Chasing truth through literature

Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich receives the Honored International Writer award at the Beijing International Book Fair. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, the 2015 Nobel laureate of literature, toured Shanghai, Beijing and Suzhou in August.

The last time she visited China was in 1989, as a member of a delegation from the Soviet Union. China has changed tremendously, she says.

"I am very much surprised to see your new houses and roads after going through the 30-year reform.We have also been reforming in the last 30 years, but it's still old houses, old airplanes and cars," she says.

"There is a saying in Europe: Don't talk about future; the future has already disappeared. Nothing you talk about will be realized. But here I see future and hope. And I admire you for that."

Earlier this year, her latest book, Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets was published in China.

During her visit, Alexievich, from a much cooler country, fell ill in the hot humid weather and had to cancel some plans, such as visiting ancient parks in Suzhou and the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Her trip was timed to coincide with the Shanghai Book Fair and Beijing International Book Fair last month.