Disappearing Earthopens on a kidnapping.
This turns out to be a most appropriate introduction.
Yet rarely has a novel so fully brought to life a place most couldnt pretend to know.
Credit: Knopf
The kidnapping reaches far and wide, touching every member ofDisappearing Earths sprawling ensemble.
The case gets further away.
Wild theories about the girls fate proliferate.
Nina Subin
Life goes on for some, but for others, a temporary pause starts to feel permanent.
And xenophobia takes hold.
People behave like Kamchatka is an island.
I have my doubts.
If its so secure, how do migrant workers keep showing up?
And yet Phillips shades even embittered, misguided Valentina with empathy, nuance, pride.
To the south, east, and west was only ocean, Phillips writes of its geography.
To the north, walling off the Russian mainland, were hundreds of kilometers of mountains and tundra.
Their stories are engrossing, propelled by emotional experiences that are brightly realized on the page.
The most devastating, perhaps, follows a widow whos faced with new, unimaginable tragedy.
Theres a hint of queerness, the mere mention of which evokes danger and punishment.
They will come for you, writes Phillips.
They will hurt you…. You could die for this.
As her familys tragedy moves to the fore, the depth of Phillips storytelling prowess reveals itself.
There was no pleasure in it.
Disappearing Earthwades through the darkness with heart.
Its final three chapters, especially, overflow with life.
The mothers despondent state of being settles in acutely.
But then a miracle.
Or the pieces falling into place.
Or the inevitable climax of a crime thriller.
By this point, Phillips has so effectively upended expectations, its hard to say.
A mothers pain becomes a mothers mission.
Characters from various chapters converge.
