The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn follows the rise of Lyudmila Pavlichenko ,”Lady Death”, famed Soviet Sniper of WWII with an official kill tally of 309. I first heard about Lyudmila (“Mila”) during my early – mid ’00s Russian history obsession phase of my life (everyone has one of those, right…?) A woman fighting on the front lines during WWII? I was instantly captivated and always thought her life would make a fascinating movie or book. And lo and behold, the fabulous Kate Quinn has done just that.
Quinn points out in her author’s note that Mila’s own memoir is fact based, devoid of much emotion, and had the stamp of approval from the Soviet propaganda powers that be. In turn, Quinn wanted to explore the hidden life of Mila–the emotions buried deep within the woman who outsiders at the time could only assume was a cold blooded killer. The reader first meets Mila as a young mother (she was 15 when she had her son) in college studying history, taking shooting courses on the side. Mila is studying in Odessa when the war breaks out and although she is loathe to leave her son, she immediately enlists due to her shooting skills.
Mila’s mantra throughout The Diamond Eye is “Don’t miss.” For her, that mantra is not just about the target, but everything in her life. While Mila has honed her craft as a sharpshooter, she constantly must prove herself again and again, even on the front line of battle, to her superiors that she is in fact capable and skilled in her role. Quinn’s descriptions of the quiet rage of women in these settings are absolutely on point.
What I loved most about The Diamond Eye was Mila’s relationships: Lena, the first woman she encounters at the front who works in the Medical corp, Kostia her dark and myserious Siberian sniper partner, and Lyonya a Lieutenant in her company with who she forms a fast and wildly romantic bond amidst the backdrop of war. Readers will also love to hate Mila’s ex and father of her child, the narcissistic army surgeon Alexei Pavlichenko. Quinn excels in fleshing out these relationships against the high stakes backgrounds of the Siege of Odessa and the Battle of Sevastopol. I found myself really caring about these characters and thinking about them/the real people behind them even when I wasn’t reading. That’s when you know a writer has done her job well!
The Diamond Eye also recounts Mila’s time in Washington DC in 1942, drumming up support for the Soviets with the hopes of Roosevelt opening a second front. Mila, in the book and in real life, befriended Eleanor Roosevelt. Their friendship is both unexpected and intriguing–and Eleanor even visited Mila fifteen years later on a goodwill mission to the USSR. At first I wasn’t super keen on the narrative switching back and forth from Mila at the front to Mila in DC, but that story line eventually grew on me. The behind the scenes story points that happen amidst the DC events perhaps ask the reader to suspend her disbelief at times, but the occurrences round out Mila’s character arc. I can’t say enough good things about The Diamond Eye!
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