Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster Book Cover

Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster

Book Overview: Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster

A journalist by trade, who now suffers from an immune deficiency developed while researching this book, presents personal accounts of what happened to the people of Belarus after the nuclear reactor accident in 1986, and the fear, anger, and uncertainty that they still live with. The Nobel Prize in Literature 2015 was awarded to Svetlana Alexievich “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.”

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award

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ISBN-139781564784018
ISBN-101564784010
PublisherDalkey Archive Press
Publication Date2005
Edition1
Languageen
Pages240
Dimensionsin x in x in
Weight lbs

“Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices from Chernobyl (Dalkey Archive) is a collage of oral testimony that turns into the psycho¬biography of a nation not shown on any map: the poisoned territory where live Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians who are forever changed by the catastophe. The book – by this year’s Nobelist – leaves radiation burns on the brain.” -Julian Barnes, The Guardian, Best Books of the Year

“Grim and grotesque, the stories accrete across the pages like the radionuclides lodged in the bodies of those who survived.” –Nicholas Confessore, The New York Times Book Review

“A chorus of fatalism, stoic bravery, and black, black humor is sounded in this haunting oral history . . . The result is an endelible X-ray of the Russian soul.” – Publishers Weekly

“Shocking accounts of life in a poisoned world. And what quintessentially human stories these are, as each distinct voice expresses anger, fear, ignorance, stoicism, valor, compassion, and love. Alexievich put her own health at risk to gather these invaluable frontline testimonies, which she has transmuted into a haunting and essential work of literature that one can only hope documents a never-to-be-repeated catastrophe.” – Booklist (Starred Review)

“Svetlana Alexievich’s remarkable book, recording the lives and deaths of her fellow Belarussians, has at last made it into American bookstores. (…) Hers is a peerless collection of testimony.” -Andrew Meier, The Nation

“Grim and grotesque, the stories accrete across the pages like the radionuclides lodged in the bodies of those who survived.” -Nicholas Confessore, The New York Times Book Review

Svetlana Alexievich

Svetlana Alexievich is an acclaimed Belarusian author and investigative journalist recognized internationally for her innovative narrative technique. Born on May 31, 1948, in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, she studied journalism at the University of Minsk before launching her literary career focused on detailing Soviet history through the personal accounts. Notable for evoking a chorus of voices in her composition, she bravely illuminates the stark realities often obscured by official narratives.

Alexievich’s major works include “War’s Unwomanly Face”, “Voices from Chernobyl”, and “Second-Hand Time”, each methodically gathering hundreds of individual stories to weave a rich and complex tapestry of life during and after the Soviet era. Her groundbreaking work employs a unique nonfiction genre which she has described as ‘the novel of voices’, which allows a deep, empathetic exploration of human experiences and emotions in a historical context.

Winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature, Alexievich was lauded for her polyphonic writings, a monument to courage and suffering in our time. Throughout her career she has also been awarded the Swedish PEN and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for her profound contributions to literature, journalism, and the testament of history. Often described as a “historian of the soul”, Alexievich’s superb writing continues to amplify personal narratives amidst the grand sweep of history.

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