Voices from Chernobyl

Belarusian Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich tells the story of the Chernobyl disaster through the people of Belarus who lived through it. She interviewed hundreds of those affected by the April 1986 reactor accident, from ordinary residents to firefighters and the workers sent to clean up, and presents their testimony as a series of monologues. The accounts record the fear, anger and uncertainty that stayed with them long after the meltdown. The Russian original is titled Chernobyl Prayer, in Britain it carries the subtitle A Chronicle of the Future, and a revised, updated version was later released. The American translation received the nonfiction prize of the National Book Critics Circle.

Craig Mazin, creator of the Chernobyl TV series, listed it first among the sources he used for the show and called it essential and heartbreaking.