Nov­el­ist Shelly Sanders’s sharp atten­tion to detail and depth of his­tor­i­cal knowl­edge are on full dis­play in her lat­est nov­el, The Night Spar­row. The book tells the sto­ry of Ele­na Bruski­na, a bright Jew­ish uni­ver­si­ty stu­dent impris­oned in the Min­sk ghet­to. As she expe­ri­ences the dev­as­ta­tion there, she becomes deter­mined to avenge the mur­ders of those she loves, and when she escapes from the ghet­to, she is recruit­ed by the Red Army to join the all-women’s sniper pla­toon. Their mis­sion is to kill Hitler himself.

Sanders’s thor­ough research into the his­to­ry of the Sovi­et women’s sniper pla­toon will res­onate with read­ers, par­tic­u­lar­ly her descrip­tions of the diverse range of Ele­na’s fight­ing com­rades. Sanders also high­lights the breadth of the pre-war Sovi­et Jew­ish expe­ri­ence and presents the ten­sion between tra­di­tion­al Jew­ish gen­der roles and Sovi­et ideals of egal­i­tar­i­an­ism. While they are unit­ed by their com­mon ene­my, the women’s dis­cus­sions of their iden­ti­ties and moti­va­tions are com­plex, lead­ing read­ers to appre­ci­ate their indi­vid­u­al­i­ty and courage. These women also act as a foil for Elena’s devel­op­ment, as we see how her friend­ships shape her under­stand­ing of her­self and her mis­sion. The book fur­ther reflects Sanders’s com­mit­ment to his­tor­i­cal details in her descrip­tions of life in the Min­sk ghet­to, as well as her recount­ing of mul­ti­ple inci­dents of sex­u­al vio­lence and sniper bat­tles. While the vio­lence is not super­flu­ous, as it impacts Elena’s sto­ry and fol­lows the Red Army’s west­ward progress, some read­ers may choose to adapt how much to read in one sitting.

A greater chal­lenge to many read­ers might be Sanders’s agili­ty with east­ern Euro­pean lan­guages. Depend­ing on where Ele­na and the Sovi­et Army are as they advance, a page in the book might include any com­bi­na­tion of Eng­lish, Russ­ian, Pol­ish, and Ger­man names, excla­ma­tions, and loca­tions. This is fur­ther com­pli­cat­ed by Sanders’s use of time jumps as a nar­ra­tive frame. Again, pac­ing and patience, and pos­si­bly a map, will help read­ers stay con­nect­ed with the sto­ry as it unfolds.

Read­ers who enjoy World War II fic­tion and strong female pro­tag­o­nists will espe­cial­ly appre­ci­ate this book. In The Night Spar­row, Sanders brings a fresh and well-informed per­spec­tive to the cat­e­go­ry and reminds read­ers that there are still so many sto­ries yet to be told.