Katie
asked
Julia Phillips:
Hi Julia, I just finished your novel, and I (along with the rest of my bookclub) absolutely adored it. While I thoroughly enjoyed every story, the one that stuck out to me the most and will stay with me for a while was "New Year's". I NEED to know more about Masha, or women like her. Any chance you would expand on any of your character's stories? Also, is there any queer Russian fiction that you would recommend?
Julia Phillips
Katie, thank you (and your book club!) so, so much for reading. It means a great deal to me that you connected with Lada and Masha's story. I don't expect to expand on any of the characters in this novel, but I think about them all and imagine them living past what's on the pages here. It makes me happy to picture them as real people in the world.
What a great question about queer Russian fiction. "Wings" by Mikhail Kuzmin is a classic, and "Russian Beauty" by Victor Erofeyev is more contemporary. In addition, I personally love Masha Gessen's nonfiction writing about queerness in Russia. Their reporting is always superb.
What a great question about queer Russian fiction. "Wings" by Mikhail Kuzmin is a classic, and "Russian Beauty" by Victor Erofeyev is more contemporary. In addition, I personally love Masha Gessen's nonfiction writing about queerness in Russia. Their reporting is always superb.
More Answered Questions
Michael
asked
Julia Phillips:
How did you convey the RFE’s alienation and otherworldliness? (I’ve been to Kamchatka twice, as well as Primorye.) The book does a powerful job exploring conflicts: police and civilians, ethnic Russians and native populations, educated people and commoners. Amid the mystery and overlapping plots is deep exploration of the struggle of eking out a marginal life in the distant outskirts of post-Soviet Russia.
Scott
asked
Julia Phillips:
Julia, I sincerely enjoyed your story, Disappearing Earth. I love how you structured it. I felt like I was spying on each individual set of people, and it was fascinating how they all came together. The character descriptions were very helpful in the front. I found myself going back over and over to this and the map. Can you talk about your decision to structure the novel in this way?
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