Between Shades of Gray


Between Shades of Gray, a New York Times Best Seller, is the debut novel of American novelist Ruta Sepetys. It follows the Stalinist repressions of the mid-20th century and follows the life of Lina as she is deported from her native Lithuania with her mother and younger brother, and the journey they take to a labor camp in Siberia. It was nominated for the 2012 CILIP Carnegie Medal and has been translated into more than 27 languages.
Between Shades of Gray was originally intended as a young adult novel, but there have been several adult publications. In an interview with ThirstforFiction, Ruta Sepetys said that the reason she intended Between Shades of Gray to be a young adult novel was because she met many survivors in Lithuania who were themselves teenagers during the deportations and had a greater will to live than many of their adult counterparts at the time.

Inspiration and basis

Between Shades of Gray is partly based upon the stories Sepetys heard from survivors of Soviet repressions in the Baltic states during a visit to her relatives in Lithuania. Sepetys decided she needed to write a fiction novel rather than a non-fiction volume as a way of making it easier for survivors to talk to her. She interviewed dozens of people during her stay.

Synopsis

Lina Vilkaitė is introduced as a young artist living comfortably in her home in Kaunas, Lithuania, with her loving family. But, on June 14, 1941, 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, along with her mother and her younger brother, Jonas, slowly make their way north 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. Lina befriends many people and works hard alongside her mother and brother for food and survival.
Upon arriving at the camp, Lina and her family are forced to live with Ulyushka, a cruel, seemingly heartless woman who initially dislikes the Vilkai family and constantly takes their food and other goods from them as a form of rent. Elena Vilkienė, Lina's mother, is kind and generous to Ulyushka, though Lina and her brother Jonas cannot understand why.
The family befriends fellow Lithuanian deportees including Andrius Arvydas, Mr. Stalas, Mrs. Grybienė, Mrs. Rimas, and Aleksandras Lukas, a gray-haired man who was once a lawyer. He is often seen winding his watch and is the voice and soul of reason.
One NKVD member, in particular, sticks out to Lina: Nikolai Kretzsky. Although he doesn't at first come off as necessarily kind or helpful, Kretzsky more or less befriends Lina and her mother. He can be seen as only being downright cruel to Lina only when around other NKVD members. He doesn't seem to want to hurt Lina unless he absolutely has to. He is described as young, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed, and can be assumed to be quite handsome. Their relationship grows and remains important throughout the book.
Andrius Arvydas is handsome, golden-brown haired, and a source of comfort for Lina. At first, she dislikes him, dismissing him as an "idiot" because he smoked her book, which was a present from her deceased grandmother. Their friendship blossoms but becomes troubled when Lina accuses Andrius and his mother for working for the NKVD. It turns out his mother was being unwillingly used as a prostitute because of her beauty, but only to protect her son. Andrius becomes Lina's more-or-less boyfriend and gives Lina a new book. Lina and her family are then separated from Andrius, when they are transported to a different camp across the Arctic Circle, where they are forced to build their own shelter to survive.
But then Lina's mother dies. Just when Lina doubted she would survive, a man who is a doctor as well as an inspector of the work camps, shows up giving everyone blankets and food. The doctor takes them home. After another long trip Lina finds Andrius, and they get married.
Between Shades of Gray received intensely positive reviews. Linda Sue Park of The New York Times described it as a "superlative first novel" whilst Susan Carpenter of the LA Times called it a "story of hardship as well as human triumph". Publishers' Weekly praised Between Shades of Gray, calling it a "harrowing page-turner, made all the more so for its basis in historical fact".
The book was a finalist for the 2012 William C. Morris Award for a debut young adult novel and for the 2012 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award. It was shortlisted for the 2012 Carnegie Medal and won the 2012 Golden Kite Award.

Film adaptation

Recognition

National awards