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Last Witnesses

By: Svetlana Alexievich, Richard Pevear - translator, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator
Narrated by: Julia Emelin, Yelena Shmulenson, Allen Lewis Rickman
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Summary

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Last Witnesses, by Svetlana Alexievich, read by Julia Emelin, Yelena Shmulenson and Allen Lewis Rickman.

What did it mean to grow up in the Soviet Union during the Second World War? In the late 1970s, Svetlana Alexievich started interviewing people who had experienced war as children, the generation that survived and had to live with the trauma that would forever change the course of the Russian nation.

With remarkable care and empathy, Alexievich gives voice to those whose stories are lost in the official narratives, uncovering a powerful, hidden history of one of the most important events of the 20th century.

Published to great acclaim in the Soviet Union in 1985 and now available in English for the first time, this masterpiece offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the human consequences of the war - and an extraordinary chronicle of the Russian soul.

©2019 Svetlana Alexievich, Larissa Volokhonsky (P)2019 Penguin Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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Harrowing - an absolute must.

This was a very difficult listen. I would recommend to all. Remarkable, disturbing, and ultimately, incredibly sad. The sacrifice’s of children who had no choice.

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A real story about people's lives

It was possible to stop for a week or so and then continue reading it without taking notice that you had a paus. A neverending true stories about people's lives in hard times!

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Everyone should have their story heard.

This is difficult to hear and the hardship and cruelty impossible to imagine until now. Spoken from the very soul. Everyone should hear to understand the real horror of war and the incredible power or people to survive. As I listened I often thought of the person as dead and I was reliving their story as you simply don't equate the person's story to someone who could have survived it. How it warmed my very heart to know not only these amazing people had survived but got to tell their story to me. Love every one of you for coming forward to share your survival of horror.

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