You look at a surgeon as you would a secular priest, almost, if it's your child, if it's your sister on the operating table. That was an idea that very much has interested me and I've wanted to explore for some time. Anthony Marra childexplorehave share on social
Usually I spend a long while working alone before letting anyone read what I've written. Anthony Marra haveletlong Change image and share on social
I read all of the nonfiction that I could find on Chechnya, and all the while, I was searching for a novel that was set there. I couldn't find a single novel written in English that was set in the period of the two most recent Chechen wars. Anthony Marra chechenchechnyaenglish share on social
I took a 19th-century Russian novel class in college and have been smitten with Russian literature ever since. Writers like Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Grossman, and Solzhenitsyn tackle the great questions of morality, politics, love, and death. Anthony Marra 19thcenturyclass share on social
Grozny's been largely rebuilt. But at the same time, I think the war is very much being waged inside its survivors. Anthony Marra groznyinsidelargely Change image and share on social
Wars break things; they break stories. Anthony Marra breakstorything Change image and share on social
I joined a writing class at a nearby community center, where I was the youngest participant by about 40 years. Once a week, I'd funnel down a staircase and join the dozen retirees crowded in folding chairs around a table to discuss one another's stories. Anthony Marra centerchairclass share on social
A novel can enlarge the empathy and imagination of both its author and its reader, and my experience, that sense of enlargement is most intense when I'm transported beyond the narrow limits of my daily life. Anthony Marra authordailyempathy share on social
No one reaches the Oval Office without a great deal of admiration for the institution - and himself - so it's unsurprising that sitting presidents favor the biographies of former presidents. Anthony Marra admirationbiographydeal Change image and share on social
There was something about the idea of Russia that I found very intriguing, and I think I had romanticized it a lot. Anthony Marra findideaintrigue Change image and share on social