The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (Historical Fiction — audio book)

Writing: 5 /5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 5/5
    Kate Quinn can write! This is the third book of hers that I’ve read (in this case, listened to — excellent reader.) Every one grips you completely from beginning to end. This is the story of Mila Pavlichenko — the history student who becomes Russia’s deadliest sniper when the Germans invade Ukraine in 1937. Based on the real person’s memoir, it takes us through her war: from enlistment, to finally getting a weapon, to becoming a sniper (with 309 certified kills), to her participation in the American goodwill tour (where she is befriended by Eleanor Roosevelt) designed to get the US into the war on a second front.
    The primary characters — Mila, her sniper partner Kostya, her should be ex-husband Alexei, and her lover Lionya — were incredible. Full of depth and reflection and firmly placed in the context of their time and place. I loved the depiction of relationships during wartime — the development, the tightness, and sometimes the loss — which often brought tears to my eyes. I also loved Mila’s sense of droll humor — not a characteristic much valued in the Soviet Komsomol. Perhaps this is part of why I felt connected almost instantly, even though Mila’s life was about as far as you could get from my own.
   There is plenty of action and drama in this story, but nothing is “over dramatized.” There is plenty to feel from the factual story itself without needing the embellishment of extra heartstring tugging prose. And the action — which typically bores me — is so personal that is interesting. There are strong feminist themes throughout the book. The Soviets were the only army at the time that allowed women to fight, and yet women were still subjected to expectations of sexual favors, lack of promotion, and plenty of ill will from their male comrades-in-arms. On the US goodwill tour, Mila was subjected to absurd questions such as her skin care regime and lipstick choices on the front as well as the color of her preferred underwear. Her answers were worth the entire price of admission. I particularly appreciated what felt like genuine attitudes toward the Soviet Union from the woman who lived there — there was no smacking of modern or US based sensibilities sneaking into the text.
    As always, Quinn is meticulous in documenting which parts of the novel are fiction and which are based on documented fact. I am quite impressed with both the integration of the two and the clean lines between them, making it easy to enjoy and yet distinguish between, a documentation of a real life and an electrifying story layered on top without disturbing the base.
    Highly recommended (and now I need to go read the rest of her books — my TBR pile is long past the toppling stage…)