I Must Betray You

by Ruta Sepetys

Scott County Library hardcover 310 pages with author note

Published: 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction

Sepetys is one of my favorite authors! She is simply amazing every time. Here are my personal rankings of her books:

Fountains of Silence

Out of the Easy

Between Shades of Gray

I Must Betray You

Salt to the Sea

Putting this title in fourth place is *not* indicative of a less fantastic novel, though. Quite the contrary! Her writing is so extraordinary that they are ALL amazing books! And I learn something with each one I read.

Betray is set in 1980s Romania. Right away, I thought about what I was doing in that time period and if I had any awareness of the geopolitical issues at that time. I was pretty wrapped up in myself, getting married, having my first baby, graduating from college . . . Inconceivable what my contemporaries in Romania were enduring as their "going about life." (I do remember Nadia Comaneci defecting . . . but had to Google it to see that it was in 1989 right before the revolution.)

Sepetys does a LOT of research (her bibliography is very impressive!) but she writes interesting stories with characters who draw you in and make you care. The pervasive spying and informing people lived with . . . who's watching, listening, telling? If you can get in trouble for any little infraction, how do you live life in the midst of suspicion and fear? Sepetys very effectively creates this reality.

Page 14 - "Night pooled with a scattering of clouds. The sky slung black and empty of light. Tall, ashen buildings towered together on each side of the street, lording over me. Living in Bucharest was like living inside a black-and-white photo. Life in cold monochrome. You knew that color existed somewhere beyond the city's palette of cement and charcoal, but you couldn't get there - beyond the gray. Even my guilt tasted gray, like I had swallowed a fistful of soot."

 

Although this description is of something so ugly, I love her evocative use of words!

 

Page 41 - "I often think about that moment, reliving its perfection in my head. Liliana. A real Coke. Banana shampoo. Sometimes we don't recognize life's perfect moments. Until it's too late."

 

So true! I try to take time to appreciate life's moments even when they're not momentous. An attitude of gratitude isn't just a platitude!

 

Page 57 - "Cici nodded slowly, suspicious. 'Just remember, Pui, good luck comes at a price. Bad luck is free.'"

 

Cici is our protagonist's older sister. Her pet name of "Pui" for Cristian Florescu means "little chick." The relationship between these two really drove a lot of the story line. I kept wanting him to confide in her! This is pretty wise advice . . . if you believe in luck.

 

Page 60 - "'You do realize what they're doing, don't you, Gabriel?' Bunu asked. 'Mistrust is a form of terror. The regime pits us against one another. We can't join together in solidarity because we never know whom we can trust or who might be an informer.'"

 

Bunu is Christian's grandfather and Gabriel is his dad (Bunu's son). Bunu was wise but too outspoken in his disagreement with the government. He was also a huge influence on his grandson!

 

Page 108 - "Ceaușescu and his family were free to travel to every continent and experience all the world had to offer, but he kept his people caged within the country's borders, working, full of fear, terrorized if they inquired about a passport. My parents longed to return to the Romanian seaside or to spend time in the mountains. But in recent years, Ceaușescu's work mandates and petrol rations made that difficult.

I wanted my mother to have a lighted stairwell.

I wanted my father to have a real vacation or a car.

I wanted Liliana to have the birds she missed."

 

When Christian goes to the American Library with Dan (son of a U.S. diplomat), there are many eye-opening things that he sees. But a picture of the Romanian first family at Disneyworld blows him away. The Romanian government has said that Disney is not really a place and that American prosperity is a lie. When Christian realizes that not only does Disneyworld exist but that the Ceaușescu family has been there, the injustice strikes him anew.

 

Page 268 - "It was my fault. Luca jumped up to reach for me, to save me. Because of that, he'd lost his arm. He'd lost his path to medicine. And now he could lose his life. Families and so much destroyed. What was the cost of freedom?"

 

That final question really struck me. What does my freedom cost? (My brain is singing the hymn, "Jesus paid it all . . . ")

 

Page 276  - "It was true. And they eventually broadcast it on TV. 'Wealth' didn't accurately describe it. Excess, extravagance, greed, and gluttony, those words were more accurate. Countless estates across the country, hundreds of millions salted away in foreign bank accounts. They broadcast a video tour of the homes, including their daughter's, which had a solid gold meat scale and packages of imported veal for her dog.

'I can't bear it,' said Liliana. 'We've been suffering for years, existing off scrawny chicken feet, with just one forty-watt light bulb per home. And they've been living like kings. Gourmet food, foreign goods, antiques, jewelry, fur coats, hundreds of pairs of shoes?'"

When I read about how much wealth the Ceaușescu family had and the way other dignitaries (including U.S. Presidents) received them while the people of their own country were suffering hunger and deprivations, it makes me sick. I thought of Imelda Marcos having tens of thousands of pairs of designer shoes while Filipinos were starving. I think of what God's Word says about the evils of greed and amassing wealth. I just don't understand leaders who do this.

 

Page 307 (Author's note) - "When I began researching I Must Betray You, my thoughts immediately turned to the Romanian children and students living under the Ceaușescu regime - innocent young people who felt deeply and passionately as they were coming of age but were powerless to direct the course of their life."

 

This is one of the things I love about Sepetys! She has such a heart for young people and writes about their struggles so well!

 

Page 309 (Author's Note) - "History is the gateway to our collective story and the story of humanity. Historical fiction allows us to explore underrepresented stories and illuminate countries on the map." 

She's a fantastic author. I highly recommend all her books! I love that this one included photographs at the end. Her research is impeccable!