255 Quotes by Svetlana Alexievich

I've been searching for a genre that would be most adequate to my vision of the world to convey how my ear hears and my eyes see life. I tried this and that, and finally, I chose a genre where human voices speak for themselves. But I don't just record a dry history of events and facts; I'm writing a history of human feelings.

The subjects I wanted to write about - the mystery of the human soul, evil - didn't interest newspapers, and news reporting bored me.

I love the good Russian world, the humanitarian Russian world, but I do not love the Russian world of Beria, Stalin, and Shoigu.

I take a very long time to write my books - from five to ten years.

For money, I can buy one thing: I buy freedom.

Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of a great empire.

All of history misses out on the history of the soul. Human passions are so often not included in history.

My wish is to humanize history.

I name the genre that I write in as 'novel of voices.'