Interesting diary format covering the beginningsof the most recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It is very informative, but somewhat hard to follow for someone who has not closely followed the locations of the invasion of Ukraine, or is familiar with the names of the women giving their impressions of the war. It is not a book to be 'enjoyed', but i a learning experience. My library is in a small rural town, and I don't think this book would appeal to many in my town, but I will reccommend it to folks in more urban areas. .

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Looking at Women Looking at War by Victoria Amelina, from St. Martin's Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

I wanted to like this book so much. And I understand that I’m in the minority with my opinion on it, but so be it….

My thought is that those who took Victoria Amelina’s work and created this book did her memory a disservice. The strong voice and emotional connection I was expecting were both lacking. I felt as if I were reading a poorly edited history textbook. Would give it 1.5 stars if I could.

Of course I did not read this book in a void, so to speak. I graduated with a double major in political science and history, and one of my political science areas of focus was war. I at one point had a career goal of working as a war correspondent for the Associated Press (didn’t happen, for which my mother was—and I think still is—thankful). And even since those long-ago undergraduate days I have read a tremendous amount about war, from a variety of perspectives.

Also I am comparing what I read today (DNF at about a third of the way through, too bored to keep going) with, in particular, the recent works of the Palestinian-American author and poet Summer Awad, whose writings make one understand the impact of war on a visceral level. Here’s the link to her website: https://summerawad.com

PS
I think this book might’ve hit differently if I had emotional ties to/firsthand knowledge of Ukraine. Although now that I’ve typed that I’m reconsidering….I don’t have emotional ties to/firsthand knowledge of other war-torn areas and I’ve been engaged/moved by writings about them. Hmm. Nope, gonna have to remind myself that if I think something is too dry for me, then it is, in fact, too dry for me.

DESCRIPTION
"Devastating...not to be missed." —Publishers Weekly ( Starred)

Destined to be a classic, a poet’s powerful look at the courage of resistance

WITH A FOREWORD BY MARGARET ATWOOD

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Victoria Amelina was busy writing a novel, taking part in the country’s literary scene, and parenting her son. Now she became someone new: a war crimes researcher and the chronicler of extraordinary women like herself who joined the resistance. These heroines include Evgenia, a prominent lawyer turned soldier, Oleksandra, who documented tens of thousands of war crimes and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, and Yulia, a librarian who helped uncover the abduction and murder of a children’s book author.

Everyone in Ukraine knew that Amelina was documenting the war. She photographed the ruins of schools and cultural centers; she recorded the testimonies of survivors and eyewitnesses to atrocities. And she slowly turned back into a storyteller, writing what would become this book.

On the evening of June 27th, 2023, Amelina and three international writers stopped for dinner in the embattled Donetsk region. When a Russian cruise missile hit the restaurant, Amelina suffered grievous head injuries, and lost consciousness. She died on July 1st. She was thirty-seven. She left behind an incredible account of the ravages of war and the cost of resistance. Honest, intimate, and wry, this book will be celebrated as a classic.

Victoria Amelina's "Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary" is a profound testament to the resilience and courage of Ukrainian women amid the harrowing backdrop of the 2022 Russian invasion. This book follows the author's personal transformation since the start of the war through the compelling narratives of women who transitioned from civilian roles to frontline defenders and justice seekers.

Her diary introduces readers to figures like Evgenia and Evhenia; both lawyers turned soldiers - told to "Aim at everything that shines," and Oleksandra, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who meticulously documented war crimes. She lists names, dates, and detailed accounts of the unlawful detention and imprisonment of civilians and those who experienced inhuman detention conditions, torture, and even murder by Russian soldiers.

Amelina's authentic writing captures these women's emotional and psychological landscapes, offering an intimate portrayal of their strength, bravery, and vulnerability. It can be very difficult to read at times. Still, I found certain aspects of this book fascinating, such as her detailed notes on the extensive training Victoria went through in researching and interviewing victims of torture (without causing more torture and pain), war crimes, victims of war crimes, and more.

The author's own journey—from a writer and mother to a war crimes researcher and investigator—is poignantly detailed, reflecting the broader metamorphosis experienced by many Ukrainians during the conflict who became soldiers overnight. Her commitment to documenting atrocities and preserving cultural heritage, even at great personal risk, underscores the diary's authenticity and urgency.

Victoria shares her personal stories of growing up in an environment that is familiar with the sounds of bombing, but it's different when you're now trying to save lives and keep her own son safe. Upon returning to the apartment she shares with her son and dog to take what they need to evacuate, she's afraid to go inside, thinking, "During the following months of this war, could I tell the displaced children to please not touch his Lego creations? They can take anything they need, play with his toys, read his books, and sleep on his bed, but they can't touch his constructions; they took so much time to build."

