reveal how she is still affected by her past, and how her history with Natasha contributed to the character she is now. Similarly, Sonja judged Akhmed for not being as knowledgeable as her and for being a poor physician. However, after questioning Akhmed and learning his story, Sonja realizes that Akhmed is kind and trustworthy, and finally calls him a decent man. Because of their difficult pasts and the extremity of their situation, characters sometimes have trouble trusting each other and are put off by first impressions. But after learning each other’s stories, the characters see how someone’s difficult past informs their present personality. At the end of the day, both Sonja and Akhmed mean well, and they will be more understanding of each other going forward.
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