The first chapter describes the disappearance of two young girls and each chapter after that is a short story unto itself with the missing girls as the thread that weaves all the characters and each of the stories together. Q: Disappearing Earth has an unusual structure (reminiscent of There, There by Tommy Orange) that I really enjoyed. PBS Interview with Julia Phillips Goodreads Summary I referred to it during each chapter to verify relationships as it provided a greater understanding of the community and how everyone was connected. Thank you to Julia Phillips for including the cast of characters list at the front of the book. I enjoyed the telling of Disappearing Earth and appreciate the exposure to this area of Russia and the ethnic diversity amongst its people. Through a combination of deeply affected characters and a hint of sadness, and with vivid portrayal of volcanic topography and untouched nature in this pristine part of the earth, Julia Phillips does a stellar job of creating the setting and telling her story, Disappearing Earth. With bits of information and perspective from everyone, we finally get the satisfaction of knowledge about the girls who disappeared, as well as a deeper understanding of the Russian communities on this far away sliver of the earth. When the women who have lost their children meet each other at a festival, they join forces and the focus turns to the missing girls.
The attention the police gave was disappointing and discouraging to many, and after the more recent disappearances, concerns bubble up amongst a few people in and around the area. Several years prior, a different girl had disappeared from a smaller town close by and the search for her quickly fizzled. Women’s reaction to violence brings some people together and pushes others apart. Beginning with young lovers on a camping trip, little girls who are forbidden to see each other, a woman with a scary medical issue, a mourning nurse, the wife of a policeman, a student who leaves her small town for an education…each story is separate but part of an intricate web of characters that are all connected. With fear and underlying despair due to the girls’ disappearance and the changes in Soviet government over time, we hear about people’s everyday existence. In Disappearing Earth, Julia Phillips tells us month by month, from a different female character perspective, what life is like and how the sorrow and sense of loss impacted their relationships and decisions.
The community is deeply concerned and affected. Two little girls disappear off the face of the earth one day after they get into the car with a man who claims he has an injured leg. Kamchatka is a beautiful, remote place on the northeast end of Russia, with limited access by land.
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