Name: Svetlana Aleksievich
Year Won: 2015
Read: Voices from Chernobyl
Original Language:
Russian
Reason: "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time"
About: Voices from Chernobyl is an oral history of the many who suffered at or around Chernobyl, told in monologue form.
What I liked: This is an intense book that covers a really important part of history. It's hard not to be affected by the suffering of the pepole described within.
It's also a really unique way of conveying history, as it captures the immediacy of what happened.
What I Disliked: Everything in the book is so horrific that it's like it's dialed up to 11 at all times. This at times makes the story feel overly dramatic and maudlin (even though all this stuff is real). I honestly think it might be more interesting if some of the stories were more prosaic. (Like, IDK, people being forced to move but otherwise being okay, or people getting sick, but not until they're 70.)
Should it have won a Nobel: Yes. This is beautifully written, intense, and important. Also, the writing style is really unique and a dramatic way to convey history.
Next Up: The Poems of Bob Dylan
Friday, February 21, 2025
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Ballerina by Patrick Modiano
Name: Patrick Modiano
Year Won: 2014
Read: Ballerina
Original Language: French
Reason: "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the Occupation"
About: Ballerina/i> is a story about a ballerina. So like, duh, but that's sort of what it is. A hazy, dreamy recollection of the life of a ballerina.
What I liked: There is a poetic, dreamy quality to this novel which is fun to become engrossed in.
What I Disliked: There isn't much of a plot to this book. It seems more like a vibe than anything else. A pretty vibe, but a vibe.
Should it have won a Nobel: I would have liked a bit more substance to this. It probably was there, but so obscured that I took almost nothing from it. So IMO, no, but this is the kind of thing the Nobel committee likes and this almost certainly isn't the only thing Modiana has written.
Next Up: "Voices from Chernobyl" by Svetlana Aleksievich
Year Won: 2014
Read: Ballerina
Original Language: French
Reason: "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the Occupation"
About: Ballerina/i> is a story about a ballerina. So like, duh, but that's sort of what it is. A hazy, dreamy recollection of the life of a ballerina.
What I liked: There is a poetic, dreamy quality to this novel which is fun to become engrossed in.
What I Disliked: There isn't much of a plot to this book. It seems more like a vibe than anything else. A pretty vibe, but a vibe.
Should it have won a Nobel: I would have liked a bit more substance to this. It probably was there, but so obscured that I took almost nothing from it. So IMO, no, but this is the kind of thing the Nobel committee likes and this almost certainly isn't the only thing Modiana has written.
Next Up: "Voices from Chernobyl" by Svetlana Aleksievich
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