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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
Synopsis
Lina Vilkas 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 (the NKVD) barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, along with her mother and her younger brother Jonas, slowly makes her 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 Vilkas family and constantly takes their food and other goods from them as a form of rent. Elena Vilkas, 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 (who later becomes Lina's love interest), Mr. Stalas (referred to as the Bald Man, who is secretly Jewish and adds a touch of humour because of his terrible advice and short temper), Mrs. Grybienė, Mrs. Rimas, and Aleksandras Lukas (a gray-haired man who was once a lawyer, often seen winding his watch, who 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 when around other NKVD members.
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 dead grandmother. Their friendship blossoms but becomes troubled when Lina accuses Andrius and his mother of 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. There, they are forced to build their own shelter to survive.
But then Lina's mother dies. Jonas comes down with an illness and does not take to any treatment. Just when Lina doubts that she will survive, a Soviet doctor comes to the camp to inspect it. He diagnoses Jonas with scurvy and begins to treat him. The book's ending is somewhat open-ended, although it is revealed in the epilogue that Lina and Jonas survive and are held there for ten more years. Lina and Andrius eventually marry according to the epilogue, with her burying the memoir of her captivity in Kaunas.
Characters
Lina Vilkas: the story's 15-year-old protagonist, taken in the beginning with her mother and brother to a labour camp. She's a brave and determined girl, described as very similar to her mother.
Jonas Vilkas: Lina's 10-year-old brother. He is a major character, beloved by all, including the sour Mr. Stalas. His sweet and innocent personality is evident throughout the book, although Lina is frightened by the emotional changes he experiences over the course of their ordeal.
Elena Vilkas: Lina and Jonas' mother. A loving woman, kind and generous with her gestures and food, who perishes from grief and her attempts to save her children by giving them her rations. She also teaches her children that it is important to do what is right, not what is easy. When she was alive she was described as a beautiful woman, with blond hair and blue eyes.
Kostas Vilkas: Lina and Jonas' father, who is separated from his family and shipped to a prison called Krasnoyarsk. Nikolai Kretzsky and Ivanov claimed Kostas was dead, but whether or not they are telling the truth is unknown. Much of the book revolves around Lina's desperate attempts to locate and contact her father. In Salt to the Sea, it is revealed that he was tortured and killed in a Soviet gulag.
Andrius Arvydas: A handsome 17-year-old boy, whom Lina and her family meet on the train to the labour camps. He falls in love with Lina in exile, often sneaks food and supplies to the Vilkas family, and saves them a number of times with his knowledge of the happenings of the NKVD. He and Lina are said to be married in the epilogue.
Mrs. Arvydas: Andrius' beautiful and dainty mother. She becomes a prostitute for the NKVD after they threaten to kill her son if she did not do so.
Nikolai Kretzsky: A young NKVD officer. While Lina finds him cruel and ruthless throughout much of the novel, he seems to struggle with his work due to its immorality. While he is described to hit and shove the prisoners, he is also the only member of the NKVD who turns as the women undress for their bath, saves Elena from his fellow officers when they assault her, and is implied to send for a doctor to come to camp. He dies of suicide by the end of the novel.
Mr. Stalas: An impatient elderly man, distraught with guilt. He often complains and advises everyone to kill themselves before the NKVD does. It is later discovered that he had revealed the prisoners' identities and workplaces, resulting in their imprisonment. He is known to have a soft spot for the Vilkas family, despite his rudeness towards them, and he later helps in saving the sick prisoners.
Janina: A young girl partial to Lina, whose doll she lost when an officer shot its head off.
Joana: Lina's beloved cousin and best friend, who flees to Germany with her family before Stalin begins the deportation. Their escape is the reason for the Vilkas family's imprisonment. Joana is consistently mentioned but only appears in flashbacks. She is one of the main characters in Sepetys' third novel, Salt to the Sea (2016).
Ivanov: An NKVD officer, perhaps the most despicable, who allows many prisoners to die, and finds great humour in the pain.
Ona: A young woman, not believed to be 20, who is forced on the train immediately after giving birth to her baby. Neither her nor her baby is given any medical attention. After losing her baby, Ona goes insane and is fatally shot by the NKVD.
Aleksandras Lukas: A gray-haired man who is obsessed with winding his watch. He is an attorney from Kaunas. He shows intelligence and dignity throughout the novel, especially when the deportees were asked to sign papers condemning them to imprisonment.
Richard Da: A strange, young Chinese boy who Lina meets on the train, who has been separated from his parents, but dies within a couple days.
William Schotlandnzov: A side character who is a friend of Richard Da and Ivanov. He is shortly killed afterwards at the concentration camp gas chambers for protesting against his oppressors.
Reception
Between Shades of Gray received intensely positive reviews. Linda Sue Park of The New York Times described it as a "superlative first novel"[6] whilst Susan Carpenter of the LA Times called it a "story of hardship as well as human triumph".[7]Publishers Weekly praised Between Shades of Gray, calling it a "harrowing page-turner, made all the more so for its basis in historical fact".[8]
The book was a finalist for 2012 William C. Morris Award for a debut young adult novel and for the 2012 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award. It was shortlisted for 2012 Carnegie Medal and won the 2012 Golden K-Word Award (a variation of the Golden Kite Award.) It received an Outstanding Merit recognition as a 2012 Best Children's Book of the Year from the Children's Committee of Bank Street College of Education. Sigma University recognized as 2023’s Sigma Book of the Year; the graphic novel version was on the 2022 list.[9]
^Alter, Alexandra (March 25, 2011). "An Unlikely Story for Teens". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
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