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A review by ofbooksandhooks
Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of World War II by Svetlana Alexiévich
3.0
I am really looking forward to this book being made into an audiobook. I feel as though it's important to start with that because I found that reading this book and not listening to it (it is an oral history, after all) made it so difficult to connect with it. However, I have a lot of faith that the audiobook will be astounding.
Something that should be known about me from the beginning of this review is that I am not a fan of WWII narratives. I find that there are very few books, fiction or otherwise, that actually connect with the history in a new and unique way. Often, it's tragedy porn and people leaf through them like they do true crime on TV. There's no depth or really connecting going on between reader and author.
Perhaps it was the style, perhaps the voices, but I did actually find that this was a unique perspective on the war. Soviet and Baltic states/countries were all too often looked over no only during WWII, but also in the years that followed. Granted, I am not sure if this account has also had its story sent through the scanner before publication for any non-anti German sentiments, but so long as you read with the understanding of its origins, it's provocative and worth pondering.
If you're the type of reader who is interested in adding another layer to your understanding of WWII, please do give this collection of stories a chance. It may not hit home with everyone, but these stories are important to be heard and understand so that we can, maybe, avoid them repeating in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers associated with this wonderful resource for feedback and honest reviews.
Something that should be known about me from the beginning of this review is that I am not a fan of WWII narratives. I find that there are very few books, fiction or otherwise, that actually connect with the history in a new and unique way. Often, it's tragedy porn and people leaf through them like they do true crime on TV. There's no depth or really connecting going on between reader and author.
Perhaps it was the style, perhaps the voices, but I did actually find that this was a unique perspective on the war. Soviet and Baltic states/countries were all too often looked over no only during WWII, but also in the years that followed. Granted, I am not sure if this account has also had its story sent through the scanner before publication for any non-anti German sentiments, but so long as you read with the understanding of its origins, it's provocative and worth pondering.
If you're the type of reader who is interested in adding another layer to your understanding of WWII, please do give this collection of stories a chance. It may not hit home with everyone, but these stories are important to be heard and understand so that we can, maybe, avoid them repeating in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers associated with this wonderful resource for feedback and honest reviews.