A review by musingsfromamandalyn
Last Witnesses: An Oral History of the Children of World War II by Svetlana Alexiévich

4.0

I have been to so many museums, seen the artifacts, read the statistics but I feel like those displays are deliberately removed from the actual people. Yes, you see how many people were killed per battle, but you don't read stories about those left behind. Any tales focus on the soldiers, not the families. Hearing these snippets from so many children during WWII was such an eye-opening experience. There is definite sadness and loss but also uplifting tales of reunions, strangers doing anything they can to help, survival, etc. The stories also state that the children continued to survive, which is why they did this book. It states what they are doing with their lives now. So many stories and voices. The audiobook does have 3 different narrators who switch off. Originally, I found the shortness of each tale difficult to then switch to the next, but given the subject matter, I think longer tales may have been too difficult. This is definitely a difficult book at times, but I recommend to anyone who wants a new view on history.