Read in Chinese, attempting to reread in Japanese now. As far as I know, there isn't an English translation yet though I hope it appears soon cause this book is amazing.
Set in the Soviet Union during WWII, the author not only takes us on a detailed journey of the grand scheme strategies, weaponry, and propaganda warfare going on at the time, but also focuses on the lives and choices of the women during this trying period - something too many "his"tory books and documentaries have overlooked for far too long.
Rather than rehashing the atrocities and war heroics, the author trains his lens (pun intended) on what it takes to survive and what it means to fight for the girls and women of this time. As we follow Serafima's journey from being a bright girl set to becoming the first ever university student from her small farming village to a victim and sole survivor of a brutal massacre and onward to becoming a member of the renowned and elite Soviet troop of female snipers, we not only get snapshots of the stark brutality and despair happening around her, but also get a glimpse of her inner thoughts and strains as she struggles to find meaning in the lives she takes and meaning for her own life in this senseless war.
The title of this book, in my own very direct translation, is called "Girl Comrade, Shoot the Enemy". And the ultimate question the author proposes to Serafima and to us, the readers, is "But, who exactly, IS the enemy?" And by extension, who exactly AM I? And what am I fighting for? For how can we define our enemy and the meaning to our fights without first understanding our own identity?
Without spoiling the story further, I highly recommend this well written and thought provoking novel to everyone. I know I'll be rereading this book many, many times.