Harare Review of Books

312 pages.

First published in 2019.

Finished reading on 27 Nov 2019.

Genre: Fiction

One August afternoon, on the shoreline of the north-eastern edge of Russia, two sisters are abducted. In the ensuing weeks, then months, the police investigation turns up nothing. Echoes of the disappearance reverberate across a tightly woven community, with the fear and loss felt most deeply among its women.

Set on the remote Siberian peninsula of Kamchatka, Disappearing Earth draws us into the world of an astonishing cast of characters, all connected by an unfathomable crime. We are transported to vistas of rugged beauty – densely wooded forests, open expanses of tundra, soaring volcanoes and the glassy seas that border Japan and Alaska – and into a region as complex as it is alluring, where social and ethnic tensions have long simmered, and where outsiders are often the first to be accused.

In a story as propulsive as it is emotionally engaging, and through a young writer’s virtuosic feat of empathy and imagination, this powerful novel provides a new understanding of the intricate bonds of family and community, in a Russia unlike any we have seen before.

Beautifully written, thought-provoking, intense and cleverly wrought, this is the most extraordinary first novel from a mesmerising new talent.

This was one of the best books I read in 2019, and is one my favourite fiction reads ever. It is completely gut-wrenching, and so very well-written.

I loved how immersive it was, taking me into a region of Russia I had never heard of before the book — Kamchatka, a place that sounds absolutely beautiful, and troubled. It was also a first for me to read about “colonial” or occupying Russia.

The book also had a wonderful range of women in it, all very different and well-developed characters. In short, I highly recommend this one!

Rated: 10/10 not because it’s perfect, but because it’s excellent.