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A review by amiboughter
The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexiévich
4.0
“Everything we know about war we know with "a man's voice." We are all captives of "men's" notions and "men's" sense of war. "Men's" words. Women are silent. No one but me ever questioned my grandmother. My mother. Even those who were at the front say nothing.”
Svetlana Alexievich traveled thousands of miles and conducted hundreds of interviews to preserve the history and memory of the Soviet women who served on the frontlines in WWII. They were daughters, sisters, and wives, who trained to become snipers, surgeons, pilots, tankers, and partisans, among many other things. They were volunteers, eager to do their part in what they called The Great Patriotic War, and the overwhelming majority of them were very young. These women showed remarkable bravery in horrific conditions. They carried out their duties, and if they were lucky enough to survive, many of them returned from the war and were shunned into silence about their service, while their male counterparts were celebrated.
The Soviet Union suffered tremendous losses in the war, with civilian and military casualties far surpassing those of the Western Front. Many veterans returned to their villages to find both their homes and their families gone. It was crushing to read that so many of the women Alexievich interviewed were sharing their memories from the war for the first time, decades after the fact.
Side note: I had to put this book down several times because the stories were so upsetting. Maybe I should listen to that bookmark I found that encouraged me to read something cheerful...
Svetlana Alexievich traveled thousands of miles and conducted hundreds of interviews to preserve the history and memory of the Soviet women who served on the frontlines in WWII. They were daughters, sisters, and wives, who trained to become snipers, surgeons, pilots, tankers, and partisans, among many other things. They were volunteers, eager to do their part in what they called The Great Patriotic War, and the overwhelming majority of them were very young. These women showed remarkable bravery in horrific conditions. They carried out their duties, and if they were lucky enough to survive, many of them returned from the war and were shunned into silence about their service, while their male counterparts were celebrated.
The Soviet Union suffered tremendous losses in the war, with civilian and military casualties far surpassing those of the Western Front. Many veterans returned to their villages to find both their homes and their families gone. It was crushing to read that so many of the women Alexievich interviewed were sharing their memories from the war for the first time, decades after the fact.
Side note: I had to put this book down several times because the stories were so upsetting. Maybe I should listen to that bookmark I found that encouraged me to read something cheerful...