Review of "Between Shades of Gray," by Ruta Sepetys, 2011. New York: SPEAK/Penguin Random House, paper, 338 pages.
The disenfranchisement of Lithuanians in 1939
The disenfranchisement of persons can occur in many settings and at many times. In the case of this story, the author tells us how in 1939 the Soviets invaded the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, carrying off all dissidents guilty or possibly guilty of harboring anti-Soviet sentiments. Included were doctors, professors, and elected officials. Anyone even suspected of anti-Soviet thoughts or activities was sent away to Siberia and other far-flung locations.
Overnight, thousands of Baltic persons were presumed guilty of some crime and were disenfranchised—taken away from the lives and homes they had known. They were carted off (yes often in carts) without warning.
This deportation included thousands of Jews, also, though their experience is not included in this book. This book focuses on non-Jewish Baltic families. These deported persons had no way to fight back, and the Soviet action against them went pretty much unchecked. These Baltic neighbors were simply deported without a trial and without the chance to prepare well for a journey.
The families lost most everything when they were removed from their homes. When the Arvydas family and other persons from their homeland managed a few years later to get back to Lithuania – where the Soviets had taken over their homes and even their names – they had to live in restricted areas and were considered “prostitutes and thieves.”
When they were back in their countries, they were not allowed to talk about their deportation or imprisonment or suffering. The history books tell us that in the summer of 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a Nonaggression Pact, known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. This pact gave Germany control of Western Poland and the Soviets control of everything to the east – including the Baltic countries. The Soviets based their headquarters in Vilna, Lithuania (https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/resistance-during-holocaust/holocaust-lithuania).
Again, this book describes the treatment of non-Jewish families and does not cover the harassment, imprisonment, and murder of Jews under Soviet rule. Nor does the book speak of the Lithuanians protesting against Jews in the country or tell of the wedges driven between Jews and non-Jews by the Soviets as a way to divide the people as another way to conquer them and conduct the violent disenfranchisement in these Baltic persons own homelands.
This book is based upon fact. A descendant of ancestors who went through this disenfranchisement, Ruta Sepetys tells here the story of a family going through all of the typical abuses and treatment of (non-Jewish) Lithuanian families of the time. Her father escaped through Germany to America.
Sepetys creates the Arvydas family to tell the story of thousands of Lithuanians who were deported to a series of work camps as far away as Siberia—and how magically some of them survived the terrible winters, harsh living conditions, and constant threat of freezing or starving to death.
The author provides examples based on actual occurrences—the kinds of things those families, and the families from the other two countries, went through at the hands of the Soviets who at the end of the captivity would not allow the deported to talk about what had happened to them. The Arvydas family – minus the father who had been carted off separately – was made to work in the fields and figure out how to help support the Soviet guards who needed food and shelter.
These family members worked like slaves throughout their captivity in order to survive. This family, like the others, endured terribly harsh conditions, bugs, hunger, and exhaustion throughout their days in the camps in Siberia and other locations. The story of the families is profiled in detail here by Sepetys.
The large-scale disenfranchisement of peoples is a common occurrence not only in history but also in current-day settings. The book is a reminder of the fragile nature of freedom and how important it is to the survival of families and individuals. Hope, compassion, love, loyalty, longing, and the desire to go home are all thematic pieces to the puzzle here.
The book has more value than just the novel. Included are over 20 very good discussion questions at the end and then a short interview with the author. The questions deal with content, language, and literature. They range in level of difficulty – and are a good jumping off point for educators and for book club leaders who want to do more here. The interview explains, as does the introduction to the book, the way the novel came together.
It is very interesting to consider the meaning of the phrase “between shades of gray” as being central to an understanding of one of the strongest and most hopeful aspects of the story. The phrase relates to the survival of the Arvydas family and others who are able to make it through the horrific days in captivity. Instead of murdering the families – though there is that also – the Soviets chose to work them like slaves. This is a fate worse than death for some.
Their captivity is just one more way they were disenfranchised by the Soviets. Cold temperatures, starvation, lack of hope, and lack of means for fighting back surround the families.
The book includes themes and history related to: the Baltic States; Soviet and German past; World War II; and America immigration. It is good for thematic and for interdisciplinary units and courses for high school and college students in general.
Note that most of the book is suitable for college student levels, but there are a couple of scenarios alluding to adult content (the mother of the family possibly exchanging favors with a young Soviet guard for goods) but the language and content of the book should be safe for young readers. As always, educators will want to read the book carefully to check for the appropriateness of the material before exposing students to the book.
Further disenfranchisement is seen outside this book but happening at the same time, namely what happened to the Jews and their almost total annihilation in Lithuania – and in Poland for that matter—during those years (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Lithuania). This book is not about Jewish families or history. Sepetys does not mention that parallel – and also shared – history of Lithuania. The book is about non-Jewish Lithuanians.
The book is a good educational resource and tool. It could work well to provide information about the human spirit and about the history of Lithuania – including its control by the Soviets. The book could also be used by a book club whose leader wishes to enter into a variety of the discussions raised above.
As a book about disenfranchisement, it drives home the points of loss and suffering and displacement. It is a good example for understanding what the disenfranchised experience—though not directly because of their own faults or mistakes—rather because of beliefs and discrimination forced upon them by persons in power. Examples are the homeless, the LGBTQ+ communities, persons forced to leave their countries, and persons with addiction issues.
The book contains those discussion questions that could be helpful for a book club as they are and as ideas for a more constructivist group of readers who may wish to write their own questions, then provide to the other members of the book club, give them time to consider them and make notes, and then assemble to discuss the results.
Social workers and counselors may wish to look at this book as a good training text for groups looking for discussion materials on research and historical projects. Constructivist educators will see many more connections available in the book and it is hoped many interesting ways to help students come to an understanding of them. This book on another level reminds us of the great hope found out there between shades of gray.
Giving the disenfranchised more hope on a daily basis is a challenge for those who help them, but it is worth it when we see the human spirit respond.