The Unwomanly Face of War

Author Svetlana Alexievich
Narrator Julia Emelin, Yelena Shmulenson
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Run Time 14 hours and 18 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Far-left political ideologies and movements, History, Oral history, Politics and government, Second World War, Social and cultural history, Society and Social Sciences.

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What to expect

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexeivich, read by Julia Emelin and Yelena Shmulenson.

Bringing together dozens of voices in her distinctive style, The Unwomanly Face of War is Svetlana Alexievich's collection of stories from Soviet women who lived through the Second World War: on the front lines, on the home front and in occupied territories. As Alexievich gives voice to women who are absent from official narratives - captains, sergeants, nurses, snipers and pilots - she shows us a new version of the war we're so familiar with, creating an extraordinary alternative history from their private stories.

Published in 1985 in Russia and now available in English for the first time, The Unwomanly Face of War was Alexievich's first book and a huge bestseller in the Soviet Union, establishing her as a brilliantly revolutionary writer.

Critics Review

A must read

Margaret Atwood

Extraordinary. . . it would be hard to find a book that feels more important or original. . . Alexievich’s strength – and a mark of her own courage – is that she is forever on the lookout for the seemingly inconsequential, almost trivial human moments. . . Her achievement is as breathtaking as the experiences of these women are awe-inspiring

Observer

A revelation. . . Alexievich’s text gives us precious details of the kind that breathe life into history . . . This is a book about emotions as much as it is about facts. It is not a historical document in the accepted sense. . . and yet ultimately, which historical documents are more important than this?

Financial Times

A profoundly humbling, devastating book, it should be compulsory reading for anyone wishing to understand the experience of the war and its haunting legacy in the former Soviet Union

Literary Review

These stories about the women warriors of Mother Russia are a symphony of feminine suffering and strength. . . Read this book. And then read it again

The Times

Astonishing. . . Her years of meticulous listening, her unobtrusiveness and her ear for the telling detail and the memorable story have made her an exceptional witness to modern times. . . This is oral history at its finest and it is also an essay on the power of memory, on what is remembered and what is forgotten

Guardian

One of the most heart-breaking books I have ever read. . . I urge you to read it

Daily Telegraph

The least well-known wonderful writer I’ve ever come across

BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour

As with her other books, terrifying documentation meets great artfulness of construction

Guardian, Summer Reading

Groundbreaking. . . a mosaic of Russian women’s stories – from the home front to the front lines, from foot soldiers to cryptographers to antiaircraft commanders

Elle

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