The Diamond Eye

1. General Impressions 

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• What previous knowledge did you have about the former Soviet Union? Did the novel enrich your understanding of this nation?
• How did the title prepare you for the novel’s subject matter? What predictions did you make about the book based on it? Having read the book, what do you think the title’s intended meaning is, and does that align with your perceptions at the outset?
• The novel employs true historical figures as characters. Two of these—Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt—will be well-known to American readers. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using real people as fictional characters? How did your knowledge of these historical figures impact your reading of the book?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection 

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Which character did you identify with the most, and why? The least?
• Mila plays many roles in the novel; in addition to her wartime involvement, she is a wife, a mother, and a friend. Consider the multiple identities and roles you hold. How do they inform and shape one another? Do they ever come into conflict?
• Did the book change any beliefs you previously held about war, combat, and sacrifice? How so?
• What does the novel suggest makes a hero? Do you agree? To what extent do you think notions of heroism are culturally inflected (consider, for example, how Lyudmila is shaped by ideas about heroism)?

3. Societal and Cultural Context 

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• In what way is the novel about the struggle against gender norms? What makes the characters’ particular struggles unique to the 1930s and 1940s? What challenges do women face during wartime (either in or outside of combat roles) that men do not? 
• Americans coming of age in the latter half of the 20th century were taught to fear and hate the Soviet Union as a result of anti-communist sentiments and Cold War fear. How does the novel address this topic? What similar fears exist in the contemporary world?

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• The novel opens from the unnamed American sniper’s point of view: How does his perception of Lyudmila inform your early notions of her? What actions throughout the book dispel or support his claims?
• Consider the intersection of the themes of trauma and wartime bonding. What does the novel suggest about the long-term viability of relationships that are forged in part through shared suffering?
• The novel covers several periods in Lyudmila’s life. Which period shapes her character the most? 
• What instances of foreshadowing appear in the novel? How is the reader’s understanding of these moments different at the time of reading than in retrospect? What purpose does this serve?

5. Creative Engagement 

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• The novel provides a fictionalized account of a true historical figure, Lyudmila Pavlichenko. If you were writing a novel based on a real historical figure, whom would you choose, and why?
• If you were to become a spy, what code name would you give yourself? What would the name indicate about you?

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