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Department of the Vanishing
Before the Anthropocene, the air pulsed with birdsong. Now, a silence is falling.
Ava spends her days at The Department, rebuilding lost species from the remaining fragments of art and scientific data. Her dying mother thinks she should quit. So does her lover, and the sex workers who loiter outside her apartment. But when a ghost from her past shows up, Ava is compelled to follow its broken song deep into the archives––uncovering a secret that could reverse the age of silence.
Set in a time of mass extinction, Department of the Vanishing blends documentary poetry, archival image, and narrative verse to explore the vital questions: Can we live in a world without birdsong and is it possible to create a new opus with the fragments left over?
‘Rare and resplendent. A full-bodied roar at the crimes of extinction and a psalm for the wonder of the living world.’ Jennifer Mills
‘A sexy, compelling and beautifully crafted elegy not only to birds but to feeling itself. The denouement is spectacular; I cheered and wept.’ Angela O’Keeffe
‘Simultaneously fragile and furious, intimate and immense, Department of the Vanishing is a remarkable achievement.’ James Bradley
Ava spends her days at The Department, rebuilding lost species from the remaining fragments of art and scientific data. Her dying mother thinks she should quit. So does her lover, and the sex workers who loiter outside her apartment. But when a ghost from her past shows up, Ava is compelled to follow its broken song deep into the archives––uncovering a secret that could reverse the age of silence.
Set in a time of mass extinction, Department of the Vanishing blends documentary poetry, archival image, and narrative verse to explore the vital questions: Can we live in a world without birdsong and is it possible to create a new opus with the fragments left over?
‘Rare and resplendent. A full-bodied roar at the crimes of extinction and a psalm for the wonder of the living world.’ Jennifer Mills
‘A sexy, compelling and beautifully crafted elegy not only to birds but to feeling itself. The denouement is spectacular; I cheered and wept.’ Angela O’Keeffe
‘Simultaneously fragile and furious, intimate and immense, Department of the Vanishing is a remarkable achievement.’ James Bradley
- GenresFiction
311 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2026
11 people are currently reading
338 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 6, 2026
Johanna Bell's new book is set in 2028 in Sydney, where Ava Wilde works as an archivist at the Department of the Vanishing. There, 6 floors underground, she catalogues all the records and memorabilia about species as they become extinct, with a special focus on birds. Her father, an ornithologist, disappeared while doing field work when she was 6, and she is haunted by all the unanswered questions and her dying mother's oblique messages.
In her private life, Ava seems lost, adrift, as the world crumbles around her. She hooks up with men and moves on, until Luke, who makes her feel. Their slightly kinky sex life is underscored by the first thefts: he encourages Ava to steal bird recordings from the Department (duplicated saved onto USBs) which he uses to mix songs. I think. It's a little vague at times. When Ava's private life implodes, she takes things even further, desperate to fill the silence of her world.
I loved the mix of storytelling styles in this book, free verse combined with emails, factoids, newspaper clippings and photos. There's a long list of references at the back to go with them. It's like an art installation or a collage in book form. I'm not the biggest fan of free verse. There's a lot of internal here, but I still had trouble fully understanding Ava. I couldn't picture her very well - which might be an interesting device, the sense that she is just like all the documents and things she catalogues: a slice, a sliver, of a much greater whole. But I don't think that's the intention.
I learned a lot of interesting things about birds, the lyrebird in particular, and this was done really well. The mass extinctions and silencing of birds felt scarily realistic, and a vision of our future. It creates a bleak, desperate atmosphere that works well with Ava's bitter bleakness. I loved the prostitutes on the stairs, they were sketches that were brought to life through their banter.
There's a lot to discuss - this would make a great bookclub book. It made an impression on me and won't be forgotten.
In her private life, Ava seems lost, adrift, as the world crumbles around her. She hooks up with men and moves on, until Luke, who makes her feel. Their slightly kinky sex life is underscored by the first thefts: he encourages Ava to steal bird recordings from the Department (duplicated saved onto USBs) which he uses to mix songs. I think. It's a little vague at times. When Ava's private life implodes, she takes things even further, desperate to fill the silence of her world.
I loved the mix of storytelling styles in this book, free verse combined with emails, factoids, newspaper clippings and photos. There's a long list of references at the back to go with them. It's like an art installation or a collage in book form. I'm not the biggest fan of free verse. There's a lot of internal here, but I still had trouble fully understanding Ava. I couldn't picture her very well - which might be an interesting device, the sense that she is just like all the documents and things she catalogues: a slice, a sliver, of a much greater whole. But I don't think that's the intention.
I learned a lot of interesting things about birds, the lyrebird in particular, and this was done really well. The mass extinctions and silencing of birds felt scarily realistic, and a vision of our future. It creates a bleak, desperate atmosphere that works well with Ava's bitter bleakness. I loved the prostitutes on the stairs, they were sketches that were brought to life through their banter.
There's a lot to discuss - this would make a great bookclub book. It made an impression on me and won't be forgotten.
Read
March 14, 2026My review of this astonishing novel that you should definitely go out and buy as soon as you can is in the May 2026 edition of Locus.
March 23, 2026
In this stunning debut novel, Department of the Vanishing, blurs fact and fiction into a chilling and all too real reality. Johanna Bell roars from the highest pinnacle using the iconic Lyrebird to illustrate the tragedy that is environmental destitution.
The Department of the Vanishing is a most intimate book ranging through the many nuances of the emotional experience of Ava Wilde, a young woman filled with hope and idealism. In her desire to make an impact, Ava accepts a governmental role as an Archivist in the Department of the Vanishing, the department responsible for archiving the disappearing flora and fauna in this fictional world.
As the years progress, she begins to realise that she is cataloguing nothing more than the end of everything; reasoning that no matter what she does it will not matter. Ava will not change the course of climate change that is destroying the planet, and specifically her beloved Lyrebird, with its soulful songs that Ava has a special affinity for. The Lyrebird, with its distinctive song, ability to mimic, survival instincts and mating habits is used to illustrate the sadness, the ultimate tragedy should the final song be sung. Ava comes to realize through her work that perhaps the slow destruction of the earth is an analogy of the way her life has been moving forward.
Through the introspection initiated by her work, the burning of the planet is much like the growing pressures of unresolved pain in her mind. Her father, a well-known naturalist, went missing more than 30 years ago; her mother holds secrets but is slowly slipping into dementia; her many lists, papers and cuttings that fill up her small home have become her obsession. Ava Wilde seeks normality and catharsis though sex; raw, brutal, and coarse. She discovers that it is not; it is nothing more than another maladaptive coping mechanism in a life that is already in chaos.
As the story progresses Ava presents as quiet and hesitant. She has moved past the point of caring, accepting her fate, refusing to admit that her actions were anything more than a woman mired in grief for her life, and the environment.
The Department of the Vanishing is not your usual read. The book has been created with great thought: the words, poetry, illustrations, photos, Police Statements, lists, and quotes are reflective of the general chaos of her life.
Fascinating, original, complex and yet beautiful, Department of the Vanishing created by Johanna Bell is already an award winner. The book artfully articulates a clear environmental message. A list of References she has used are there should you choose to delve further into the many threads of the story. Eco literature at its finest.
The Department of the Vanishing is a most intimate book ranging through the many nuances of the emotional experience of Ava Wilde, a young woman filled with hope and idealism. In her desire to make an impact, Ava accepts a governmental role as an Archivist in the Department of the Vanishing, the department responsible for archiving the disappearing flora and fauna in this fictional world.
As the years progress, she begins to realise that she is cataloguing nothing more than the end of everything; reasoning that no matter what she does it will not matter. Ava will not change the course of climate change that is destroying the planet, and specifically her beloved Lyrebird, with its soulful songs that Ava has a special affinity for. The Lyrebird, with its distinctive song, ability to mimic, survival instincts and mating habits is used to illustrate the sadness, the ultimate tragedy should the final song be sung. Ava comes to realize through her work that perhaps the slow destruction of the earth is an analogy of the way her life has been moving forward.
Through the introspection initiated by her work, the burning of the planet is much like the growing pressures of unresolved pain in her mind. Her father, a well-known naturalist, went missing more than 30 years ago; her mother holds secrets but is slowly slipping into dementia; her many lists, papers and cuttings that fill up her small home have become her obsession. Ava Wilde seeks normality and catharsis though sex; raw, brutal, and coarse. She discovers that it is not; it is nothing more than another maladaptive coping mechanism in a life that is already in chaos.
