1. In “The Memory Keeper, author Masha Gessen calls Voices from Chernobyl an “oral history stripped down to segments so raw that it can stretch both credulity and the reader’s tolerance for pain” (36). List some examples from part one of the book that illustrate Gessen’s point.
2. What is your response to the book’s prologue, “A Solitary Human Voice”? What did you think or feel when you read the prologue? Why do you think Alexievich started the book with this voice?
3. The title of the first part part of the book is “The Land of the Dead.” How does this title help you understand the thematic concerns of this part? How do the different voices featured in this part of the book connect with this title?
4. Are there voices that stood out to you? If yes, why?
5. Can you discern a relationship between the voices in part one? In other words, what is the structure of part one? Look closely at how how this part of the book begins and how it ends. How does the “Soldiers’ Chorus” relate to the rest of part one