snipers – Info Cafe

I really hesitated to post this review. I read this book several months ago, before it was published, with a Reader’s Advance copy. As a fan of Kate Quinn I couldn’t wait to read it and, typical of Quinn’s other titles, I couldn’t put it down. Since then, the world has changed dramatically and, while this book takes place in 1941 during World War II, the locations and circumstances are eerily, heartbreakingly similar to the current situation in Ukraine. Please read with caution.

All Mila Pavlichenko wants to do with her life is study, work as an archivist and raise her son. Unfortunately, history intervenes and she is forced into a role she never wanted when Germany invades her homeland in World War II in The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn.

While war had been simmering for months, Germany’s invasion into the Soviet Union is sudden and brutal. Mila’s careful and ordered life is thrown into chaos and she volunteers for the army almost immediately. Having been part of a shooting club while in school, she already knows how to shoot. Her sharp eye and steady hand soon advance her to sniper and she is soon recognized as one of the best. Mila is tough, determined and nearly fearless making daring forays into enemy territory to hit the enemy at it’s weakest points.

Her job is also incredibly dangerous. More than once Mila is shot as the Germans learn how to locate and eliminate the snipers that harass their troops. The Germans refer to her as Lady Death, a lethal hunter of Nazis. She also suffers the loss of fellow soldiers, many of whom she has relied on to watch her back and provide back-up. Yet the war grinds on, bloody and unforgiving.

When Mila records her three hundredth kill she is declared a national heroine and the Soviet government pulls her from the battlefields and sends her on a goodwill tour of America. Still suffering from serious wounds and devastated by loss, Mila is leery of and isolated from the glittering world of Washington, DC, so shockingly different from the battlefields. She strikes up an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt – who seems to understand that Mila is worn down by grief behind the facade of the perfect Soviet soldier – and is then thrust into a deadly duel with another sniper.

As with Kate Quinn’s other titles (The Alice Network, The Huntress and The Rose Code), The Diamond Eye is based on a true story about an incredibly strong-willed woman who sets aside her own personal comfort to defend and protect. It is sharp and fast-moving and frequently devastating, a reflection of the sacrifice shown in the book.

The reason I had so many doubts about posting the review is that it takes place in Ukraine (although Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union during World War II) and much of the action takes place in Kyiv and Odessa. It is different governments and different enemies, but here is Ukraine in 2022, fighting again for their homeland and suffering devastating losses. It is difficult to read now, but it is also a reminder of how history repeats itself and how freedom and democracy are never a sure thing, but must be defended always.

With the release of American Sniper(both as a book and movie), there has been an increase both in requests for military nonfiction and in new releases of books available to the public. We have many available for check out at the library! My newest military nonfiction read was The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers. Just like any specialized nonfiction book, be they medical, military, science, or sports, I approached this one with caution as I was expecting to be hit almost immediately with acronyms and terminology specific to the military that can be overwhelming to civilians. Irving does a fairly decent job of explaining what each acronym means, which I found to be a relief.

In this book, Nicholas Irving details for readers the many operations that he went on as a sniper that allowed him to garner 33 confirmed kills, while also spreading in details about his life and just how he eventually became the 3rd Ranger Battalion’s deadliest sniper. Irving focuses mostly on his deployment to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009, where he gathered the majority of the kills that earned him the nickname, the Reaper.

What I found most interesting in this book were the descriptions that Irving laid out about just what the entire unit went through during those specialized combat missions and how he was able to notice changes within himself as he became more comfortable with the job that he had to do. Among the revealing descriptions of their operations, readers gain a behind-the-scenes look into day-to-day life in the military, Irving’s life before he joined the military, and the lives of the many men and women that he interacted with on a day-to-day basis. I found this book to be an informative read that allowed me to catch just a tiny glimpse into the stories of combat and brotherhood that many special operations forces are going through during war.

Irving discusses everything from the decision to take a life to protect another, dealing with the loss of fellow soldiers during battle, and how the bonds of brotherhood within the military as a whole, his specific unit, and with the different people he came into contact with throughout his military career helped form the sniper that he became.

If you’re interested in other military nonfiction, check out the books below. Click on the covers to learn more information about the book and to place a hold on the item. If you are looking to walk the shelves, the Armed Forces fall around the Dewey number of 350, while specific battles or moments in history can be found in the 900s.