The distance of this war can make it hard to imagine until you're reading her words, and the connections make it feel so real. Amelina also shares stories of her brother-in-law being deployed to the front lines and the emotions involved in evacuating his family and her parents. She's also a part of numerous other searches and evacuations. In each search, Victoria collects diaries and any documentation that will continue someone's legacy or provide proof of the atrocities she has seen. As she transitions more into a non-fiction writer, Victoria shares in her diary how she would like to write a book based on the stories of those who are documenting war crimes with the intent of holding criminals accountable.

I wasn't quite prepared for this up close and personal look at the disturbing reality of this war while also experiencing the extraordinary strength of not only the women she's writing about but just the mere fact that this is Amelina's "unfinished" diary - as her life cut short in a missal attack in June 2023. I kept asking myself, could I be as strong as the women in this book? I want to think so.

I hope her family finds strength that her legacy endures through this vital historical record and tribute to the women who confront oppression with unwavering resolve. Their enduring bravery and power of resistance were so incredibly inspiring.

I love that they left her diary intact and did not try to fill in the blanks, embellish it, or assume what Victoria was trying to share.

Many of her diary entries stood out to me, but this one really lingered: "I imagined that one day I would join the army too. But it appears it is so hard to dig, and how would I dig a trench then? Everyone knows that digging, not shooting or anything else that is romantic, is, in fact, the most crucial skill to survive. If you want to live, dig, they say on the frontline."

Maybe her way of joining the army was to document, research, interview, and evacuate others. And she did it well.

It is scheduled for publication on February 18, 2025

Thank you, #NetGalley, #VictoriaAmelina, and #StMartinsPress, for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of #LookingatWomenLookingatWar.

This book was incredibly touching. Victoria decided to become a war reporter on the first day of the Russian invasion of her country, Ukraine. Although she has passed, her editors decided to publish what was finished of her book on the women she saw during the war. It was a very emotional read.

This was a heartbreaking and powerful read. Victoria Amelina was an author and mother, who decided she must become a war crimes journalist to document what was going on in Ukraine. The book documents her experience with war, and that of many other women bravely enduring the unimaginable. The first half of the book feels finished and was a compelling read, but the second part is very fragmented and unfinished, as the author tragically died in the middle of writing this story. Some might wonder why it was published if it was unfinished, but I thought there was great power and weight lent to the book by highlighting how war leaves things unfinished, destroyed and fragmented. A very powerful read, and amazing primary source for the world to have. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

First, I want to say I have never read such a riveting true story like this ever, and I have read a lot of war books. This book is the most emotional telling of war crimes I have experienced, due to this is absolutely what it says it is, a war and justice diary told by a woman dedicated to telling what is truly happening in Ukraine.

WWII’s holocaust is difficult to read about, we could have only hoped we learned from those tragic events, but a different type of holocaust is still happening today in Ukraine. If you want to know how the citizens of Ukraine have been living in the past few years, and really since 2014, pick this book up and read it. It is not a light read, it is sad and depressing but most importantly eye-opening. This young author gave her life trying to do something good and punish the people responsible for heinous crimes. God Bless her, rest in peace Victoria. You were a true warrior for mankind.

I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with a high 5 stars.

What a great book! Author,,Victoria Amelia , did a wonderful job writing “Looking at Women Looking at War”. It was heartbreaking and Informative to say the least.

She had become a war crimes researcher and the chronicler of extraordinary women like herself who joined the resistance in a peaceful nonmilitary way as a poet and novelist. Her country, like many others, has been repeatedly overrun by a country known for its acquisitiveness and brutality. A happy ever after seems unlikely for Ukraine at this time, and it is now too late for the author who died of her injuries in 2023. But she remains a voice for women oppressed by the violence of war everywhere. A wrenching coverage of war in the 2020s.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
Avail Feb 18, 2025
#LookingAtWomenLookingAtWar A War and Justice Diary by Victoria Amelina @stmartinspress #NetGalley @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble @waterstones ***** Review @booksamillion @bookshop_org @bookshop_org_uk #UkraineWar #PeacefulResistance #WarHistory

My thanks to both NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book that is a memoir of life during wartime, an eyewitness statement of the evils that people can do, a showing of what the right people can do, all written by an author who never lived to see her book finished.

