Charleston County Public Library

Secondhand time, the last of the Soviets, Svetlana Alexievich ; translated by Bela Shayevich

eng

collective biography

no index present

non fiction

Secondhand time

939597136

Svetlana Alexievich ; translated by Bela Shayevich

the last of the Soviets

"An oral history of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a new Russia. Bringing together dozens of voices in [the author's] distinctive documentary style, Secondhand Time is a monument to the collapse of the USSR, charting the decline of Soviet culture and speculating on what will rise from the ashes of communism. As in all her books, Alexievich gives voice to women and men whose stories are lost in the official narratives of nation-states, creating a powerful alternative history from the personal and private stories of individuals."--, Provided by publisher

Chronology: Russia after Stalin -- Remarks from an accomplice -- Part one: The consolation of apocalypse -- Snatches of street noise and kitchen conversations (1991-2001) -- Ten stories in a red interior. On the beauty of dictatorship and the mystery of butterflies crushed against the pavement -- On brothers and sisters, victims and executioners ... and the electorate -- On cries and whispers ... and exhilaration -- On the lonely red marshal and three days of forgotten revolution -- On the mercy of memories and the lust for meaning -- On a different Bible and a different kind of believer -- On the cruelty of the flames and salvation from above -- On the sweetness of suffering and the trick of the Russian soul -- On a time when anyone who kills believes that they are serving God -- On the little red flag and the smile of the axe -- Part two: The charms of emptiness -- Snatches of street noise and kitchen conversations (2002-2012) -- Ten stories in the absence of an interior. On Romeo and Juliet ... except their names were Margarita and Abulfaz -- On people who instantly transformed after the fall of communism -- On a loneliness that resembles happiness -- On wanting to kill them all and the horror of realizing that you really wanted to do it -- On the old crone with a braid and the beautiful young woman -- On a stranger's grief that God has deposited on your doorstep -- On life the bitch and one hundred grams of fine powder in a little white vase -- On how nothing disgusts the dead and the silence of dust -- On the darkness of the evil one and "the other life we can build out of this one" -- On courage and what comes after -- Notes from an everywoman

Second hand timeLast of the Soviets