Secondhand Time

Secondhand Time is a unique and moving account of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a new Russia, captured through the voices of those who lived through it. Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, employs a distinctive documentary style that combines extended individual monologues with a collage of voices, giving a panoramic portrait of contemporary Russia. The book chronicles the past thirty years, showing what life was like during the fall of the Soviet Union and what it's like to live in the new Russia left in its wake. Through interviews spanning 1991 to 2012, Alexievich takes us behind the propaganda and contrived media accounts, revealing the sorrows and triumphs of the human spirit in the aftermath of a powerful idea that once dominated a third of the world. Alexievich's work is described as a history of emotions—a history of the soul. She records the stories of ordinary women and men who are rarely given the opportunity to speak, whose experiences are often lost in the official histories of the nation. The book is a magnificent tapestry of memories of oppression, terror, famine, massacres, but also of pride in their country, hope for the future, and a belief in a better tomorrow. It's a profound exploration of human nature, dreams, choices, and the complexities of good and evil.