A review by ameliatmoss
The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexiévich

5.0

Truly an awesome book. I love how many interviews she did and that the stories all compliment each other in one way or another. It's really an entirely different perspective on the war, one that I didn't know existed until I read this book. The women are passionate and honest and open and real and it is so valuable that they allow themselves to be that way so they can share their stories. I also like that it can be picked up whenever as it's a bunch of interviews so you don't really have to follow any sort of storyline. My only criticism is the organization of the stories didn't make much sense to me and the author herself has some overly flowery little intros, but I have a feeling that it's the translations fault.

So many great quotes but this one is one of my favorites:

"I'll say this: if you're not a woman, you can't survive a war. I never envied men. Not in my childhood, not in my youth. Not during the war. I was always glad to be a woman. People say that weapons - submachine guns, pistols - are beautiful, that they conceal many human thoughts, passions, but I never found them beautiful. I've seen the admiration of men looking at a fine pistol; I find it incomprehensible. I'm a woman." - Elena Borizovna Zvyaginsteva (Private, Armorer)