I live in a country that supports its troops but has no idea, nor could find on a map the countries they are sent too. Even worse why. War is still a diplomacy by other means, however as it is the 21st century, one would think there has to be a better way. Though in this century the reason why one country goes to war might not be the same. Countries love war as it is a way to control their own populous. Can't say anything bad about a war leader, one might oneself falling out of a window, in Russia or losing a career like the the Dixie Chicks did when insulting George Bush. One of the worst things in war is being an eyewitness. This is something that both sides do not want. Neither side wants their people to know what is going on, what governments allow. Bombing schools, stealing children, sexual assault on grand scales. This confuses the message. It's hard to say one is liberating when standing in a pit full of bodies. Victoria Amelina understood this. Within days of the invasion of the Ukraine by Russian aggressors, Amelina had found a new calling war crimes researcher. A calling that would kill her. Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary by Victoria Amelina is a memoir of a good person going to war as an eyewitness to those who can't tell their stories, a portrait of others doing the same, and what they saw and a shout from the grave to the world to stop allowing this kind of diplomacy to happen. Though it only seems to get worse.

Victoria Amelina was a novelist working on her book, planning a vacation with her son, and locking down the details for a literary festival in her native Ukraine when the invasion, long discussed by Russian invaders finally happened. Amelina's old life ended an a new one began. As a war crimes researcher, acting as eyewitness to the many atrocities that were happening in her country. Amelina began a diary keeping all these stories, and as Amelina worked she meet others, lawyers who fought both on the front lines and the court rooms. A woman tracking the death of a writer. Schools deliberately attacked, children taken away to Russia for adoption. Amelina began to plan a book, but while dining with a group of foreign observers and writers at a pizzeria, a missile hit the building and she was killed.

The book was half finished, the first part approved by the writer and is a narrative of a country that is changing by the second, as are the people around her. The second is made up of notes and sketches, interviews and scribbles, showing things breaking down, the battle front changing, and more and more atrocities coming to life. Both halves are strong in different ways. The beginning is painful as one can see the life that Amelina had. Sharing stories about her boy, one knows what will happen, that soon he shall lose his mom, just like so many others. The second is war at its worst, 21st century bloodshed for the Twitter era, and is brutal, sad and harrowing. What becomes clear is that even in the worst of times people can still go on. And people can still get worse. A sad, wonderfully written narrative that asks a lot of readers. Most of these questions being Why. Why do we allow this? Why is killing in the name of whatever excepted doctrine. Is it fear, not caring, or just something human. These are questions we need to ask ourselves, as Victoria Amelina deserves an answer.

I appreciated Victoria Amelina sharing their story with us, it showed the horror of war and was invested in what was happening in this diary. Victoria Amelina wrote this perfectly and was glad everything worked overall.

This is a most unusual and unusually compelling book. The author is Victoria Amelina, a Ukranian novelist and essayist who decided in the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to become a war reporter, documenting war crimes and individual portraits of people (primarily women) affected by the war. Amelina was killed during a Russian air strike before completing the book, but the editors here have taken the extraordinary step of publishing what does exist, making notes throughout but not attempting to fill out Amelina’s prose. The result is a book that contains short essays, incomplete chapters, and many pages that are just notes and statistics. While this naturally make the book hard to follow as a consistent narrative, it is also completely evocative of the fragmented life that Amelina and all Ukranians live under the war.

One of the aspects of this book that hit me hard is that Amelina and many of the people she shares stories about were writers, poets and artists before the war. Some remained artists, documenting the war in whatever way they could, from sculptures to poems. A couple of poems are even included. When we hear stories of war, we don’t often hear about the artists, but as an artist and writer myself, it made the writing feel very close to home. In the process of talking about artists, we also hear some news about museums, libraries, cultural centers and literary festivals affected by the war - news we have not seen in American news coverage. As one writer in the book put it, as long as the writing remains, Ukraine is alive.

The complete writing we have from Amelina is beautiful and descriptive. The statistics show her skill not just as a writer, but as a reporter. Many thanks to the editors of this book for choosing to share this extraordinary work.

Thanks also to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Victoria Amelina’s Looking at Women Looking at War offers a compelling and deeply moving perspective on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This book serves as both a personal journal and a tribute to the resilience of Ukrainian women, weaving together the author’s firsthand experiences with those of other female writers engaged in acts of resistance. These courageous women venture into conflict zones to document atrocities, risking their lives to bear witness to war crimes. The book sheds light on their extraordinary bravery and the harsh realities of living through war in Ukraine.

Tragically, Victoria Amelina was killed before completing the book, leaving it unfinished. The first half is polished and fully developed, while the latter half consists of raw notes and fragmented passages. This structure makes the book a true primary source—authentic and invaluable for understanding the war—but the lack of cohesion in the second half can be challenging to navigate.

The editors did an admirable job organizing Amelina’s journal entries into a readable format, but the brief and disjointed segments in the latter portion reflect the abrupt end to her work. Readers should approach this book with the understanding that it does not offer a traditional narrative arc but instead stands as a testament to the author’s interrupted efforts and the horrors of war.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking an unfiltered, firsthand account of war’s impact, but it is not a conventional or complete story. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you read anything about the war in Ukraine, it should be this book. Gathered together from materials written by Victoria Amelina before she was killed by Russia in its horrific war on Ukraine, it chronicles her own life as she shifted from author to war crimes investigator and reporter, and those of her colleagues and friends during the first year of the war. It is devastating and essential to read her accounts of Russian atrocities and Ukrainian resistance, of the actions ordinary people did to save others, of how NGOS operate in the country, of what the world is losing as Russia slaughters children, poets, farmers, writers, scientists, parents, journalists, and others. Read this book, and take action: support the Ukraine any way you can, through donations, through calls to your congresspeople, through activism and raising awareness. Slava Ukraini.

Absolutely heartbreaking but such a well done and extremely important read. What a loss of this woman. This is eye opening and alarming as well.

This book was heartbreaking! It opens one’s eyes to the atrocities which really just make a person sick. How human beings can do this to each other I will never understand. This book is written so well with such honesty and compassion. Everyone should read this book!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley

This book left me deeply moved and forever changed. When I picked it up, I didn’t fully understand the impact it would have on me. Victoria Amelina’s account of Ukraine during the war is raw, haunting, and utterly compelling. It’s not just a story—it’s a primary document, capturing the voices and resilience of ordinary women doing extraordinary things in unimaginable circumstances.

Amelina herself was remarkable—a mother, a writer, and ultimately, a war crimes researcher who dedicated her final days to uncovering the truth. Her portraits of women like Evgenia, Oleksandra, and Yulia are unforgettable, showing their courage and humanity as they navigated the horrors of war. The book’s blend of finished chapters and raw notes adds a unique immediacy, making it feel like you’re reading history as it unfolds.

Knowing that Amelina died tragically before finishing this manuscript adds a weight that’s impossible to ignore. The abruptness of the ending feels devastatingly fitting—it mirrors the unpredictability and senselessness of war. Despite being incomplete, or perhaps because of it, the book feels even more powerful.

I can’t recommend this book enough to anyone interested in current events, history, or the untold stories of women in war. It’s not an easy read—it’s emotional and heartbreaking—but it’s so important. Amelina’s voice deserves to be heard, and her work is a gift to the world.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Victoria Amelina was a talented Ukrainian literary writer. Her work was award-winning, and she started a literary festival. Life changed forever for Victoria and her son on February 24, 2022, and she used the power of her words to become a war crimes researcher. She then began drafting her war diary into this book, a chronicle of extraordinary women like herself who joined the resistance. The first section was completed before her death in July 2023, one of the victims of a cruise missile strike that hit a restaurant. The second section of the book consists of unfinished notes, paragraphs and materials, without context in many cases.

These are powerful stories of incredible people enduring the unthinkable. At first, I was detached from the fragments of the second part of the book, but then it struck me that this disconnect is precisely what those living in Ukraine feel every minute of the day and night. In a strange way, it made sense.

There are many stories of fighting with bravery and courage, as well as inhumanity of living through this war. These aren’t stories you will soon forget, and the question of what justice looks like is explored.

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

4.5 rounded up
Well written and very timely. It was hard to read a lot of this. I can't imagine living through it. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

This was a tough book to read for a few reasons, but I am glad it is going to be published even though it is essentially a draft of what the author was working on at the time of her death. I think it will be important to future generations to have testimonies like the one this book offers, so I am grateful that the author took on writing as a vocation. It was helpful to have a map and a search engine out while I was reading to look up some of the events and places that are mentioned.
Thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title.

Detailed accounts about life in the Ukraine as the war rages on, The author focuses on women active in the
resistance and how their lives changed. Abductions amd murder are detailed as well as Ukrainian children
being taken from their families and sent to Russia. The author photographed the destruction of Ukraine as well
recording testimonies of survivors and witnesses to the atrocities. Unfortunately the author died from injuries
from a missile attack.
#LookingatWomenLookiingatWar #StMartinsPress #NetGalley