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bluehourphile's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Mental illness
amurray914's review against another edition
4.0
A powerful oral history of the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan.
[a:Svetlana Alexievich|7728207|Svetlana Alexievich|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1473846978p2/7728207.jpg] constructs a complete picture of what it was like on the ground, the horror, the cruelty, the atrocities on both sides. This collection of interviews gives a unique insight into the feelings, opinions and demons of officers, privates, nurses, doctors, mothers and fathers who lived through this 10 year conflict. Alexievich's novel style, earning her the Nobel prize in literature, results in a comprehensive picture of not only the perspective of those that were there, but that of the Russian government propaganda apparatus and the ill-informed Russian public as a whole.
[a:Svetlana Alexievich|7728207|Svetlana Alexievich|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1473846978p2/7728207.jpg] constructs a complete picture of what it was like on the ground, the horror, the cruelty, the atrocities on both sides. This collection of interviews gives a unique insight into the feelings, opinions and demons of officers, privates, nurses, doctors, mothers and fathers who lived through this 10 year conflict. Alexievich's novel style, earning her the Nobel prize in literature, results in a comprehensive picture of not only the perspective of those that were there, but that of the Russian government propaganda apparatus and the ill-informed Russian public as a whole.
utabuta's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
reneoro's review against another edition
4.0
Tienen las bocas completamente llenas de sangre y encima se ponen a hablar.
andreiamorais's review
TW: Cenas/Linguagem Explícitas; Referência a Morte, Suicídio, Violência, Violação
A verdade à vista de (quase) todos, mas era maior o medo de a comprovar. E foi ao tentar evidenciar essa verdade, através dos relatos de mães, de filhos, de esposas, de soldados, de enfermeiras, que Svetlana Alexievich se viu julgada em tribunal, acusada de distorcer os factos, porque não era válido diminuir a pertinência da guerra soviética no Afeganistão.
Conhecer a parte histórica é fundamental, claro, mas fascina-me sempre mais descobrir o lado humano, os testemunhos tantas vezes silenciosos de quem, direta ou indiretamente, viu a sua vida vira do avesso (no mínimo). É o segundo livro que leio da autora e sinto que, sem romantizar as vivencias, nunca fere a dignidade daqueles que lhe abriram o coração, muitas vezes a medo, muitas vezes sem saberem a extensão das repercussões, porque precisavam de ser ouvidos, precisavam que a verdade ficasse escrita.
Estas partilhas são um espelho de mais um período histórico doloroso e a lucidez destes retratos é impressionante. Por isso, é uma leitura que nos desarma, mas que também nos mostra a coragem que é necessária e a empatia que nos deveria mover.
A verdade à vista de (quase) todos, mas era maior o medo de a comprovar. E foi ao tentar evidenciar essa verdade, através dos relatos de mães, de filhos, de esposas, de soldados, de enfermeiras, que Svetlana Alexievich se viu julgada em tribunal, acusada de distorcer os factos, porque não era válido diminuir a pertinência da guerra soviética no Afeganistão.
Conhecer a parte histórica é fundamental, claro, mas fascina-me sempre mais descobrir o lado humano, os testemunhos tantas vezes silenciosos de quem, direta ou indiretamente, viu a sua vida vira do avesso (no mínimo). É o segundo livro que leio da autora e sinto que, sem romantizar as vivencias, nunca fere a dignidade daqueles que lhe abriram o coração, muitas vezes a medo, muitas vezes sem saberem a extensão das repercussões, porque precisavam de ser ouvidos, precisavam que a verdade ficasse escrita.
Estas partilhas são um espelho de mais um período histórico doloroso e a lucidez destes retratos é impressionante. Por isso, é uma leitura que nos desarma, mas que também nos mostra a coragem que é necessária e a empatia que nos deveria mover.
tom_green's review against another edition
“I don’t want to write about war any more … To live enveloped in a ‘philosophy of extinction’ instead of a ‘philosophy of life’. To compile the interminable experience of non-existence. When I finished The Unwomanly Face of War I couldn’t bear to see a child bleeding from an ordinary bang to the nose. On holiday I fled from fishermen merrily tossing on to the sandy shore the fish they had snatched out of the distant depths; those frozen, goggling eyes made me feel sick. Everyone has only so much strength to defend themselves against pain – both physical and psychological – and my reserves were totally exhausted. The howling of a cat struck by a car drove me demented. I turned my face away from a squelched earthworm. A dried-out frog on the road. Again and again I had the thought that animals, birds and fish also have a right to their own history of suffering. It will be written some day.”-------------------------
„Nechcem už viac písať o vojne... Znovu žiť medzi „filozofiou zániku“ namiesto „filozofie života“. Zbierať nekonečné skúsenosti ne-bytia. Keď som ukončila knižku Vojna nemá ženskú tvár, dlho som nemohla vidieť, ako od obyčajného úrazu dieťaťu tečie krv z nosa, na dovolenke som utekala čo najďalej od rybárov, veselo si hádžucich na breh ryby z ďalekých hlbín, bolo mi zle od ich strnulých vypučených očí. Každý má svoje zásoby, fyzické alebo psychické, z ktorých čerpá silu a ktoré nás chránia pred bolesťou. Tie moje boli úplne vyčerpané. Išla som sa pominúť od kvílenia mačky, ktorú prešlo auto, odvracala som tvár od rozmliaždenej dážďovky alebo žaby vyschnutej na ceste... Veľakrát som rozmýšľala o tom, že zvieratá, vtáky a ryby majú tiež právo na svoje vlastné dejiny utrpenia. Aj tie sa možno raz napíšu.“
tittypete's review against another edition
3.0
Commies have no original ideas. The USSR saw us go into Vietnam, watched it turn into a strategic and moral shitshow, and then we’re like “We should do that.” At least that’s how Zinky Boys makes it seem. Credit to the Russians for making it even shittier though.
