The Unwomanly Face of War
An Oral History of Women in World War II
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4.5 • 51 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A long-awaited English translation of the groundbreaking oral history of women in World War II across Europe and Russia—from the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Washington Post • The Guardian • NPR • The Economist • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel • Kirkus Reviews
For more than three decades, Svetlana Alexievich has been the memory and conscience of the twentieth century. When the Swedish Academy awarded her the Nobel Prize, it cited her invention of “a new kind of literary genre,” describing her work as “a history of emotions . . . a history of the soul.”
In The Unwomanly Face of War, Alexievich chronicles the experiences of the Soviet women who fought on the front lines, on the home front, and in the occupied territories. These women—more than a million in total—were nurses and doctors, pilots, tank drivers, machine-gunners, and snipers. They battled alongside men, and yet, after the victory, their efforts and sacrifices were forgotten.
Alexievich traveled thousands of miles and visited more than a hundred towns to record these women’s stories. Together, this symphony of voices reveals a different aspect of the war—the everyday details of life in combat left out of the official histories.
Translated by the renowned Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, The Unwomanly Face of War is a powerful and poignant account of the central conflict of the twentieth century, a kaleidoscopic portrait of the human side of war.
THE WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
“for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.”
“A landmark.”—Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
“An astonishing book, harrowing and life-affirming . . . It deserves the widest possible readership.”—Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train
“Alexievich has gained probably the world’s deepest, most eloquent understanding of the post-Soviet condition. . . . [She] has consistently chronicled that which has been intentionally forgotten.”—Masha Gessen, National Book Award–winning author of The Future Is History
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"I write not about war, but about human beings in war," explains Nobel-laureate Alexievich (Secondhand Time) in this lyrical, elegant volume. "I write not the history of war, but the history of feelings. I am a historian of the soul." Originally published in 1985 and newly translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky, the work was inspired by Alexievich's postwar childhood memories of the women in her home village and their stories of WWII. Alexievich traveled through the Soviet Union for years interviewing hundreds of other women, collecting a haunting cacophony of almost-forgotten voices. For these women, who joined the Red Army as snipers, medical personnel, riflemen, foot soldiers, etc., war wasn't about generals and military equipment. "Women's stories are different and about different things," Alexievich reveals. "There are no heroes and incredible feats, there are simply people who are busy doing inhumanly human things." Alexievich groups the interviews into chapters according to women's perceptions about their service: "I Don't Want to Remember...," "They Awarded Us Little Medals...," "They Needed Soldiers... but We Also Wanted to Be Beautiful...." Though political contexts have changed, Alexievich's first book remains as soulful as ever.
Customer Reviews
The Unwomanly Face of War
This is a fantastic book. In a series of vignettes, the author describes the role of Russian women in World War II. These are stories of incredible faith in final victory, unimaginable suffering and amazing courage. Few in the West have a real understanding of the horrendous nature of the war between Germany and Russia. This book has an emotional impact seldom reached in War stories. I give it my very highest rating.
Terrific Book!
Reveals the enormous sacrifices made by Soviet women to help save the world from Nazi Germany. Well written and spellbinding.