Reading the World discussion

From study.com:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/voic...

Chernobyl: A Place, an Event
Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster (1997) won journalist Svetlana Alexievich the Nobel Prize for literature in 2015. Alexievich structures her book in three parts, each of which consists of multiple monologues. The monologues are transcribed interviews between the author and witnesses whose lives were irrevocably changed by the Chernobyl disaster. The monologues amount to an oral history, or collection of eyewitness interviews about a particular place, time, or event.

The book doesn't tell a story so much as narrate a series of events and recollections burned into the memories of those who witnessed the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster on April 26, 1986. Chernobyl is both a place (a town in northern Ukraine) and an event. It's also an identity; the people there call themselves Chernobylites. We hear from many different perspectives: soldiers, wives, children, government officials, engineers, and scientists. The disaster impacted people in different ways. Soldiers were ordered to evacuate villages. Women and children struggled with radiation poisoning and the fear of death. Engineers and scientists explain the effects of nuclear fallout.

In the words of Nadezheda Burakova, resident of the village of Khoyniki: ''Here, We're all Chernobylites. We don't scare one another.... We all share the same memories. We have some faith. Anywhere else, we are foreign, we're lepers. Everyone is used to the words, 'Chernobylites,' Chernobyl children, Chernobyl refugees.''

I found this book, Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster to be emotionally impactful and politically insightful even though it is simply people's own voices narrating their personal circumstances. In some ways, it is layer upon layer of what can go wrong when a government does not tell the truth, or doesn't even know the truth, and the citizens not only believe their government but blindingly trust that what the government is doing is for their own good. The amount of love of their own land, their own village, and even the desire to keep their radioactive pets, pulled so many heartstrings. The love of the soviet union and the desire to be heroes broke my heart. They were heroes but at such a high cost.
These people lost so much more than their homes, they lost their future.
In the end, I realized how much of everyone's future was lost that day.

A couple months ago I read Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster, which my library has as an audiobook. Unfortunately I cannot get my hands on this one. I will definitely read it one day, especially now that I have seen your comments, Gail.

I am waiting for Midnight in Chernobyl to become available on Overdrive at my library. I think I am number 11 on two copies right now. We can exchange thoughts once we have both read both books.

Gail wrote: "I am waiting for Midnight in Chernobyl to become available on Overdrive at my library. I think I am number 11 on two copies right now. We can exchange thoughts once we have both read both books."

Yes, I would like that

I recently listened to the audiobook of Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster and earlier in the year I listened to this author's The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II. Based on both of those, I would love to have time to read Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster this month, but I just don't see any way to fit it in. I really appreciated her style of writing by giving a clear voice to so many people who generally have not had the opportunity to share their experiences.

I just finished the miniseries"Chernobyl" today that was based on this book. I was left profounded affeccted afterward, and would like to read this book eventually. I'm largely focusing on clearly my 1001 books first, but I'll definitely revist here eventually.

I finally read Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster. It provided a detailed background into the critical nuclear disaster and it also provided what happened afterward both physically and politically. Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster is an extraordinary book but it is voices without context although the voices make their own context. Still it was good for me to read Midnight to get the larger picture. To Amanda, you should still read the book as it has a flow of its own that is different than the miniseries and which I think you would appreciate. Kelly, if you should ever come across the book Voices, I think you would like it, it is all about the people!

Gail wrote: "I finally read Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster. It provided a detailed background into the critical nuclear disaster and it also pro..."

Did you prefer Voices, then?

They are very different books and inform each other well but yes, I found Voices to be simply amazing.