Chernobyl: The Fall of Atomgrad

Title: Chernobyl: The Fall of Atomgrad
Author: Matyáš Namai
Major Themes: Graphic Novels, History, USSR
Synopsis: A gripping portrayal of the building—and destruction—of the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in 1986.

As something of a history buff, and someone who was known as a child to sneak-read comics whenever I had the chance, I was excited to see Chernobyl: The Fall of Atomgrad coming out recently. I’ve heard of Chernobyl over the years—who hasn’t?—but somehow never spent much time researching what happened, or how it affected the people around the incident. I suppose, to some extent, it was much too recent history to read about it in any history books when I was in school, but long enough before my birth that it isn’t talked about much anymore. Anyway, when I saw that there was a graphic novel releasing soon about the incident, I was excited to get my hands on it—and I’m even more glad now that I got to read it! This is a fascinating, well-told story.

Publisher’s description:

My thoughts:

In some ways, it was hard to read Chernobyl. The breadth and depth of suffering described in the story were hard to handle. At the same time, it was a fascinating glimpse into how the disaster came about in the first place, and how fallible we as humans are—even when we do our best.

The book starts with a brief description of the political climate in the USSR over the time when Chernobyl was being built—just enough to get a glimpse into what it was like to work under the kind of pressure the people building the reactor would have experienced. I found that aspect unexpectedly fascinating. That part only lasts a few pages, and then you get into descriptions and illustrations of how the nuclear reactor was put together…and what they did (and didn’t do) to try to test it before starting to use the different reactors to generate power. And then, of course, you move into the explosion and resulting aftermath.

Chernobyl is gripping and written in an easy-to-follow way. One thing I really appreciated about this book was the way they took the time to explain how things worked. I found the description of how the reactor was supposed to work especially interesting; I’d never seen an in-depth illustration of that before. I also appreciated the way the story was told—it didn’t seem overly dramatized; instead, it was more a realistic representation of facts.

There were horrific aspects to the story, though. Things like the descriptions of what happened to radiation burn victims, or the seemingly callous way people were treated in the cleanup (one page even referred to the government’s attitude toward the young men they sent to Chernobyl to clean up—“They were dispensable.” WHAT?!). It was also hard to read about the trials of the men who were in charge of the reactors in one way or another—several were suffering so much from it that they tried to take their lives, and one man succeeded at that.

Overall, I found Chernobyl: The Fall of Atomgrad insightful, informative, realistic, and well-researched. I’ve since done a little research on my own, and that backed up what I read in this book. This was a great way to get to know this moment in history, and though parts were hard, I’m glad I got the chance to read it. My only complaint? I had a terrible time putting it down! I mistakenly picked it up one day when I was supposed to be watching a friend’s children, and I was instantly hooked—to the point of finishing it the same day I started it. If you enjoy learning about history or want to learn about Chernobyl, I’d highly recommend you check this book out. It isn’t for young readers (some scenes or words are more adult-themed), but I’d recommend it to mid-teens on up.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.

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