Disappearing earth by Julia Phillips

Book set in Petropavlovsk, Russia. Reviewed on 2020/06: https://www.instagram.com/p/CByNWoNA9rX/

Good premise here, and then it all becomes redundant and repetitive. The #disappearingearthby #juliaphillips becomes a disappearing story after a few pages. Where do I begin? At first, the story is interesting enough to get you going and the first chapter was indeed captivating. However, #phillips dilutes and chops the plot into these tiny #shortstories or #vignettes which are not cohesive and become little stories themselves. I did not appreciate the style at all especially so for a #thriller – like story. Phillips apparently lived in #kamchatka (where this story is set) for some time prior to writing this book. Knowing that, I’m surprised at the level of the narrator’s detachment from the characters. My only explanation is that Phillips can’t simply grasp the complexities and illusions of belonging, of being far, isolated and of wanting to belong and judging who belongs all at the same time. Philipps fails to see how far and how close Kamchatka and Alaska, Russia and the US are from each other and from within. More importantly, she fails to see how the margins of the so-called margins are the only possible beginnings of a movement to bring people together in a genuine and meaningful way. I hate to say it but I should have known better when picking up this book. These #penguinrandomhouse imprints are never my favorite ones. If you are looking for other books set in the region, I can recommend you: #spottydogrunningalongtheseashoreby Aitmatov or #unna by Rytkheou. I’m sure there a lot more set in the area and I can’t wait to “discover” them.
#nextplease #debutnovel