Ten to 15 of my childhood friends from Minsk died of cancer. Chernobyl kills. — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
I do not remember any questions in my childhood other than questions about death and about loss, and it was clear that the books that filled the house were not as interesting as the conversations outside. — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of… — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
In the post-Soviet era, instead of freedom, various stripes of autocratic-totalitarianism have flourished: Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh... We are finding our way out from under the debris of the 'Red Empire' slowly and tentatively. — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share
“How can we preserve our planet on which little girls are supposed to sleep in their beds, and not lie dead on the road… — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
I write my books at moments of shock. I meet people in extremis and their stories are highly emotionally charged. — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
Women tell things in more interesting ways. They live with more feeling. They observe themselves and their lives. Men are more impressed with action.… — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
Many times, I have been shocked and frightened by human beings. I have experienced delight and revulsion. I have sometimes wanted to forget what… — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
No book about Soviet sacrifice was as strong as the women's stories I heard as a child. — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
I see the world as voices, as colors, as it were. From book to book, I change, the subjects change, but the narrative thread… — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
We thought we'd leave communism behind, and everything would turn out fine. But it turns out you can't leave this and become free, because… — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
A man without a memory is only capable of doing evil, nothing else but evil. — Svetlana Alexievich Copy Share Image
