Rebecca Richards-Diop
asked
Julia Phillips:
I just finished Disappearing Earth and found it both masterful and an immensely satisfying read! What an accomplishment! Thank you! I am curious… many of the women in the book consider making significant life changes but ultimately decide not to take the risk. Can you say more about what shaped that decision?
Julia Phillips
Hi Rebecca, thank you so much for reading! And what a good question...this is something I didn't think about explicitly when writing, but have thought about more since the book came out. Someone told me once that they read all the main characters in the novel as thematically connected by the experience of captivity. That both surprised and resonated with me. It makes sense with the plot, I think, that every character, no matter their situation, is in some way held tight in place.
That stuck-in-place feeling is also one I sometimes associate with Kamchatka, which is so huge, beautiful, and full of opportunities to experience incredible things, but which also has really limited transit, few roads, short windows of good weather that allow movement, and restricted access to the outside world. I remember seeing a production of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" while I was there; the characters' longing for Moscow felt so resonant with some of my experiences on the peninsula. People feeling trapped while dreaming of the moment when everything will change. In the play (spoiler alert!) the sisters don't get to Moscow, and I suppose many of my characters don't reach their Moscows either...
That stuck-in-place feeling is also one I sometimes associate with Kamchatka, which is so huge, beautiful, and full of opportunities to experience incredible things, but which also has really limited transit, few roads, short windows of good weather that allow movement, and restricted access to the outside world. I remember seeing a production of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" while I was there; the characters' longing for Moscow felt so resonant with some of my experiences on the peninsula. People feeling trapped while dreaming of the moment when everything will change. In the play (spoiler alert!) the sisters don't get to Moscow, and I suppose many of my characters don't reach their Moscows either...
More Answered Questions
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?
Maria Tsiruleva
asked
Julia Phillips:
Dear Julia, thank you so much for your book. The setting is so appealing, it made me want to explore distant corners of my own country. I spent some time reading on Kamchatka's history, finding pictures, watching youtube videos of how the streets of Petropavlovsk, Palana and Esso look like. I don't have a question so I just put a question mark as it's a requirement to post a question. :) ?
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