Disappearing Earth

I think I have a lot to say about this book, the most important things being that it's beautifully written and a compelling story, not only about the disappearance of some girls in Kamchatka but also about life of the people of the peninsula, about which most of us in the US know very little.

But I also want to say that the book feels to me like a tightly linked novel in stories, rather than a straight-forward novel. Each chapter gives us a different story with its own arc about different people tied in various ways to the girls who have disappeared. This isn't a criticism in any way, as I like the form (and have used it myself) but just an observation that I haven't heard anyone else make.

And finally, it is interesting to me that no one (that I've heard) has accused this author of cultural appropriation, even though a good deal of the book is about the native people of Kamchatka. Given the controversy around the book American Dirt, I'm surprised. Is it because this book is better researched and written? Or is it because it takes place so far away and there is no one here to object on behalf of the indigenous people? (I'm not raising the issue because I personally object; in fact, I think much of the criticism of American Dirt is misguided.)