Chernobyl Prayer: Voices from Chernobyl cover art

Chernobyl Prayer: Voices from Chernobyl

Penguin Modern Classics

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Chernobyl Prayer: Voices from Chernobyl

By: Svetlana Alexievich, Anna Gunin - translator, Arch Tait - translator
Narrated by: Sasha Alexis, Andrew Byron
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

A new translation of Voices from Chernobyl based on the revised text.

In April 1986 a series of explosions shook the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Flames lit up the sky, and radiation escaped to contaminate the land and poison the people for years to come. While officials tried to hush up the accident, Svetlana Alexievich spent years collecting testimonies from survivors - clean-up workers, residents, firefighters, resettlers, widows, orphans - crafting their voices into a haunting oral history of fear, anger and uncertainty, but also dark humour and love.

A chronicle of the past and a warning for our nuclear future, Chernobyl Prayer shows what it is like to bear witness and remember in a world that wants you to forget.

©2016 Svetlana Alexievich (P)2021 Penguin Audio Military Russia Weapons & Warfare Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing Survival

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Critic reviews

"Absolutely essential and heartbreaking reading. There's a reason Ms. Alexievich won a Nobel Prize." (Craig Mazin, creator of the HBO/Sky TV series Chernobyl)

"Beautifully written...heart-breaking." (Arundhati Roy, Elle)

"One of the most humane and terrifying books I've ever read." (Helen Simpson, Observer)
All stars
Most relevant  
A disaster beyond disaters, told so beautifully. My heart cried but I couldnt stop listening

Amazingly horrifying

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The content of this book is enlightening, tragic and at times harrowing. I have read widely on the more technical and operational aspects of the disaster and its cleanup, but this book provides the human side of the tragedy in the form of eyewitness accounts of those who lived through it. It added greatly to my understanding and is a fitting tribute to all those who sacrificed their health or their lives to protect the rest of us.

I only wish the narration had been able to match the high standard of the writing. Sasha Alexis (a Russian speaker) was excellent, but Andrew Byron decided it would be a good idea to attempt various regional British accents to his reading. A curious decision which proves very irritating and distracting, particularly since his attempts at a Liverpool and at generic Scottish and Welsh accents are utterly abysmal!

A powerful and moving account

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I cried, I laughed, I could not stop listening. If you want insight into Chornobyl, this is the be all end all. I will never forget these stories.

A must listen. A must.

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Beautifully narrate, the actors bring to life the memory of those involved. The first-hand accounts stand in stark contrast to official reports and figures, making you wonder who is in charge of history. Unforgettable.

Haunting reminder of the tragedy

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