Voices of Chernobyl: Chronicle of the Future, Svetlana Alexievich, London: Aurum Press, 198 pp. (Book Review)

Abstract

Nuclear energy is good until it’s bad, and when it’s bad it’s catastrophic. This year is the fortieth anniversary of the explosion of a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl (Reactor #4, on 26 April 1986, then USSR, now Ukraine). Many books and reports have appeared in the decades since. It is timely to revisit ‘Voices of Chernobyl’ by Svetlana Alexievich. Her book is unlike any other about Chernobyl; it records the ‘voices’ of those who lived through the catastrophe. Other accounts provide timelines and technical analyses. The author of ‘Voices’ won the Nobel Prize for Literature (in 1994) “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time”. The chosen genre of Svetlana Alexievich is the reportage of the ‘voices’ of others rather than stamping her own words to a tragedy. In a time of energy challenges for all, and of a fresh flirtation with nuclear energy by some, ‘Voices of Chernobyl’ is especially timely. The book is a powerful testament of ordinary people facing extraordinary events. As a ‘taster’, eight of those ‘voices’ are quoted in the present review. The recommendation of the present review applies to the masterful translation (from the original Russian) by Antonia W Bouis (do not accept substitutes). For both proponents and opponents of nuclear energy alike, ’Voices of Chernobyl’ is highly recommended.