The common assessment by the voices in this book seem to be that the government lied about the whole thing. They were supposedly in the country to help the new, coup-installed commie government build bridges and schools. Nobody back in the USSR knew there was a war until bunches of young kids started coming back in zinc caskets. All the babushkas at home were like ‘what the frick.’
Being an oral history, this book isn’t a story but a series of anecdotal impressions from the people who fought, served in a civilian capacity or had a loved one killed.
Here are some the insights I gleaned from their stories.
The Soviets really didn’t give a crap about their soldiers. Like in WWII, their fighting boys (and girls) seemed to be regarded a just cheap cannon fodder. They had old, outdated equipment. Shitty boots. Shitty tents. Shitty cars. One guy told a story of getting a can of fish bits in his rations with an expiration date in 1959.
The older soldiers treated newcomers like shit. Young kids got their asses kicked super bad by their own guys just because everyone is a sullen Russian asshole.
There were girls there because commies are all about equality. Most of them seemed put off by being expected to fuck all the dudes in exchange for favors.
Dudes come back all fucked in the head, limbless and pissed at their country.
Everybody was obsessed with getting Walkmen and clothes and other western items to bring home because in “Eeeeen Raasha you have naathing.” When going to Afghanistan is seen the place to get nice stuff, your country is doing something wrong.
Like Vietnam, people were petty frustrated and demoralized when they got home. The war was seen as unjust and a failure but these dudes still had to fight and die. So … vodka.
I found a quote from the author via wikipedia that seems to sum up a lot of the way Russia does shit: “If you look back at the whole of our history, both Soviet and post-Soviet, it is a huge common grave and a blood bath. An eternal dialog of the executioners and the victims. The accursed Russian questions: what is to be done and who is to blame. The revolution, the gulags, the Second World War, the Soviet–Afghan war hidden from the people, the downfall of the great empire, the downfall of the giant socialist land, the land-utopia, and now a challenge of cosmic dimensions – Chernobyl. This is a challenge for all the living things on earth. Such is our history. And this is the theme of my books, this is my path, my circles of hell, from man to man.”
Yay.
The common assessment by the voices in this book seem to be that the government lied about the whole thing. They were supposedly in the country to help the new, coup-installed commie government build bridges and schools. Nobody back in the USSR knew there was a war until bunches of young kids started coming back in zinc caskets. All the babushkas at home were like ‘what the frick.’
Being an oral history, this book isn’t a story but a series of anecdotal impressions from the people who fought, served in a civilian capacity or had a loved one killed.
Here are some the insights I gleaned from their stories.
The Soviets really didn’t give a crap about their soldiers. Like in WWII, their fighting boys (and girls) seemed to be regarded a just cheap cannon fodder. They had old, outdated equipment. Shitty boots. Shitty tents. Shitty cars. One guy told a story of getting a can of fish bits in his rations with an expiration date in 1959.
The older soldiers treated newcomers like shit. Young kids got their asses kicked super bad by their own guys just because everyone is a sullen Russian asshole.
There were girls there because commies are all about equality. Most of them seemed put off by being expected to fuck all the dudes in exchange for favors.
Dudes come back all fucked in the head, limbless and pissed at their country.
Everybody was obsessed with getting Walkmen and clothes and other western items to bring home because in “Eeeeen Raasha you have naathing.” When going to Afghanistan is seen the place to get nice stuff, your country is doing something wrong.
Like Vietnam, people were petty frustrated and demoralized when they got home. The war was seen as unjust and a failure but these dudes still had to fight and die. So … vodka.
I found a quote from the author via wikipedia that seems to sum up a lot of the way Russia does shit: “If you look back at the whole of our history, both Soviet and post-Soviet, it is a huge common grave and a blood bath. An eternal dialog of the executioners and the victims. The accursed Russian questions: what is to be done and who is to blame. The revolution, the gulags, the Second World War, the Soviet–Afghan war hidden from the people, the downfall of the great empire, the downfall of the giant socialist land, the land-utopia, and now a challenge of cosmic dimensions – Chernobyl. This is a challenge for all the living things on earth. Such is our history. And this is the theme of my books, this is my path, my circles of hell, from man to man.”
Yay.