For the last couple of weeks, my hands have been a problem. As have my wrists and sometimes right elbow. Naturally, this is not the first time I’ve had issues, and it probably won’t be the last. I’m doing everything I should to get better, but that means minimal reading and knitting.
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I bought Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich back when she won the Nobel Prize in Literature for it 2015. I was intrigued. And if she won the Nobel, it had to be good right?
For those of you who don't know Alexievich and aren't a Nobel Prize nerd like me, in this work, she crafts a unique and striking narrative style as she collects interviews with people who were touched by the disaster of Chernobyl. When she won the Nobel the committee stated that she had won it “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.” It is an accurate description of the work. Here are some of my thoughts: This is not a book you binge your way through in a long weekend. This is a book that requires - no demands - that you take it all in. Word by word. Piece by piece. Horror by real life horror. The way she is able to capture the emotion and the personal history in each interview is unparalleled. I think we all know what happened at Chernobyl from an intellectual standpoint, but I was blissfully unaware of some of the events that transpired as the Russians tried to cope with the reactor. The men that were sent without protection to clean radioactive material off the roof of the crippled reactor. The pilots who made trip after trip over the site to collect readings. The food that was still harvested and still put into the food supply... quietly... The people that returned. The wives and sisters and mothers that received them at home. The children who went to school with piles of radioactive dust on their roofs. It is an incredibly human story and yet somehow otherworldly. Page after page, I kept finding myself in a state of disbelief. How could this happen? How did they think this was okay? How could they not see that none of this was alright? And then, Alexievich would show you the answers... and then a part of me suddenly understood. This disaster is one of the great lesson of life. We make the best decisions we can in the moment that we make them and have to find a way to live with the outcome. I highly recommend the read. There are sections that will be hard to stomach, but every word will be worth your time. Alexievich is a master of her craft and deserves every word of praise spoke about this work. It was courageous to collect. I cannot even imagine what it took for her to gather all those interviews and put their emotions before her onto the page. The weight she carried for them is immense. She has done history a great service. She has given the men and women who have died or are dying as a result of this tragedy a voice. She has given them a place and, hopefully, helped ensure that we will never forget the cost of the folly of man. - Kate I finished reading Starman last week! I can’t remember when I started reading it. A bit of background is probably the best place to start. Starman, by Sara Douglass, is the third in the Wayfarer Redemption fantasy series. Depending on where you are in the world, it is two separate trilogies, but for our purposes it is a set of 6 books. Starman is the culmination Prophecy of the Destroyer. The prophecy ominously and vaguely describes events that will either reunite three groups of people into the land of Tencendor or result in destruction for all. Our key prophecy player are Axis, Starman, and the Destroyer, who happen to be half brothers. Like most fantasy, there is a whole host of characters, regions, and people to get the hang of. You can decide if you want to dive into all that. Starman is the culmination of the prophecy. The final showdown.
I enjoy fantasy in pure form or variants. The slow, and hopefully steady, world building is okay with me so long as I know we are going somewhere. Exposition is to be expected along with big ramp ups to epic endings. Starman was chock full of ponderous exposition. We plod along as a variety of characters take their places and prophecy is fulfilled. I’m not sure all the waiting and trudging paid off. The ending was fulfilling, I suppose, just fairly anticlimactic. Instead of a big ramp up to the ending, there are many small builds to small climactic moments. The most thrilling show downs took place in the first two thirds of the book. Scenes that could have been quite exciting were a bit… meh. Overall, the book was pleasant enough, but rather lackluster. I enjoyed Starman, but it was not my favorite of the three I’ve read. The first book, The Wayfarer Redemption, was the high point, full of excitement and intrigue. The second help my attention just as well. I would recommend the books to you, or anyone else. I just might not read the other three books in the series. Now, to pick the next book. I can’t figure out what I’m in the mood for, maybe some non-fiction? I should probably focus on Good Omens. Hi, I am Kate.
Hi, I’m Joanna. We are sisters and, even though we often get mistaken for twins, we are almost three years apart, but that doesn’t stop us from being pretty closely knit. The last four years have been a little rocky (we won’t go into that here ... at least not at this time), but through it all there have been two hobbies that have kept us sane: knitting and reading. Reading has been a lifelong love, or perhaps addiction. Knitting is the new drug on the block. She is seductive, luring us away from books. So we decided that we needed a way to be accountable to both, a way to contribute to the community of addicts, helping others admit and come to terms with their addictions .... and possibly... convert a few more along the way. There is no 12 step program, only acceptance and the pursuit of balance. In this space, we will share our stories, our projects, and our reading endeavors in pursuit of that balance. Shall we begin? Hello, my name is Kate. I judged a debate tournament today and went armed with three books, two knitting projects, and snacks. Hello, my name is Joanna. Today I read about baking, baked. Meanwhile, was judged harshly by the pile of books and knitting by the couch. Oh, and my wheel, Mabel. I spin too. Because two addictions just aren’t enough. |
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July 2019
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