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Last Witnesses: Unchildlike Stories

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'Last Witnesses: Unchildlike Stories' by Svetlana Alexievich is a collection of oral histories from Soviet children who experienced the horrors of World War II. The stories recount the brutal treatment of civilians by German soldiers, the suffering of children during the war, and the lasting impact on their lives. The writing style is described as vivid, moving, and powerful, giving voice to the children's experiences and providing a unique perspective on the war.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is characterized by direct, emotional recounting of experiences, retaining the voice and perspective of the individuals narrating their stories.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative consists of various first-hand accounts from children who lived through the horrors of World War II, illustrating profound experiences of trauma and survival.

Setting:

The setting is mainly Eastern Europe during World War II, emphasizing the devastation wrought by the Nazi invasion.

Pacing:

The pacing is quick due to the short, often fragmented narratives, effectively conveying a sense of urgency and emotional weight.
Our neighbor, an officer’s wife, came out to the yard all in tears. She whispered something to mama, but gestured that they had to be quiet. Everybody was afraid to say aloud what had happened, even w...

Notes:

The book contains testimonies from children affected by the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
It was originally published in 1985 and focuses on the experiences of Belarusian children.
Many of the interviews were collected between 1978 and 2004.
The stories span a wide range of horrific experiences, including starvation and loss of family members.
The children's recollections are sometimes fragmented due to their young age during the war.
One story includes a girl whose family survived by eating their pets during the Siege of Leningrad.
The narratives reflect deep psychological scars, showing how the war affected their emotional development.
The book was translated into English, with significant edits for the young adult edition.
The original version includes graphic accounts of violence and suffering that were omitted in the young adult edition.
Some children vividly remember the moment the Germans invaded and how they fled their homes.
Despite the grim topics, there are moments of kindness and humanity noted in the accounts.
Alexievich uses these firsthand stories to highlight the personal impacts of large-scale historical events.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The book contains high levels of trauma, including accounts of violence, death, starvation, and psychological distress.

From The Publisher:

Selected as a Book of the Year 2019 by The Times and Telegraph

'Astonishing. . . Like the great Russian novels, these testimonials ring with emotional truth' - Caroline Moorehead, Guardian

Extraordinary stories about what it was like to be a Soviet child during the upheaval and horror of the Second World War, from Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich

What did it mean to grow up in the Soviet Union during the Second World War? In the late 1970s, Svetlana Alexievich started interviewing people who had experienced war as children, the generation that survived and had to live with the trauma that would forever change the course of the Russian nation. With remarkable care and empathy, Alexievich gives voice to those whose stories are lost in the official narratives, uncovering a powerful, hidden history of one of the most important events of the twentieth century.Published to great acclaim in the USSR in 1985 and now available in English for the first time, this masterpiece offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the human consequences of the war - and an extraordinary chronicle of the Russian soul.

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