by Cathryn Conroy (Dublin, Ohio): This is historical fiction that (almost) doubles as a history book. Prodigiously researched by author Kate Quinn and then mixed with a those bold human emotions of love, envy, and duty, this book about a brave young Russian woman in World War II left me stunned and enthralled.
You see, this is a story about a woman who served as a sniper, officially taking out 309 Nazi Germans and unofficially far more. This is a fascinating piece of World War II history you probably don’t know.
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko—Mila for short—is working as a senior research assistant at the Odesa Public Library while writing her dissertation in history at Kyiv State University. She lives in Kyiv, which at this time is part of the Soviet Union, with her parents and five-year-old son. Technically, she is married to Dr. Alexei Pavlichenko, but he is a cad. Attracted to young teenagers, he seduced and impregnated her when she was just 15 and fully planned to abandon her and the child. However, Mila’s powerful father made sure Alexei married his daughter. But it’s a marriage in name only as they never see each other. Puzzlingly, he won’t divorce her, much to her frustration and chagrin.
When the Germans invade Russia and Ukraine in World War II, Mila enlists, and shocking everyone around her except for herself, she is a talented marksman. She is soon assigned to become a sniper and racks up the kills so quickly that she is dubbed Lady Death.
This novel is about her wartime experiences as a “lady sniper,” fighting not only the Nazis, but also the rampant sexism in the Russian army. At times it is gritty and even brutal, but then again, this is a book about war on the front lines.
While Mila’s experiences and actions in the war are all based on historical fact, there is a compelling subplot that is pure fiction but adds much tension and suspense to the book, setting Mila up for the most difficult battle of her life.
First, the real history: Mila did travel to the United States in the summer and fall of 1942 as part of a Soviet delegation of students whose goal was to convince the USA to become part of the war in Europe. The Nazis were beating the Russians, and the Russians needed American assistance—assistance that President Franklin Roosvelt was reluctant to provide since he was also waging war in Japan. During this trip, Mila and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt became good friends and confidants—a friendship that lasted for years.
Now for the fiction: The fictionalized subplot involves an unnamed marksman who is plotting to assassinate the president and set it up so it looks like Mila pulled the trigger. This secondary story is interwoven throughout the novel and then takes over the entire plot at the end, turning it into a real page-turner.
This is a well-written, highly readable story about a brave and remarkable young woman who became something she never would have except for the struggle of wartime. With plot twists and turns and a sprinkle of love and romance, this book had me spellbound. This is historical fiction at its finest.
