Category: Reading Challenges

Book Review – The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

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About the Book

Book cover of The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kyiv, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son – but Hitler’s invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper – a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.

Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC – until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila’s past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.

Format: Hardcover (448 pages) Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 31st March 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

A female sniper who became known as ‘Lady Death’ because of the number of authenticated ‘kills’ she made and who served in the Russian army on the frontline in World War 2. That’s got to be a work of the imagination, right? But it’s not because The Diamond Eye is based on the real life story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko. And if you think she must have be an exception then you’ll be fascinated to learn from the author’s Historical Note that over 800,000 woman served in the Soviet armed forces, many in non-frontline roles but also employed as tank drivers and snipers. The author’s earlier novel, The Huntress, revealed the role of a Russian all-female night bomber regiment known as the ‘Night Witches’.)

The story alternates between Lyudmila’s experiences on the front line from 1941 during the siege of Odessa and her visit to the United States in 1942 as part of a Soviet delegation attempting to obtain the intervention of America in the war in Europe. At that time, Soviet forces were under severe pressure from the German army. There is also a secondary plot involving an unnamed marksman seeking to use Lyudmila as a scapegoat for an assassination attempt on a high-profile figure (think Day of the Jackal) which is purely the product of the author’s imagination.

With the exception of the aforementioned subplot, the book closely follows events in Lyudmila’s life, including the strangely prurient questions she is asked by journalists during her time in the United States and the friendship that develops between her and the President’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. What the author adds is an insight into Lyudmila’s thoughts, fears and emotions, as well as filling in some of the gaps and inconsistencies in the historical record. Soviet propaganda sought to present Lyudmila in a particular light in order to further its aims. The author cleverly exposes this by including excerpts from two versions of Lyudmila’s memoirs at the start of certain chapters: one ‘official’ and one ‘unofficial’, the latter revealing her true thoughts about her experiences and her sparky humour.

The most compelling parts of the book for me were the section describing Lyudmila’s experiences on the front line. These scenes are vividly realisitic, demonstrating the visceral and brutal nature of war. ‘We lived fear, breathed fear, ate and drank and sweated fear.’ One minute a comrade is standing beside you, the next they’re blown to pieces. Lyudmila herself is seriously injured a number of times, as she was in real life. It’s no wonder that in such situations people seek an emotional connection with others even, as it often turns out, it is fleeting and destined to end in tragedy.

One of Lyudmila’s most important relationships is that with her fellow sniper, Kostia, who becomes her partner on missions. It’s a relationship that requires the utmost trust on both sides and Lyudmila discovers that Kostia shares her precise attention to detail, guile, relentless determination and superb markmanship. Their partnership becomes such that they instinctively know each other’s intentions. The descriptions of the long hours they spend staking out targets waiting for that perfect moment to strike are utterly compelling. The technical details of these missions is obviously the product of an immense amount of research by the author.

The fact that Lyudmila was a Ukranian fighting in the army of the Soviet Union in defence of its enemies (in this case Nazi Germany) is just one of the ironies about her story given current events in Ukraine.

The Diamond Eye is a completely absorbing story, punctuated by moments of drama and intense emotion.

I received a review copy courtesy of HarperCollins via NetGalley. (This was previously the oldest title on my NetGalley shelf. That honour now goes to The Belladonna Maze by Sinead Crowley.)

In three words: Powerful, moving, immersive
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About the Author

Author Kate Quinn

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with The Alice Network, The Huntress, The Rose Code and The Diamond Eye. All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs. (Photo: Goodreads)

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Book Review – Homeseeking by Karissa Chen

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About the Book

Front cover of Homeseeking by Karissa Chen

There are moments when a single choice can define an entire life.

Haiwen and Suchi are teenage sweethearts in 1940s Shanghai; their childhood friendship has blossomed into young love, and they believe that they are soulmates. But when Haiwen secretly decides to enlist in the army to keep his brother from the draft, their shared future is shattered. Their paths take them far afield from each other, with the exception of one pivotal chance encounter on the Hong Kong ferry in 1966.

Sixty years later, Haiwen, now in his late seventies, is bagging bananas at a 99 Ranch in Los Angeles when he lifts his head to once more see Suchi. As they begin to rekindle their friendship, it feels like they might have a second chance to live the life they were supposed to have together. But the weight of the past lives with them at every moment, and only time will tell if they are able to forge something new.

Format: eBook (474 pages) Publisher: Sceptre
Publication date: 7th January 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

The book spans seven decades and several continents, from Shanghai in 1938 to Los Angeles in 2008, and is told in alternating narratives. With a few exceptions, Suchi’s story is told forwards while Haiwen’s story is told backwards. There are scenes seen from both their points of view, bringing home painfully things said or left unsaid that might have changed the course of their lives. Their stories converge at one point when concidence or, if you prefer, fate brings them together. At other times there are ‘near misses’ but mostly it’s a story of separation between two people who in other circumstances might have spent their lives together.

Both make sacrifices: Haiwen when he enlists in the army so his brother is not conscripted and suffers worse treatment than would a volunteer; and Suchi when she endures a loveless marriage for the sake of her sister, Sulan.

As they age, both Suchi and Haiwen are reluctant to revisit the past because it is too full of painful memories or because it might confirm their fears about the fate of loved ones. Haiwen’s brief visit back to Shanghai in 1983 demonstrates how much has changed about the place he grew up. We too can recognise the changes because of the evocative descriptions of the place during his and Suchi’s childhood.

Suchi and Haiwen’s stories unfold against a backdrop of a tumultuous period in Chinese history. This is exemplified in the changing fortunes of Shanghai, a Chinese city with enclaves controlled by the British and the French, occupied by the Japanese, and fought over by Nationalist and Communist forces during the Chinese Civil War. 

The book explores the theme of identity, for example through the use of names. Suchi and Haiwen are known by different names in Shanghainese and Cantonese and adopt the names Sue and Howard when they move to America. Homeseeking is a story of displacement, of people uprooted from their birthplace through war, circumstance or the desire for a better life. The search for an opportunity to return to their roots or to find a new place that can feel like ‘home’ is at the heart of the book.

I really became invested in Suchi’s and Haiwen’s lives, hoping that both might find fulfilment and realise their dreams. In some ways they do but perhaps differently from how they might have imagined.

Homeseeking is a compelling story that explores many interesting issues and is beautifully written. I’ll confess though that the narrative structure and changes of timeline left me confused at times and the ‘back to front’ way Haiwen’s story unfolds often left me thinking ‘I already know that’. If, as a reader, you can get around this you will find Homeseeking a rewarding read. It’s certainly an impressive debut given its ambitious scope.

I received a review copy courtesy of Sceptre via NetGalley.

In three words: Powerful, authentic, emotional
Try something similar: Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

About the Author

Author Karissa Chen

Karissa Chen is a writer who splits her time between New Jersey and Taipei, Taiwan. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic and PEN America, among others, and she has been the recipient of numerous fellowships, including from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Fulbright, Kundiman and VONA Voices. Formerly the senior fiction editor at The Rumpus, she currently serves as the editor-in-chief at Hyphen magazine. She received her MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College. (Photo: Goodreads)

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