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
Jane Giardino
asked
Julia Phillips:
Julia, I don't really have a question, other than " How did you manage to write this beautiful, brilliant book?" I truly enjoyed it ( finished 15 minutes ago. Made myself wait between June and July). Thanks for introducing your readers to a very unique place in the world.
Katie
asked
Julia Phillips:
Hi Julia, I just finished your novel, and I (along with the rest of my bookclub) absolutely adored it. While I thoroughly enjoyed every story, the one that stuck out to me the most and will stay with me for a while was "New Year's". I NEED to know more about Masha, or women like her. Any chance you would expand on any of your character's stories? Also, is there any queer Russian fiction that you would recommend?
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