Scott

Scott asked Julia Phillips:

Julia, I sincerely enjoyed your story, Disappearing Earth. I love how you structured it. I felt like I was spying on each individual set of people, and it was fascinating how they all came together. The character descriptions were very helpful in the front. I found myself going back over and over to this and the map. Can you talk about your decision to structure the novel in this way?

Julia Phillips Scott, thank you so much for reading and for this thoughtful question. Structuring the story this way was one of my favorite parts of writing it. I wanted to have every chapter focus on a different woman's point of view because I wanted the book as a whole to explore the spectrum of harm in women’s lives – from the rare and highly publicized (an abduction by a stranger) to the commonly accepted and hardly spoken about (a difficult doctor’s appointment, a toxic relationship). Those hurts echo each other, overlap, and connect us. A kidnapping like the one in this novel's first chapter doesn't happen in a vacuum; it is the tip of the iceberg, one point on a range of violence in our society. I wrote this book to try to run the range.

More Answered Questions

Magda

Magda asked Julia Phillips:

Hi! I am currently reading your book and I'm so happy I picked it up. I love the feeling of sadness, of dreams crushed and bits being picked up, the whole feel of a town of absent men and so present women. I was nicely surprised to discover it is not the detective story I was expecting, but (as far as I understand it?) a story of women connected by delicate bonds. Congratulations on a wonderfully written book!

Therese

Therese asked Julia Phillips:

Hello Julia, I am wondering what you write about in your next much-anticipated book? I voted for DISAPPEARING EARTH in this year's Goodreads Choice Awards, in the Best Mystery and Thriller category.

Tiffany

Tiffany asked Julia Phillips:

I loved Disappearing Earth! Your writing is beautiful, and your character development is amazing. I was left wanting to know more about your characters. I recently finished reading Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking by von Bremzen, and parts of it made me think about your book- Russian life and Soviet nostalgia. Was wondering if you could recommend other books (fiction or non) about Russian life?

All answers from Julia Phillips…

1,770 followers

To ask Julia Phillips a question, please sign up.

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions