The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (HarperCollins UK)
Kate Quinn consistently highlights remarkable women with fascinating lives.
The novel The Diamond Eye is no exception. The book follows actual events.
During the onset of World War II, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a young mother and student, enlists in the Red Army as a sniper. Conditions during a war are challenging for everyone, but on the battlefield, they are particularly challenging for women who must deal with sexual abuse, objectification, and gender inequity.
Strong friendships and even love can grow on the battlefield despite the relentless loss of life. Lyudmila becomes known as Lady Death, which even brings her to the USA in the middle of the war, where she meets the presidential couple Roosevelt and lobbies for military aid in the form of an opening a second front and uncovers a fictitious assassination plot.
Kate Quinn always balances real historical events with fiction well; her characters are strong and courageous. She connected this novel with the characters in The Huntress, but I personally liked The Huntress more because of the dynamics of the story. There was more action and attachment to the folklore - rusalka (mermaids, water fairies). Although Baba Yaga and Lady Midnight are mentioned in The Diamond Eye, a large part of the story takes place on the battlefield, and there are a lot of technical terms.
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