27 Nov In “The Memory Keeper, author Masha Gessen calls Voices from Chernobyl an “oral history stripped down to segments so raw that it can stretch both credulity and the reader’s tolerance for pain” (36). List some examples from part one of the book that illustrate Gessen’s point
Discuss this week’s reading. Start with the questions below, but don’t feel limited to these.
1. In “The Memory Keeper, author Masha Gessen calls Voices from Chernobyl an “oral history stripped down to segments so raw that it can stretch both credulity and the reader’s tolerance for pain” (36). List some examples from part one of the book that illustrate Gessen’s point.
2. What is your response to the book’s prologue, “A Solitary Human Voice”? What did you think or feel when you read the prologue? Why do you think Alexievich started the book with this voice?
3. Are there voices that stood out to you? If yes, why?
4. Can you discern a relationship between the voices in part one? In other words, what is the structure of part one? Look closely at how how this part of the book begins and how it ends. How does the “Soldiers’ Chorus” relate to the rest of part one?
