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.