Looking at Women, Looking at War by Victoria Amelina is a deeply moving and powerful account of resistance, resilience, and the human cost of war. Written by Amelina, a Ukrainian writer turned war crimes researcher, this book offers an intimate and harrowing look at the extraordinary women who have risked everything to document atrocities and fight back against Russian aggression.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Amelina, like so many others, found her life irrevocably changed. Leaving behind her work as a novelist, she turned to documenting war crimes, bearing witness to the destruction of her homeland and the bravery of those who refused to be silenced. Through her work, she met remarkable women such as Evgenia, a lawyer turned soldier; Oleksandra, who recorded tens of thousands of war crimes and was part of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Center for Civil Liberties; and Yulia, a librarian who helped expose the abduction and murder of a children’s book author.

Amelina’s own story came to a tragic end when she was fatally wounded in a Russian missile strike in June 2023. But her unfinished manuscript, filled with the voices of those who might otherwise be forgotten, was published posthumously.

This book is not just a chronicle of war—it is a testament to the strength of Ukrainian women and the importance of remembering their names. As Amelina poignantly asks, why do we so often speak more about the perpetrators than the people they have terrorised? Her writing ensures that these women’s stories will not be erased.

Raw, urgent, and essential, Looking at Women, Looking at War is both a historical record and a deeply personal tribute to those who stand against oppression. It is a book that demands to be read and remembered.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Not an easy read - partly due to the content but also the format. At times there are only preliminary notes because the author died before completing the book. And, to people, such as I, unfamiliar with the language, the names of the places and people are not easily remembered. Nevertheless, it was worth persevering as it gave me a better understanding of what it has been like, and is still being like, for the Ukraine population.

A poignant and powerful account from a witness of war.

When Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, Victoria Amelina was writing a novel, enjoying being part of the country's literary scene, and parenting her son.

But she found that fiction seemed inappropriate in the face of so much destruction and devastation so, after taking her son to relatives in Poland, and securing the safe evacuation of other family members, she immersed herself in humanitarian work.

She wanted to make a difference. She photographed the ruins of schools and cultural centres and she recorded the testimonies of survivors and eyewitnesses to atrocities. And she realised that her writing, her storytelling, was the contribution she could make.

On the evening of 27 June 2023, Amelina and three international writers stopped for dinner in the Donetsk region. A Russian cruise missile hit the restaurant and Amelina suffered catastrophic injuries. She died a few days later, aged 37.

She had written more than half of this book - in English to reach the widest audience possible - and had sent it to a friend a few days before she was killed. After her funeral, colleagues and family assembled to form an editorial group to publish her writing.

They didn't 'complete' the book but inserted material from earlier drafts and added footnotes and photography to her narrative passages.

The editors said in the afterword: 'Life has taught us that there is only one way to deal with the pain: to continue the work of the people we love.'

It's a difficult book to read, but Victoria's writing is powerful and compelling. She shares not only her own experience and observations but also presents portraits of other extraordinary women - a soldier, a human rights activist, a librarian, a curator.

It's a polished and accomplished account, which has hope and humour but is nevertheless also raw and visceral, particularly in the notes and fragments. It's an important and affecting book.

Wenn über Krieg geredet wird, dann meistens mit den Stimmen und aus der Sicht der Männer. Selten kommen Frauen zu Wort und noch seltener wird mit der Stimme einer ganz normalen Frau und Mutter erzählt. Victoria Amelina war so eine Stimme. Als der Krieg in der Ukraine ausbrach, war sie mit ihrem Sohn in Urlaub und musste fürchten, nicht mehr in ihr Heimatland einreisen zu können. Zurück in der Ukraine wurde aus der Schriftstellerin eine Protokollantin: sie untersuchte Kriegsverbrechen und traf unzählige Frauen und auch Männer, die wie sie nicht untätig warten, sondern einen Teil beitragen wollten.

Wenn ich an Krieg denke, dann denke ich an Chaos und Zerstörung und an Menschen, die flüchten. Victoria Amelina erzählt von einer mir bis dahin unbekannten Seite. Eine der Frauen, die sie interviewt hat, erzählt vom Tag der Invasion. Als sie frühmorgens ihre Nachbarn mit der Nachricht weckte, dass der Krieg jetzt da sei, wollten die einfach nur weiterschlafen. Die Menschen hatten so lange mit der Bedrohung gelebt, dass sie für sie fast schon zur Normalität geworden war. Diese scheinbare Normalität ist es auch, die Victoria in einem Café bei einem Cappuccino sitzen lässt, während sie gleichzeitig die schlimmsten Ereignisse,, die sie gerade gehört hat, aufschreibt. Für mich war es schwer, diese beiden Welte zusammenzubringen.

Mich hat vieles an dem Bericht an Victorias Bericht berührt. Zum einen, dass ihre Stimme aus der Vergangenheit kommt. Victoria Amelina hat die Veröffentlichung nicht mehr erlebt, sie starb im Sommer 2023 an den Folgen eines Raketenangriffs. Deshalb gibt es in ihrem Buch auch zahlreiche Textfragmente und Aufzeichnungen, die mir die Autorin näher gebracht haben als die ausgearbeiteten Texte. Manche ihrer Gesprächspartner, die sie anfangs erwähnt, sind später nicht mehr am Leben. Was mich aber am meisten berührt hat, war eine Aussage ihres Sohns noch während des gemeinsamen Urlaubs. Auf die Frage, was er sich wünscht, war die Antwort dass der Kriegstreiber tot ist. Was kann man als Mutter und auch als LeserIn dazu noch sagen? Das Buch zeigt, wie viele Gesichter Krieg haben kann, aber keines davon ist schön. Trotzdem ist es wichtiger denn je, dass darüber berichtet wird.

I'm really loathe to review this with anything less than 5 stars, due to the subject matter but I found it really choppy and difficult to follow. This may have been down to the writing style, or due to the book being unfinished due to the author's death but I'm more inclined to think it was down to the e-book formatting. Certainly the footnotes appeared in random places, often in the middle of a paragraph several pages after the point they were referring to.
However, when the author wrote about a heroine who she had encountered, she only wrote a small amount then came back to the same woman several pages later with another anecdote, which made it difficult to follow, and become entirely immersed in, each separate story.
Still, it's an extremely important read and I would recommend everyone to read it (but not a draft ARC version)

Looking at Women Looking at War is a profound record of the strength and resilience of the Ukranian people, captured by a remarkable writer.

When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Amelina wanted to use her skills as an author to help in the war effort. She volunteered as a war crimes reporter, and this book records the testimonies of the victims, witnesses and fellow reporters she met across the country in 2022-23, before her reporting was tragically cut short by her death in a missile strike.

Amelina's writing is brave, emotive and honest. To her (and to the reader), recording these testimonies is an act of justice and of love; the truth has a power in its own right. As well as the personal stories, there are some powerful reflections on the threads running between Holodomor, the Sixtiers, the Revolution of Dignity and the present war. I particularly enjoyed the transcript of her conversation with Philippe Sands, a thoughtful and indepth discussion of the meaning of genocide and the search for justice.

Although the text is unfinished, and it's not always an easy read, I admired the editors' decision to present what there is in draft form, true to Amelina's vision. Her personality and passion sings from the page, and I'm grateful that the world gets to share in her gift.

An intelligent and intimate record of war, Looking at Women Looking at War is an important read.