emelee Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf woolf Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Today was the first time I heard of her. That shows how much I know of contemporary literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 I've heard about her before - but only as a constant Nobel Prize candidate. She's been on the guessing lists for some time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I can't wait to see if her writing will be translated, I am eager to read some of it. Saw this and thought of you, emelee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf woolf Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf woolf Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 (edited) 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 October 9, 2015 by woolf woolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf woolf Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 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/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf woolf Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted October 17, 2015 Author Share Posted October 17, 2015 (edited) 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 October 17, 2015 by emelee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf woolf Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Those two links are a very interesting read for those who want to learn about Svetlana Aleksijevitj, thanks emelee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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