As the story progresses Ava presents as quiet and hesitant. She has moved past the point of caring, accepting her fate, refusing to admit that her actions were anything more than a woman mired in grief for her life, and the environment.
The Department of the Vanishing is not your usual read. The book has been created with great thought: the words, poetry, illustrations, photos, Police Statements, lists, and quotes are reflective of the general chaos of her life.
Fascinating, original, complex and yet beautiful, Department of the Vanishing created by Johanna Bell is already an award winner. The book artfully articulates a clear environmental message. A list of References she has used are there should you choose to delve further into the many threads of the story. Eco literature at its finest.
March 2, 2026
DEPARTMENT OF THE VANISHING (Transit Lounge 2026) won the Tasmanian Literary Award for author Johanna Bell. This book is an eclectic mix of form, content and issues; an unusual prose poem punctuated with photographs, redacted police interviews, scientific data, newspaper cutouts, lists, letters and handwritten notes. In her exciting and experimental style, Bell navigates species decline, climate change, bureaucracy and secret conspiracies. She explores the personal effect of someone long missing, the decline of dementia, the relationships between mothers and daughters, and between fathers and daughters. She is fascinated by bird species, particularly the Australian lyrebird. The book is an elegy to futility but also to quiet persistence.
Ava lives in a time in the near future when birdsong no longer graces our world. The silence is deafening. Her job at The Department involves rebuilding lost species and cataloguing fragments of scientific data, art, birdsong recordings and journal entries about the earth’s birdlife that, once plentiful, has gradually vanished.
This is a book with lots of white space interspersed with dense documentation and photographic evidence, all marked by date, time and place (and sometimes ‘private’, ‘discarded’ or ‘received’). The structure and form are ingeniously crafted. The prose poetry reads like a fast-moving novel, and Ava’s backstory is skilfully intertwined with the current narrative.
The story is also sensual, sexual, coarse, urgent, tender, passionate and full of lust and desire.
The lyrebird is a continual motif: its song, mimicry, plumage, habitat, mating rituals, parenting and historical significance.
For lovers of the work of James Bradley, Jane Rawson, Kris Kneen and Amanda Niehaus, this exceptionally beautiful, brilliant and bold novel asks the reader to think about birdsong, mass extinction, humanity’s mark on the planet, the value of archival material, and whether it is possible to come back from the brink.
Ava lives in a time in the near future when birdsong no longer graces our world. The silence is deafening. Her job at The Department involves rebuilding lost species and cataloguing fragments of scientific data, art, birdsong recordings and journal entries about the earth’s birdlife that, once plentiful, has gradually vanished.
This is a book with lots of white space interspersed with dense documentation and photographic evidence, all marked by date, time and place (and sometimes ‘private’, ‘discarded’ or ‘received’). The structure and form are ingeniously crafted. The prose poetry reads like a fast-moving novel, and Ava’s backstory is skilfully intertwined with the current narrative.
The story is also sensual, sexual, coarse, urgent, tender, passionate and full of lust and desire.
The lyrebird is a continual motif: its song, mimicry, plumage, habitat, mating rituals, parenting and historical significance.
For lovers of the work of James Bradley, Jane Rawson, Kris Kneen and Amanda Niehaus, this exceptionally beautiful, brilliant and bold novel asks the reader to think about birdsong, mass extinction, humanity’s mark on the planet, the value of archival material, and whether it is possible to come back from the brink.
April 2, 2026
I am so mad I finished this!!! I went into based on the cover and the title and was surprised by the format, but fell in love so quickly. A beautiful look at grief and loss and the battle we have with trying to preserve something that is gone while also searching for meaning in the loss. There was beauty, there were bird facts, a 10/10.
Want to read
March 16, 2026Heard about it here --> https://whisperinggums.com/2026/03/15... and, note to self, I will probably want a hardcover because of the design and layout.
March 24, 2026
Great concept, interestingly executed. Set in a time of mass extinction, blending poetry, narrative verse and images. Very different.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews