Archive for November, 2011

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Every once in a while, a book comes along that is so good, so moving and beautifully written, that you need to share it with the world. Ruby and I share books all the time, it’s true, but for me Between Shades of Gray hit the highest level of that need. I’ve also been afraid of not doing it justice, which is why I’m only now–months after I first read it–writing a review.

Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.

In this, her first novel, author Ruta Sepetys paints the portrait of a Lithuanian family in war-torn Europe. It is June 14, 1941, and fifteen-year-old Lina and her family are torn from their homes in the middle of the night by Soviet officers. They are crammed on a dirty train car with countless others, the fear is palpable, and Lina realizes that the signs have been there all along–her parents knew, and they didn’t escape in time. Separated from her father and trying to care for her mother and younger brother, Lina and the others find themselves exiled to Siberia to endure harsh landscapes in cruel labor camps with little-to-no resources. As a gifted artist, Lina finds emotional refuge in her drawings and writing, documenting everyday hardships in her passionate style while simultaneously trying to contact her father through codes and sketches.

Amidst the brutality of the officers and the pains of hunger, death, and loss, Sepetys infuses her writing with hope and strength of character, even when Lina and her family seem to have given up. There is also no sign of black-and-white personas: some of the Soviet guards, while often unrelenting, show signs of humanity and understanding. Some of the Lithuanian deportees are cruel and selfish. Everyone is a bit of everything, and in this way Sepetys captures life in wonderful, accurate detail. (more…)