Disappearing Earth Paperback – 23 July 2020

The writer hums along spinning a story based on the disappearance of two girls. She deftly touches upon the lives of all those involved, following their otherwise humdrum existence in a provincial remote region of Russia. The slow reflective pace of writing and the descriptions of the raw wilderness that is part of life in that region captivated me. At the same time, the lack of any 'highs' and 'lows' that most storytellers employ to keep readers engrossed is missing. You need patience to get through this. Maybe a Dostoevsky-like fatalism is what defines Russia?

This is a story of two sisters who have disappeared without a trace in the Kamchatka area. The opening chapter in which the incident occurs is chilling. Their innocence and manipulation leaves you anxious about their fate. The subsequent chapters have various characters whose lives revolve around this incident or are affected by this tragedy.There is a story described about an earthquake followed by a tsunami in which an entire village with its people, objects and all is swept away into the ocean " halfway to Alaska ". On realizing this the people cajole each other to keep swimming and support each other. This was my exact state of mind when I began reading, I was at sea and just let myself flow where the author lead me, trusting her skills and boy, was I rewarded!Stunning and accomplished, all the chapters are individual short stories that stand on their own. The fate of the missing girls bothers and haunts you and yes , you get closure.The conclusion is left to your own interpretation and I was wholly agreeable. A brilliant book needs to end brilliantly and keep lingering as you contemplate your choices. I look forward to the next offering by Julia Phillips.

I loved this book. I couldnt put it down. I loved the backdrop of Kamchatka. I loved how the basic story line was so American and yet so Russian in concerns and sociology.Its a wonderful way of telling a story and cracking a disappearance case. We move close and away from the main event - disappearance of two girls. With each story we come closer to the truth. This book must be read and experienced. Its hard to believe it is a debut novel. Fantastic read.

is this an authentic published copy?the book appears to me as a coloured photocopy.No complaint on the content, kudos to the author.

Set in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, the story opens with two sisters being lured into a car and disappearing with a stranger. As the chapters unfold, the rest of the book dives into the lives of the women living in and around the area and how they’re affected by the abduction. Although the disappearance is the thread that runs through the whole book, each character’s section is more of a standalone short story, and you’re getting more of an insight into different lives and their way of living.This was hard to review as so many people really enjoyed this book and overall I wasn’t blown away by it. For me what didn’t work quite so well was getting a short time with so many characters, trying to work out their relevance to the disappearance but also being thrown that they were mini stories in themselves, which I did get a little impatient with. I think I was expecting it to revolve more around the disappearance and then being unsure whether I should be taking anything away from the different individual characters in case there was something that directly linked to the sisters.Having said that, there were so many elements of it that I did like. Learning about a region and a society that I didn’t know anything about, if you search for images of the Kamchatka peninsula it’s stunning and the detail that went into writing about indigenous communities like the reindeer herding families was atmospheric and fascinating. The characters being used as a timeline is cleverly done and unique - each character represents a month since the sisters vanished, this structure then builds towards a page-turner of an ending to tie everything up.I’m not sure that I would recommend it to everyone, but if it is of interest then go into it knowing that the author is telling lots of different stories rather than focusing on the investigation.

There is no story, no continuity to it. It is very difficult constantly referring to a Russian cast of Characters at the front when you are reading a Kindle. the Author also goes on about numerous Characters who are not even in the Cast of Characters. The two young girls are abducted in the beginning and by the end we are no wiser.It is the first book I have read for a long time that I could easily give up on.What is the story about?

So pleased I came across this very atmospheric novel. I managed to lose myself in the characters and couldn't wait to get home to read it each night. It's slow which I like, and takes time to build the characters. At first I found the names of these characters from a remote part of Russia difficult to remember and had to keep referring to the helpful chart the author had provided at the start. But stick with that bit and it rewards.

This was certainly different but I enjoyed it and the setting was well captured

Interesting social description of areas of Russia