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solarnyi 's review for:
Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets
by Svetlana Alexiévich
While this is not a proper history book, your appreciation of this book will highly depend on how well acquainted you are with Soviet history. I intentionally use the word appreciation instead of enjoyment, because this is not something you read for fun.
Even if you come into this without any prior knowledge of Soviet history or culture, the tragic reminiscences of these people will suck you in from the get-go. However, if you're aware of the cultural/social backdrop of these stories (from Perestroika onward) it all becomes downright heartbreaking.
This is a gut-wrenching account of a people who've had their entire world turned upside-down overnight. Their country was sold for pennies, their savings vanished in thin air, and any hope for a better life died together with the world's first workers' republic. After reading about an Armenian woman's experience in war-torn Azerbaijan, I felt so emotionally drained that I didn't pick up the book again for several days.
While the stories themselves deserve all thered stars in the world, I rated the book 4/5 because of two issues I had with the author's general approach.
Firstly, some of the stories should have been set further away from each other because of very similar themes, as it's easy for them to blend together and diminish the reading experience. This is a very minor issue that I'm willing to overlook.
Secondly, with the final story in the book, the author very brazenly tries to push her political agenda onto the reader. While the whole thematic concept of this book is to hear from the last of the Soviets, we're suddenly treated to a story from a young student in present-day Belarus. The intended allegory is obvious, but also highly disingenuous and absolutely unnecessary.
This had the consequence of making me wonder why the author chose the stories that she did, and whether she might have omitted ones that pushed hard against her agenda.
All in all, a very thought-provoking read for both the right and wrong reasons.
Even if you come into this without any prior knowledge of Soviet history or culture, the tragic reminiscences of these people will suck you in from the get-go. However, if you're aware of the cultural/social backdrop of these stories (from Perestroika onward) it all becomes downright heartbreaking.
This is a gut-wrenching account of a people who've had their entire world turned upside-down overnight. Their country was sold for pennies, their savings vanished in thin air, and any hope for a better life died together with the world's first workers' republic. After reading about an Armenian woman's experience in war-torn Azerbaijan, I felt so emotionally drained that I didn't pick up the book again for several days.
While the stories themselves deserve all the
Firstly, some of the stories should have been set further away from each other because of very similar themes, as it's easy for them to blend together and diminish the reading experience. This is a very minor issue that I'm willing to overlook.
Secondly, with the final story in the book, the author very brazenly tries to push her political agenda onto the reader. While the whole thematic concept of this book is to hear from the last of the Soviets, we're suddenly treated to a story from a young student in present-day Belarus. The intended allegory is obvious, but also highly disingenuous and absolutely unnecessary.
This had the consequence of making me wonder why the author chose the stories that she did, and whether she might have omitted ones that pushed hard against her agenda.
All in all, a very thought-provoking read for both the right and wrong reasons.