The Unwomanly Face of War

March 6, 2017
“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.

Starred review from June 1, 2017
The Nobel laureate (2015) writes about "the wrong kind of war": oral confessions from Russian women intimately involved with fighting for the motherland.In her distinctive nonfiction style, a mix of her own reflections and transcribed, edited interviews with diverse Russians who have lived through decades of hardship, Alexievich (Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets, 2016, etc.) focuses on women who recounted to her amazing stories of their participation in World War II. Although first published in Russia in 1985, with an English-language version published in Moscow in 1988, this version features a sprightly new translation and a restoration--as the author notes in her introductory remarks--of material "the censors" threw out as being unheroic or unpatriotic. As Alexievich writes, war is traditionally known through male voices, yet Russian women, fired up by the urgency to push back the invading Germans, took up the military challenge and demonstrated enormous courage and ability. However, women were often silenced after the war, since assuming traditionally male military duties was seen as unwomanly--indeed, who would marry them? Alexievich writes movingly of how these extremely strong, now-elderly women had rarely been encouraged to tell their stories, but they eventually opened up under her gentle questioning and attention. Most often very young when recruited, the women reveal how they had to beg their male officers to allow them to get to the front line; once they mastered their tasks, the men were amazed at what they could do, and the Germans were horrified to learn that many of the snipers were women. Moreover, beyond their military prowess, of which they were very proud, the women offer touching, intimate details about their service--e.g., being assigned too-large boots and clothing, the shame of having to wear men's underwear and managing their periods, finding love, and the ability to feel empathy for the starving German children after the war. Essential reading full of remarkable emotional wealth.

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June 1, 2017
Unlike other Allied powers in WWII, the Soviet Union utilized many women in combat roles. Most served away from the front on farms and in factories and hospitals, but thousands fought as partisans or with regular combat units. Nobel laureate Alexievich (Secondhand Time, 2016) created this riveting oral history in 1985, and it retains its eloquence and often-shocking power in its first English translation. Alexievich gathered these memories, emotions, and hopes shattered and fulfilled from a variety of former female soldiers. She acknowledges that she and her generation face an unbridgeable gulf between themselves and those who directly endured the daily savagery of the war. Indeed, a few of these women seethe with resentment at chroniclers who ignore their heroism. Others attempt to honestly convey their experiences, and their tales are moving and disturbing. Some recall, shamefully, the joy they felt as captured Germans were mistreated. A partisan calmly recalls the necessary drowning of her infant after giving birth. This is painful but worthwhile reading, especially as the number of living veterans of the war dwindles.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

February 15, 2017

Winner of the Nobel Prize for her rich, incisive oral histories of the Soviet Union, Alexievich here focuses specifically on the experiences of ordinary Soviet women during World War II, whether in battle or on the home front. Whatever you thought you knew about the war, you should put it aside and listen to the voices here. More than two million copies of the Russian-language edition of this book have been sold worldwide, with rights snapped up by 47 countries so far. Expect New York Times best-sellerdom, as with her last book, Secondhand Time.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2017

A worldwide best seller when it was originally published in Russian in 1985, this work by Nobel Prize winner Alexievich (Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets) combines hundreds of oral history accounts with the author's own reflections. Alexievich conducted these interviews between 1978 and 1985, intending to capture "women's history of war." There are reminiscences from nurses, doctors, pilots, airplane mechanics, tank drivers, and countless others who served the Soviet war machine in some capacity. Other "backstage" women recount doing the laundry, cooking, baking, cleaning, tending horses, repairing machinery, and delivering the mail. Alexievich not only records the experiences of others but provides her own reactions as she listens to their accounts--notably the pain, hurt, and pride felt by all. She comments on what women wanted to remember and what they were reluctant to share; these were "good and honest" people, in the words of one interviewee, who believed in the communist idea. VERDICT An engaging and readable history for anyone interested in World War II, women's history, and personal memoirs.--Marie M. Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., NJ

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.