BERLIN — For the world of literature, this year’s decision by the Nobel prize committee must be a bit of a surprise. After all, the short list was packed with heavyweights including Haruki Murakami, Philip Roth and Joyce Carol Oates. Yet it was the much less widely known Svetlana Alexievich from Belarus who carried the day for “her polyphonic writing, a monument to suffering and courage in our time” — as the Nobel Committee put it.
These balmy words barely veil the clear political motive behind their choice. At a time when Eastern Europe sees a return of war, when Russia …read more
Source: European Voice
