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Disappearing Earth by Julia Philipps

Disappearing Earth, (2019), is the first novel from an American author, Julia Phillips. The book was a finalist for the 2019 US National Book Award for Fiction. It was also named one of The New York Times Top 10 Best Books of 2019.

After graduating BA in English, Julia Phillips earned a Fulbright Program grant, allowing her to conduct research in Russia regarding how foreign investment and tourism have affected the Kamchatka Peninsula. She also wrote blog posts for The Moscow Times. During her time in Kamchatka, she began exploring the theme of what everyday harm or hurt against women looks like. (Information from Wikipedia)

What‘s the book about?

Here is an extract from the publisher’s description on the cover of the book.
„One August afternoon, on the shoreline of the north-eastern edge of Russia, two sisters are abducted. In the ensuing weeks, then months, the police investigation turns up nothing. Echoes of the disappearance reverberate across a tightly woven community, with the fear and loss felt most deeply among its women.
Set on the remote Siberian peninsula of Kamchatka, a region that is as complex as it is alluring, ‘Disappearing Earth’ draws us into the world of an astonishing cast of characters, all connected by an unfathomable crime.

In a series of self-contained chapters, one for each month of the sisters’ disappearance, we learn about life in Kamchatka, its problems and challenges, especially for women, who are most affected by the loss of the little girls.“

Reading Circle members’ book recommendations for this month

• Unto This Last by John Ruskin (1860): Essays on economics, very critical of the economists of the 18th and 19th centuries and a key influence on Mahatma Gandhi.
• In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa (2013): 1980’s Syria – a thrilling yet heartful coming-of-age tale of a girl who must examine her loyalties and prove them both to others and herself. A stirring story narrated against the backdrop of real-life events that feel less like history and more like the present, echoing the violence plaguing the Middle East today.
• Gibts da noch was zu lachen by Christina Engel, a Reading Circle member (2024): Political Jokes from Putin’s Russia. In German.
• In an Iron Glove by Claire Martin (1965) (Translated from the French): A harrowing account of an abusive childhood in middle-class Quebec, set in the 1920’s.
• Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Attwood (2023): Three groups of short stories, in which some characters re-appear. The stories deal with family relationships, marriage, loss and memory.
• Queen Macbeth: Darkland Tales by Val McDermid (2024): McDermid draws the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history, through the figure of Gruoch, Macbeth’s wife.
• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (2010): Follows the lives of the Berglund family as their lives develop and their happiness eventually falls apart.
• The Middle Kingdoms – A New History of Central Europe by Martin Rady (2023) :The definitive history of the region.
• Die Zeiten des Abnehmenden Lichts by Eugen Ruge (2011) : In German. A family saga of the German Democratic Republic with an autobiographical background.

Do join us next month, when we will be introducing the novel
Yellowface (2023) by Rebecca F. Kuang.

The publisher’s description says:
„When failed writer June Hayward witnesses her rival Athena Liu die in a freak accident, she sees her opportunity and takes it. So what if it means ‘borrowing’ her identity? And so what if the first lie is only the beginning…….“

Reviews

• ‘Kuang delivers a hugely entertaining account of a brazen literary heist.’ The Guardian.
• The Chicago Review of Books praised ‘Kuang’s darkly witty tone, critiques of publishing and cultural exploitation, and the all-consuming nature of Internet personas.’