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characters. then themes and plot points. in that order. who are the characters?

who

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An old woman stands in the market with a “Chernobyl mushrooms for sale" sign. A man goes up to her and demands: "Hey, what are you doing? Who's going to buy Chernobyl mushrooms?” / “Well, lots of people. Some for their boss, others for their mother-in-law...” A grandson asks his grandfather: "Grandpa, is it true that in 1986 there was an accident at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant?" / "Yes, there was", answers the Grandpa and patted the grandson's head. / "Grandpa, is it true that it had absolutely no consequences?" / "Yes, absolutely", answered the Grandpa, and patted the grandson's second head. (Often added: "And they strolled off together, wagging their tails"). A Soviet newspaper reports: "Last night the Chernobyl Nuclear Power station fulfilled the Five Year Plan of heat energy generation... in 4 microseconds." (A poke on common Soviet reports about speedy execution of five-year plans.) "Is it true, that you may eat meat from Chernobyl?" / "Yes, you may. But your feces will need to be buried in concrete 30 feet deep underground." (a typical Radio Yerevan joke) "It's very difficult to gather mushrooms in Chernobyl; they scramble in all directions when you approach."

Russian Jokes Wikipedia Page: Black Humor on Chernobyl

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RADIANT GIRL Short Book Review

A historical fiction based on true events [..] it's from the perspective of a child resident, Katya, who's father worked in the Chernobyl plant when the explosions happen. She recounts the reactions of the officials, residents, and workers when the explosions first took place and the progression of tragedy as the true nature of the damage becomes realized. The author did a good job of explaining the events so that to a certain extent, you can foresee some of the tragedies before it happens which further connects the reader to the confusion and heartbreak of the character's lives. After it becomes clear the damage is done and not able to be contained, the residents are evicted from the town into nearby cities. The majority of residents end up in Kiev, including the girl. Not only did residents have to leave behind all of their belongings due to radioactive debris, they face many hardships in their new home as well. The residents of Kiev become increasingly apprehensive of the new immigrants from Prip'yat and Chernobyl, believing they could be infected with radioactivity by the immigrants themselves. This leads to turmoil and confrontations between the two groups, and a young girl who is trying to make sense of everything that is happening around her. In the wake of the turmoil in Kiev regarding the new residents and the explosion, her own family and friends of the family begin taking different sides. Her father, whose patriotism is completely unfaltering no matter what lies are spun by the government, transforms into a darker figure in attempt to keep his family on the side of patriotism. His life long best friend becomes the cloaked figure, attempting to spread the truth to people including Katya. Katya becomes torn between the two sides, and continues to remain in a delicate balance between love of family, love of country, and desire for the truth.

This is the top review on amazon.com, here: https://www.amazon.com/Radiant-Girl-Andrea-White-ebook/dp/B00BL0D7M6#customerReviews

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Clearly not actually the Ukraine, but the colors, the back-alley ambiance, the character (hooded, mobile on a skateboard, connected with a phone, backpack, ultimate street-smart) are super-evocative

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This is a still from the 2012 film Chernobyl Diaries -- all rights with the appropriate studio or other owner

For AA: main visual reference for the café, as it exists in the Zone.

NYC-version: this, but retouched and expanded to produced a gorgeous, classic café environment.Concept Art needed!

And, I would love to know if this is one of those abandoned Pripyat sites, are was made/found elsewhere for shooting of Chernobyl Diaries!

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Lush, overgrown, but colorful environment, evocative locals. Love the style!

Zhu Qi

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Raises the question of respect and appropriate tone in any treatment of the material: is it okay to use the setting as the place of another story, exploring themes involved, but fundamentally telling a different story? Without acknowledging the heroes and others who made the ultimate sacrifice, probably not, actually, or at least -- it would be in bad taste.

As a note for Atomic Adam: I think the actual story and reference to the hard-to-swallow historical facts (thousands of people losing their homes and livelihoods, workers and engineers from all over the Soviet Union serving their nation and sacrificing their health and lives in the process, unspeakably painful aftereffects in the devastation of the environment as well as animal and human life -- over generations) is needed at one point in the story: in fact, can add depth and relevance.

