Mila only wanted to be a historian, was a graduate of Kiev University, and working at the library in Odessa with an eye on finishing her dissertation about the Ukrainian accession to Russia, when the Germans invaded. Her skill at marksmanship put her life into an entirely different trajectory, and she decided to join the war effort where she became an outstanding sniper. That this job is difficult for anyone is made clear, and the added challenges for women in the Army was even more so. War is hell, but the burning desire of Ukrainians to defend their homeland (then Russia) has strong echoes to the present moment, when they were invaded without provocation and with superior forces.
Author Kate Quinn creates a you-are-there feel in her descriptions of nights out on reconnaissance and patrol, on staying motionless for hours at a time, on living through massive bombings, on being hit by shrapnel, on recuperating at frontline hospitals, on depending on the men in your battalion, on the challenges of being a woman in a man's world, and on watching your comrades die on the battlefield. Part of this immediacy is developed through Mila's first-person narration that is often contrasted with the words of her actual official biography called Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper. In addition, Quinn adds other perspectives to the story, such as Eleanor Roosevelt's notes during Mila's visit to the U.S. in 1942.
The real Pavlichencko did visit the U.S. with a Russian delegation, trying to explain the eastern front and the war experience of the Russians taking on the superior German Army. Their goal was to get America to support their cause and enter the war to help them out; Mila's speeches across the U.S. at this time are well-documented. In the novel, President Franklin Roosevelt, trying to thoroughly understand the Russian fighting force, says to her,
"Years of war...and our side hasn't succeeded anywhere in resisting their enemies as long as you Russians have done. Is it your military spirit, your training? The skill of your officers and generals? The unity between army and populace?...What would you say?"
"It's will," I answered....Because we hold and fight or we die. But no amount of willpower in the world matter if we have no bullets to shoot or rifles to fire." (p. 277)
If this doesn't make readers think of Ukraine at the present moment and the stirring speeches of President Volodymyr Zelensky, I don't know what would. An article in the Washington Post this morning shows the Odessa Opera House (where Mila's friend was a ballerina) protected by the very kind of barricades used during WW II to protect it from the Nazi invasion. This novel, written just months before the current events, is astonishing in its timeliness.
Mila's visit to the U.S. also draws out the incredibly patronizing and asinine questions from the American press that focus on her uniform, whether she wears make-up on the frontlines, and the like. That there is a complete incomprehension of battleground conditions is obvious, which goes along with an utter lack of respect for the abilities of this woman. One of the things that Quinn points out is that snipers not only face down the enemy at very close range, but they are also highly skilled at physics and mathematics, making calculations in an instant.
The story stays close to the known account of this woman, but the author has added some dramatic moments that are either imagined or strongly possible based on this woman's life. In addition, Quinn creates an emotional life for Mila that is totally absent from the official biography. Notes at the end give details on what was historically based and what was changed slightly for the demands of a novel.
This would be excellent for discussion in book groups, but at its very basic level, it's an important and compelling read to help understand Ukrainian history. Don't miss this! (On sale March 29)
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advanced copy.
