Author Guide · Documentary Prose
Books Written by
Svetlana Alexievich records voices. For each of her books she interviews hundreds of ordinary people, women who fought in the Second World War, children who survived it, soldiers back from Afghanistan, the families of Chernobyl, and then shapes their words into a chorus. Together the books form what she calls a history of the “red man”, the Soviet person. In 2015 she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. This guide covers all six of her books in order, with which ones are in English, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 6 books · Documentary prose · 1985–2013 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Svetlana Alexievich has published six books of oral history, together called Voices of Utopia: The Unwomanly Face of War, Last Witnesses, Boys in Zinc, Enchanted with Death, Chernobyl Prayer (also published as Voices from Chernobyl) and Secondhand Time. Five are available in English. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015.
Where to Start with Svetlana Alexievich
If you want the famous one
→ Chernobylskaya molitva (1997).
If you want the Second World War
→ U voyny ne zhenskoe litso (1985).
If you want the end of the USSR
→ Vremya second-hand (2013).
All 6 Svetlana Alexievich Books, in Order
U voyny ne zhenskoe litso
Hundreds of Soviet women who served in the Second World War, as snipers, pilots, nurses and partisans, talk about the war that official history left out. In English it is The Unwomanly Face of War.
Poslednie svideteli
People who were children during the Second World War remember it. In English it is Last Witnesses.
Tsinkovye malchiki
Soldiers, nurses and the mothers of the dead talk about the Soviet war in Afghanistan, whose fallen came home in zinc coffins. In English it is Boys in Zinc, also published as Zinky Boys.
Zacharovannye smertyu
No English edition · available in Russian
People who attempted or contemplated suicide after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and those around them.
Chernobylskaya molitva
Firefighters' widows, evacuees, scientists and soldiers describe life after the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. In English it is Chernobyl Prayer, also published as Voices from Chernobyl.
Vremya second-hand
People across the former Soviet Union talk about the collapse of communism and the turbulent decades that followed. In English it is Secondhand Time.
How Many Books Did Svetlana Alexievich Write?
Six books between 1985 and 2013, forming one cycle; five are available in English.
- Second World War — The Unwomanly Face of War and Last Witnesses. Read the entries →
- Late Soviet era — Boys in Zinc and Chernobyl Prayer. Read the entries →
- After the collapse — Enchanted with Death and Secondhand Time. Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Svetlana Alexievich
The six books form a cycle and can be read in publication order, but each stands alone. Most English readers begin with Chernobyl Prayer or The Unwomanly Face of War.
A reading path
1. Chernobyl Prayer (1997)
2. The Unwomanly Face of War (1985)
3. Secondhand Time (2013)
4. Boys in Zinc (1991)
The years · 1948–2020
Quick facts about Svetlana Alexievich
- Known for
- Svetlana Alexievich is known for Nobel Prize-winning oral history: books built from hundreds of ordinary voices, from women who fought in the Second World War to the families of Chernobyl.
- 1948
- Born in Stanislav, Ukraine
- 1985
- First book, The Unwomanly Face of War
- 2020
- Leaves Belarus for Berlin
- Born
- 1948, Stanislav (now Ivano-Frankivsk), Ukraine
- Grew up
- Belarus
- Writes in
- Russian
- Nobel Prize
- Literature, 2015
- Lives
- Berlin, since leaving Belarus in 2020
- Books
- 6, from 1985 to 2013
The red mark is 1985: The Unwomanly Face of War, her first book and the first of the six together called Voices of Utopia.
How Svetlana Alexievich Writes: A Chorus of Voices
Alexievich interviews hundreds of people for each book, often over years, and then selects and arranges their monologues, so that the book is made almost entirely of their words.
She calls it a novel of voices: rather than an official history, a history of feelings, of what it was like to live through war, disaster and the end of an empire.
Watch
Svetlana Alexievich: A Human Is a Scary Creature
Interviewed by Marie Tetzlaff at the Louisiana Literature festival in August 2017, Svetlana Alexievich talks about the writer’s role, life under Soviet informants, leaving Belarus after the prosecution over Boys in Zinc, and Dostoevsky. From the official Louisiana Channel.
Frequently asked questions about Svetlana Alexievich's books
How many books has Svetlana Alexievich written?
Svetlana Alexievich has published six books of oral history, from The Unwomanly Face of War (1985) to Secondhand Time (2013).
Which Svetlana Alexievich book should I read first?
Most readers start with Chernobyl Prayer (also called Voices from Chernobyl) or The Unwomanly Face of War.
Did Svetlana Alexievich win the Nobel Prize?
Yes. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015.
Footnotes
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all hers.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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