The Night Sparrow
WWII: After the Nazis invade the Soviet Union, Elena Bruskina, a Jewish woman, escapes the Minsk ghetto, determined to seek revenge on the invaders who murdered her family. She eventually enrolls in the Moscow Central Women’s Sniper Training School and becomes a member of an all-female sniper platoon, enduring incredible hardships and forging strong friendships as she and her comrades fight to defeat the Nazis and save the Soviet Motherland. However, after an injury, she is redeployed to serve as an interpreter and, stationed in Berlin while the city falls and the Nazi regime collapses, Elena finds herself on a different, even more compelling mission.
The Night Sparrow shines light on the history of a little-known cadre of female snipers who fought for the Soviet Union during WWII. It is a bit of history that deserves to be better known; after the war these women’s achievements were not celebrated as life returned to the pre-war status quo. The story is told in two alternating timelines. The first one details Elena’s experiences during the earlier part of the war: her time in the ghetto, her escape and training, and her battlefield experiences. The second narrative describes her deployment to Berlin and the end of the conflict. Elena is a sympathetic heroine who struggles to balance her hatred of Nazis and thirst for revenge with her growing realization of the omnipresent horrors of war, no matter which side wins the victory. The book is extremely well-researched, and the author provides an extensive list of resources for readers seeking to learn more about these valiant women warriors. An excellent read for lovers of WWII fiction.
