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| Source: Goodreads |
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Series: no
Published: 2011 by Philomel Books and Puffin Books
Source of book: the library
Rating: 3.5/5
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS
Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
In my most recent history
course at school we studied major turning points in Finnish history, and
obviously the time of the World Wars was an important part of the course.
Finland fought two separate wars against the Soviet Union during the Second
World War, the Winter War (1939-1940) and the Continuation War (1941-1944), and
though the country lost areas of land and obviously there were many casualties,
the Soviet soldiers never occupied Finland. In fact, the capital Helsinki was
one of the few European capitals that weren’t occupied in World War II. Due to
political reasons such as the President Paasikivi’s diplomatic and friendly
approach to the Soviet Union (a prime example is the YYA treaty which was not
as constricting as the similar treaties the Soviet Union made with other
Eastern European countries) and the defeat of the communist party (Finnish
People’s Democratic League – SKDL, Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto) in
elections in 1948 Finland did not become a communist people’s republic like
many Eastern European countries. Therefore most Finns did not encounter such
horrible fates as Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians did at Soviet prisons and
forced labour camps. Between Shades of
Gray tells the story of a group of Lituanians, deported from their homeland
and made to suffer in squalid conditions at work camps in the Soviet Union.
MY THOUGHTS
Ruta Sepetys’ novel awoke
emotions of horror, pity, sorrow and disgust in me. I was not surprised by the
atrocities described – which are based on true accounts - that were committed
in the 1940s. However, knowing that unbelievably cruel acts have been performed
sometime in history is not the same as reading about them, especially when the
victims are given voices and the foul treatment against all the innocent
individuals builds up into a tidal wave of suffering, pain and trauma.
Awareness of these things
sometimes fills me with anguish and despair – how can humanity be so easily
tossed away in favour of barbarism? – and yet, awareness is also empowering because
it gives us knowledge that we can use to spread goodness, acceptance and
tolerance. Sepetys writes: “These writings may shock or horrify you, but that
is not my intention. It is my greatest hope that the pages in this jar stir
your deepest well of human compassion. I hope they prompt you to do something,
to tell someone. Only then can we ensure that this kind of evil is never
allowed to repeat itself.” I couldn’t agree more.
I liked many of the traits of
this novel, in particular the historical basis, some beautiful phrases and the
realistic feel of the characters’ personalities and reactions to their fates.
Unfortunately I can’t say I loved Between
Shades of Gray because one of the most important characteristics for me in
a book, the way it was written, felt a little disjointed and awkward. I didn’t become
attached to Lina’s narrative properly and in my opinion the flashbacks weren’t
necessary. To be honest, they really bothered me in the beginning, but some of
the ideas behind them were lovely, especially toward the end. I do want to see
what else Sepetys has written and will write in the future because I see
potential for her style to evolve into something I can connect with better.
As I mentioned, Sepetys created a few pearls in her prose, and I'd like to share some of those favourite quotes with you:
"Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch."
“'Sometimes there is such beauty in awkwardness. There's love and emotion trying to express itself, but at the same time, it just ends up being awkward.'”
“We'd been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean.
-Eve
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