Svetlana Aleksievich - one of the main contenders for The Baillie Gifford Prize

LONDON. Svetlana Aleksievich’s book “Second Hand Time” is on the long list of the Bailey Gifford Prize.

The annual Bailey Gifford Prize of £ 30,000 is awarded for best work in documentary prose, written in English or translated into it. From 1999 to 2008, she bore the name of the outstanding poet and 18th century literary critic Samuel Johnson. Since 2009, the award has been renamed in honor of the main sponsor - one of the leading investment funds active in philanthropy - Baillie Gifford. Last year, Steve Silberman’s book on autism, Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, was recognized as the best non-fiction work.

The list of nominees for the victory in the long list published two days ago is headed by Svetlana Aleksievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature. The book Second-Hand Time, translated by Bela Shayevich, was published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. At the heart of the story are people’s memories of the crucial 90s. About how they lived and survived, what they felt, what they thought, what kind of music and books they loved. About how circumstances forced to commit previously unimaginable acts and go down the ethical ladder. About the desire for a firm hand in the country, a quarter century ago opened to the world and seeking to forget about it. About the camps, which equally corrupt the executioners and the victims, about the dehumanization, from which the cultural layer, thinned in extreme situations, does not save. About the inertia of life, which inevitably leads to evil. The name of the new laureate of The Baillie Gifford Prize will be announced in November.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru