The Swedish Academy, announcing her win, praised Alexievich’s “polyphonic writings”, describing them as a “monument to suffering and courage in our time”.
Nobel prize in literature: Svetlana Alexievich wins 'for her polyphonic writings' – as it happened
Belarusian writer and journalist who has pricked the conscience of Russia with her accounts of ‘suffering and courage in our time’
She becomes the 14th woman to win the prize since it was first awarded in 1901. The last woman to win, Canada’s Alice Munro, was handed the award in 2013.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/08/svetlana-alexievich-wins-2015-nobel-prize-in-literature