This is not a book about Chernobyl, but about the world it has left us. Alexievich spent three years interviewing dozens of survivors, victims and witnesses. This is their testimony, their voices, and they are unforgettable
Winner of the Nobel Prize: "For her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time." --Swedish Academy, Nobel Prize citation
The Unwomanly Face of War is Svetlana Alexievich's collection of stories from Soviet women who lived through the Second World War: on the front lines, on the home front, and in occupied territories. As Alexievich gives voice to women who are absent from official narratives - captains, sergeants, nurses, snipers, pilots - she shows us a new version of the war we're so familiar with, creating an extraordinary alternative history from their private stories. Published in 1985 in Russia and now available in English for the first time, The Unwomanly Face of War was Alexievich's first book and a huge bestseller in the Soviet Union, establishing her as a brilliantly revolutionary writer.
SECOND-HAND TIME is the latest work from Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature. In this book she creates a singular, polyphonic literary form by bringing together the voices of dozens of witnesses to the collapse of the USSR in a brilliant, poignant and unique portrait of post-Soviet society.
Bringing together dozens of voices in her distinctive style, Last Witnesses is Svetlana Alexievich's collection of the memories of those who were children during World War II. These men and women were both witnesses and sometimes soldiers as well, and their generation grew up with the trauma of the war deeply embedded in them--a trauma that would forever change the course of the Russian nation. This is a new version of the war we're so familiar with. Alexievich gives voice to those whose stories are lost in the official narratives, creating a powerful alternative history from the personal and private experiences of individuals. Collectively, these voices provide a kaleidoscopic portrait of the human consequences of the war
Ohne Bewusstsein der Vergangenheit lässt sich in der Gegenwart keine Zukunft entwerfen und lenken. Die Literaturnobelpreisträgerin Swetlana Alexijewitsch und der Außenpolitiker Ruprecht Polenz sprechen über die Beziehungen zwischen Russland und Europa, das Vermächtnis der Sowjetunion im „homo sovieticus“ sowie über Möglichkeiten öffentlichen oder privaten Widerstands. Freiheit, darüber sind sie sich einig, kann nicht importiert oder allein durch äußeren Druck erzwungen werden. Sie muss sich aus einer gesellschaftlichen Ordnung heraus entwickeln, aus einem Sog, den das Freiheitsversprechen auslöst.