Looking at Women Looking at War

A War and Justice Diary

by Victoria Amelina

It is painful, tragic, sad and upsetting to come to this book knowing that its young (37), brave, fierce, talented author is no longer alive. Amelina was killed in Ukraine when she was out having pizza with other writers. Just knowing this, brings all of the horrors of the Ukraine war to light. So many innocent people have been caught up in events that did not have to be.

Left behind is this work which will, I think, become a classic. It looks at war’s impact on women and the resistance that they wage. It is beautifully written and unfinished for reasons that the reader knows. This greatly adds to its impact.

This is not an easy book to read but it needs to be read. I recommend it most highly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 18 February 2025

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Devastating…not to be missed.”
―Publishers Weekly (Starred)

“Amelina’s absence may be felt on every page… It slows you down. It transmits a powerful sense of chaos. It compels attentiveness, as the TV news does not.How to process such things? …As the months roll on, it’s sometimes hard to feel anything at all. Her colleague Oleksandra Matviichuk tells her that when this happens, she should find a pot of face cream and rub it into her cheeks: its coldness, softness and scent will bring her back to life, she’ll find. And it’s true. After a day of heavy bombardments in Kyiv…Amelina tries it for herself, and it works. Such details doubtless won’t be found in any of the bigger, more complete books that will one day be written about the war in Ukraine, but to me they are of inestimable worth: not fiction but written, nevertheless, with the fine sensibility of a novelist.”
―The Guardian

“Amelina has an impressive eye for detail and an incredible capacity to lyrically capture an image and imbue the smallest moments with humanity….Gorgeously rendered.”
―Kirkus (Starred)

“Makes you want to weep, because what the pages of Looking at Women Looking at War instantly make clear is just how much Amelina had to offer…[An] anguished attempt to answer the question: when your country is facing an existential threat, what role can the creative artist play?”
―Financial Times