We Fly Beneath the Stars
Inspired by the true story of the women’s combat unit of the Soviet Air Force during World War II, Kelman’s version centers on two relationships: Luca and Tasha, childhood lovers; and Tasha and her unhappily married older sister, Nadia. When Stalin’s call to defend the homeland against the Nazi invasion is extended to women, a female unit of flyers is created, one which becomes known as “The Night Witches.” Tasha joins immediately, mostly in the hopes of seeing Luca, already enlisted in the regular air force. After Nadia’s dour husband is called up, she joins also, and there Tasha resumes her competitive relationship with her older sister.
Life within the unit, the training, and the aircraft is mostly well-researched, as the reader follows the maturing of these young people. Flying elderly and ill-equipped crop-dusters is life-threatening during their nightly combat missions, during which the deaths of comrades and friends mount. This same basic story was very well-served by Kate Quinn’s excellent historical novel, The Huntress, which does not contain the distracting writing sometimes found in We Fly Beneath the Stars. Here, characters fall into American modern turns of phrase, such as “make it happen,” or “have your back”; an overabundance of stomach-clenching and tightening, whether in romantic or combat situations; and the use of Hollywood movie-speak in their declarations of love, even during bombing runs. In addition, Tasha improbably gropes her young man, whether impossibly in a two-seater biplane, or during what should have been a moving farewell in public. However, the many fans of Kelman’s romantic historical fiction will not be disappointed by We Fly Beneath the Stars, and its tale of love and sacrifice.
