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Nobel prize in literature 2015


emelee

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Belarusian author Svetlana Aleksijevitj has been chosen as the 2015 Nobel Prize winner in literature.

 

Her most famous work is "Voices from Chernobyl", a book where she has interviewed many of the people who were in Chernobyl during the nuclear disaster.

 

She's also written about the downfall of the Sovjet Union.

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:D

 

In Sweden, whoever recieves the Nobel Prize gets their books fronted in book stores. No one knows in advance who will get it, so no one is prepared to put all copies out on display. It takes a couple of weeks to order in copies and front them. And also, if the author hasn't been translated to Swedish - they will be. Then of course it takes more time. 

 

Last year, it took a while before Patrick Modiano's novels came out in stores. I believe some of his novels hadn't been translated. Some people were put on the job, and finally, the books were fronted in stores. 

 

 

I saw on the news today that many people rushed to get a copy of a Svetlana Aleksijevitj book. There were very few copies to get hold of, and many stores ran out of the precious few copies they had. 

 

But her books have been translated to Swedish already, so all they need to do is order more copies.  ;)

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:D

 

In Sweden, whoever recieves the Nobel Prize gets their books fronted in book stores. No one knows in advance who will get it, so no one is prepared to put all copies out on display. It takes a couple of weeks to order in copies and front them. And also, if the author hasn't been translated to Swedish - they will be. Then of course it takes more time. 

 

Last year, it took a while before Patrick Modiano's novels came out in stores. I believe some of his novels hadn't been translated. Some people were put on the job, and finally, the books were fronted in stores. 

 

 

I saw on the news today that many people rushed to get a copy of a Svetlana Aleksijevitj book. There were very few copies to get hold of, and many stores ran out of the precious few copies they had. 

 

But her books have been translated to Swedish already, so all they need to do is order more copies.  ;)

It is really interesting how it goes on over there... it's such a cool thing, I am always interested in the Prizes.  I do hope they translate, I love Russian history and there is not much from the *outside*  She sounds like a courageous woman.

 

Translating and providing books from Nobel awarded authors should be a cultural priority by any country worthy of the name, if they have the possibility of doing so.

Very true :)

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She does sound like a courageous woman. She's anti-Putin, which of course is not popular to be over there. Russia is, afterall, not a real democracy. So for her to write about the former Sovjet region, takes guts. 

I think it was an excellent choice, on that basis alone. 

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She does sound like a courageous woman. She's anti-Putin, which of course is not popular to be over there. Russia is, afterall, not a real democracy.

 

I don't know if the russian elections are rigged, but the truth is apparently the majority of russians approve of their government's actions. I feel we in the west have been under plenty of anti-russian propaganda, but as the site Russia Today is heavily biased I don't know of a proper, impartial russian source to show their side of events. However, the ruling political party United Russia has a suspicious number of years in power, judging by this and this. About the author, I agree it takes courage to write against Putin and with harsh truths.

Edited by woolf woolf
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but the truth is apparently the majority of russians approve of their government's actions.

I don't know this is so much true, as dissent is not really an option.  To my knowledge, there isn't a whole lot of free speech in Russia, especially to their actions on the world stage.  I wonder if Svetlana's work is available in Russia.

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I don't know this is so much true, as dissent is not really an option.  To my knowledge, there isn't a whole lot of free speech in Russia, especially to their actions on the world stage.  I wonder if Svetlana's work is available in Russia.

 

Here's the article. The majority of the population supports the annexation of Crimea, believes western sanctions are meant to harm Russia, and are unhappy with the current economy. It depicts interesting facts and interpretations, some in accordance to your post.

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Here's the article. The majority of the population supports the annexation of Crimea, believes western sanctions are meant to harm Russia, and are unhappy with the current economy. It depicts interesting facts and interpretations, some in accordance to your post.

 

You should never believe numbers coming out of Russia. They rig things a lot. As an example: they have a show called "Call Putin" or something. People can call in and ask Putin questions. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well... The questions are rigged. No anti-Putin question allowed. It's pretty much a "praise Putin" program. 

 

Russians are raised to love Putin pretty much. You just don't go against Putin, or you will be stalked and harrassed. 

 

Fair elections, Russia does not appear to have. 

 

 

Think North Korea. They have elections just like the rest. 100% of the votes are on their dictator. They must REALLY love that guy................... Or else.... He's got his people more whipped scared than Putin. 

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By the way, Belarus is a good example of a dictatorship. Lukashenko is a nasty dictator.

Svetlana Aleksijevitj, who is from Belarus, has only had her books published there by independant publishers. The rest refuse her. 

 

Here's what Svetlana has to say herself:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/nobel-prizewinner-blasts-putin/

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You should never believe numbers coming out of Russia. They rig things a lot. As an example: they have a show called "Call Putin" or something. People can call in and ask Putin questions. Sounds great, doesn't it? Well... The questions are rigged. No anti-Putin question allowed. It's pretty much a "praise Putin" program. Russians are raised to love Putin pretty much. You just don't go against Putin, or you will be stalked and harrassed. Fair elections, Russia does not appear to have. 

 

I don't trust Russia, nor do I approve of anything I read about it. My fear is that some people among us do, even with a high standard of living.

 

By the way, Belarus is a good example of a dictatorship. Lukashenko is a nasty dictator.

Svetlana Aleksijevitj, who is from Belarus, has only had her books published there by independant publishers. The rest refuse her. 

 

Here's what Svetlana has to say herself:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/nobel-prizewinner-blasts-putin/

 

Does she have any book like War's Unwomanly Face or Voices from Chernobyl about current Russia under Putin and Medvedev's rule?

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Does she have any book like War's Unwomanly Face or Voices from Chernobyl about current Russia under Putin and Medvedev's rule?

 

Possibly indirectly. As far as I know, she focuses most on the past. 70s and 80s. She was in exile from her home for years and could only return in 2011. So during these years, she couldn't interview people like she used to for her books. 

 

But the NEW book “Second-hand Time: The Demise of the Red (Wo)man” is the story of the last twenty years of Russian history.

 

https://charter97.org/en/news/2015/5/15/151651/

 

 

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/oct/12/svetlana-alexievich-truth-many-voices/

Edited by emelee
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