S. Alexiyevich

War's unwomanly face

Maurice FitzGerald

Tilde C

Even the way the book presents all these personal stories from the war appeals to me: No descriptors of the subjects, no summaries or explanations about this front or that region. Just stories, then a name, a rank. Every little detail seems so important: Women who may not recall exactly where something happened or their contexts, but talk vividly about this one passing soldier's face, or something silly one of their friends did, or something infinitely small but horrific in its implications. I cried reading this book.

Their voices are so distinct, and add so much to their recollections -- the ones who still swear like sailors and treasure their old uniform; the ones who are even ashamed to talk about wearing trousers. Stories of pride, of anger, of sorrow, of love. And trauma. Infinite varieties of trauma. Only two interviewees admit how common and horrific sexual assault was at the front lines -- which only makes you wonder how much every woman in this book still kept to herself, not just about that subject but so many other things.

The work Aleksijevitsj put into this book is incredible. So many stories that would have been lost forever. And even for all her subjects, it's incredible to imagine how every woman who lived through that war carries or carried a story like this inside.

War's unwomanly face

Reviews