Disappearing Earth - Julia Phillips - 4 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

Two young girls are snatched off a street in Petropavlovsk, a town in the Kamchatka Peninsula. It's one of the most remote areas of northeastern Russia. In this debut, the author has constructed her novel as a series of connected short stories, each one of which could easily stand on its own. There seems to be no central narrative.

The stories have a couple of characteristics in common. The first is that the narrators of the various stories are all women. Second, a good portion of the characters are Even or Koryak, Siberian tribal people who are referred to as “natives”. I read a lot, but I don't ever remember reading about the indigenous Russians in any other novel. I consulted Wikipedia often so that I could understand what the Even culture was, and to see examples of traditional dances.

I was never sure where Disappearing Earth was heading. The stories themselves are individual slices of life and human drama. Characters from various stories begin to converge as the book progresses. I wasn't sure I was going to like this book when I first started, but I think it's the kind of story that stays with you after you read it. It's very well written with sense of place and depth of characters that creates a complex and memorable story.

[Meli]

This is high up on my tbr of books I don't own yet, very much want to read! Glad you enjoyed it.

[Joanne]

Also on my "read soon" list-glad to see a great review on it here!

[Booknblues]

I enjoyed this as well. Good review.

[Susie]

We had very similar perceptions of this one. A four from me too.