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Boys in Zinc
Boys in Zinc | Svetlana Alexievich
10 posts | 7 read | 13 to read
The haunting history of the Soviet-Afghan War from the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2015 - A new translation based on the updated text - From 1979 to 1989 Soviet troops engaged in a devastating war in Afghanistan that claimed thousands of casualties on both sides. While the Soviet Union talked about a 'peace-keeping' mission, the dead were shipped back in sealed zinc coffins. Boys in Zinc presents the honest testimonies of soldiers, doctors and nurses, mothers, wives and siblings who describe the lasting effects of war. Weaving together their stories, Svetlana Alexievich shows us the truth of the Soviet-Afghan conflict: the killing and the beauty of small everyday moments, the shame of returned veterans, the worries of all those left behind. When it was first published in the USSR in 1991, Boys in Zinc sparked huge controversy for its unflinching, harrowing insight into the realities of war.
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GatheringBooks
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#IndelibleMoments Day 29: #Survival is definitely a theme in Alexievich‘s journalistic documentaries told in such a distinctive singular manner. Recent book haul. Looking forward to reading this one. Bought all her books that are available here in the UAE.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Perfect 📚 2y
Eggs Wow 😯 Nobel Prize! Sounds so good! 2y
38 likes2 comments
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ReadingEnvy
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Reading Envy Podcast Episode 244: 2nd Quarter - Russian Non-Fiction

Lauren W. will be co-hosting this non-fiction quarter of Reading Envy Russia. We share books we have already read and freely recommend, and also chat about the piles and shelves of books we are considering. The book covers pictured are only a small slice!

Listen and subscribe:
https://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy244

45 likes1 stack add
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charl08
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We're all suffering from a wasting disease you know...here, back home , its a mismatch between our feelings and our ability to express them in what we say and do.

42 likes1 stack add
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bloem
Boys in Zinc | Svetlana Alexievich
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Pickpick

I love Svetlana Alexievich's work. Always insightful and humbling. This really blew me away.

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BookishMarginalia
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I've been discussing The Kite Runner with my students, and how Amir and Baba fled Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion. This seems like an appropriate read now, to remember that war destroys invaders and invaded both, if in different ways and with different levels of culpability and responsibility. #thepriceofwar

minkyb Excellent point! 8y
MyNamesParadise I've always wondered about this conflict! Season 3 of The Americans really got me interested. Thanks for this pic! 8y
107 likes5 stack adds2 comments
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sofiaga
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I got my third Svetlana Alexievich book. I want to read everything she has ever written.

CaroPi Have you read "La guerra tiene rostro de mujer"? Voces de Chernobil Was really good but it destroys you 8y
sofiaga @CaroPi yes. Everything she writes destroys you, but it is incredibly good. I have read them both 8y
7 likes2 comments
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jannat

What we had in common was that we were trained to kill, and kill we did. We are all individuals but we've been made into sheep, first here at home and then over there.

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jannat
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we don't need anything. Just listen to us and try to understand. Society is good at doing things, 'giving' medical help, pensions, flats. But all this so-called giving has been paid for in very expensive currency. Our blood. We come to you, now, to make our confession. We want to confess, and don't forget the secrecy of the confessional.

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GoneFishing

Well, I admit it. I had the greatest respect for the Afghan people, even while I was shooting and killing them. I still do. You could even say I love them. I like their songs and prayers, as peaceful and timeless as their mountains.

CherylDeFranceschi That is terrifying! 8y
kspenmoll Certainly is. 8y
20 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
Mitchieclos
Les cercueils de zinc | Svetlana A. Aleksievitch
Pickpick

Une auteur à découvrir pour comprendre la Russie d'aujourd'hui. Un must absolu