It is great to see that Chernobyl is being thematized in TV and does not go forgotten, entirely -- where of course there are thousands and thousands whose lives have been affected but who do not get any spotlight shone on them, or sometimes even the needed assistance from their community or government.

Set to premiere in both the United States and the United Kingdom in 2019.

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Forst stills – undocumented migrants in German woods, the “Holzweg”

http://transit.berkeley.edu/2014/stoetzer/

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A book cover art depiction of an empty!

Courtesy of https://kiskil.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/review-roadside-picnic-by-arkady-and-boris-strugatsky/

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BEAUTIFUL Stalkeresque art work, also in the original (kinda) sense of the word: this work is directly inspired by Roadside Picnic.

Courtesy of https://www.artstation.com/artwork/LXK4k, artists: STARNO team, also concept art images (of extraterrestrial presence on earth) for the cancelled (?) series Roadside Picnic 

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Stalkeresque in the literal sense: music inspired by Stalker, the movie, and Roadside Picnic.

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Knc3l8l9o)

This came up when looking for more Lustmord music: perfectly “Stalkeresque”

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Abandoned TV Project (!, WGN America, based on Roadside Picnic), amazing 3D concept art (artist: Alexey Andreyev, a designer based in St. Petersburg).

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An early Roadside Picnic cover: in the front, the wish-granting "Golden Sphere" with a cityscape evoking the alien artifact/world and mysterious figures in the woods background. (Love these layers.)

https://futurism.media/roadside-picnic-and-stalker-similarities

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Hunter’s abode? 

Also reminds of the Harry Potter tents that are so much bigger on the inside than they look outside

🖤🖤

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Another bar just at the border to the adventure. This really can be thought of as a staple of adventure story.

The “Inn of the Prancing Pony,” no less:

https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Lord-of-the-Rings-Fellowship-of-the-Ring,-The.html

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The Boy from Reactor 4: 2 or 3 More Characters and Last Notes

The tragic “girl of the café” (selling her body to the night, “they earn extra here in the Zone, where a woman never knows if a man is infected with a lot more than a vernal disease.” (p 201 in Stelmach)) 

and, just a bit more juicy: the idea of a “scavenger.” This character appears in more detail in ch 45 in Stelmach. It’s Hayder, who rids the Zone for (hot) automobile parts, weapons and other heavy machinery to sell to (unknowing) customers in Kiev. 

Hayder doesn’t trust Nadia and there’s this fun quote, “She’s not government. She’s an American tourist. America couldn’t care less about the Zone. They don’t even know what the Zone is. To them, it’s a type of defense played by basketball teams.” Spot on! (p 219)

What machinery exactly? “Spare parts from automobiles, ambulances, and bulldozers.” (p 221)

And some real talk here:

Water overflows from the cooling ponds, seeps into the streams, and empties into the Dnipro. I drink that water every day. This isn’t America ...” (p 222)

(Has not taken Shadows and Light at Sarah Lawrence!)

Ch. 51 introduces a forger (third character here then) – and has some interesting detail about forging a Russian (?) visa. Ch 53 is about their run to Russia and the rest of the novel will be about resolving the relationship Adam --- Nadia, Kirilo and the Mafia gang and coming home, probably. This would be interesting to review later.

The moment with Adam’s disfigured ears in ch 53 is very revealing. What is the nature of bodies in and from the Zone? There is stigma against these, according to Adam later, in the train. What is that (really) like? (More real talk.)

Chs 60 ff is where the fiction gets resolved: shorter chapters for suspense, the novel is reaching its climax. Skipping along here: ch 78 Adam in NYC by way of JFK, as a sort of modern symbol of entering the US. This novel is a lot about notions about the US now that I think about it. Comment in that chapter about making money in the US and in the Ukraine being the same, etc.

But essentially, the ending is obvious – the locket contains the chemical formula for a cure for radiation poisoning, passed along from a Chernobyl scientist to Adam’s father and then to Adam. The Mafia chase around it all seems like a lot of fluff and of course the cure itself is a fiction, for now (knock on wood, I guess!) The journey of Adam to the US is interesting and something to play with in my script perhaps (Americanization of “outsiders”). This is not to critique the novel too catastrophically, because the detail (Stelmach is the son of Ukrainian immigrants) is fabulous and useful. I just cannot stand Mafia chase stories.