between shades of gray - thoughts and ponderings

In one section of the book, Lina jumps to the conclusion that the reason Andrius is sleeping in a nice bed and well fed because his mother has chosen to spy on the others and report to the commander. Lina's mother was asked to do this and refused. She felt it was abhorrent. Andrius lets Lina know she doesn't know what she is talking about and finally he confesses that they had threatened to kill him. Therefore, his mother had to resort to prostituting herself to save her son. 

I read this and thought how often do we misunderstand or mis-read others actions or intentions. We see something and make assumptions - just like Lina did. We draw conclusions when we only have half the facts. How easy it is to be wrong when we only have part of the truth or glimpse into a situation. Yet we condemn others based on the info we have. We should instead be giving others the benefit of the doubt, erring on the side of caution, believing the best in others. I wish I could also be sure I was always talking the high road and giving others the benefit of the doubt - it is hard at times, though, not to jump to conclusions. Something to think about. 

Between Shades of Gray Book Review

It was so exciting - as I was reading the publication from my college - I saw that a lady I went to college with had written a book - titled Between Shades of Gray. I decided to read it and it was very good. Ruta is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee and it gave her inspiration to research what happened to Lithuania in 1941 when Stalin took over the countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. 

This book was very well written. I also think it is a story that needs to be told - we need to know what happened to countries swallowed up by communism. Communism is a bad system to live under and the horrors the people faced is just hard to imagine. Many in our country feel we should actively embrace socialism and that is just a step away from communism. It is important to read stories like this and see what really happened to others while living under communism. I think it might be quite a wake up call to those that think socialism and communism are okay. Ruta says her goal was to "give a voice to the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives during Stalin's cleansing of the Baltic region." (Ruta's blog) I think she does a great job of that and I highly recommend reading this story.

She uses great literary imagery. One is when the people were being transported by train and it took weeks. There was very little food, cramped conditions, unsanitary. Illness and disease started to spread and along with that - death. "Death had begun to gather a crop." (p. 64) I thought this was an interesting choice of words creating a great image. They were hungry / starving, yet the word crops gives one the image of being fed. Here there wasn't any feeding - the crop wasn't a benefit. Death had come! I love her choice of words. 

Letter from a Stranger by Barbara Taylor Bradford

A Letter From a Stranger

Justine Nolan opens a letter addressed to her mother - that indicates that the grandmother they thought died 10 years ago is still alive. There was a rift between Mother and Grandmother - and Justine's mother cut Gram out of all their lives. She told her children - Justin and her twin brother, Richard - that Gram had died. 

Justine flies to Istanbul to try to find her Gram and to get answers as to why her mother declared Gram dead. There is a huge twist at the end. It is a good book. Didn't expect the twist but it did add to the book and made it more interesting. I really enjoyed reading the book although I felt at times that her English was just a bit off - like a sentence should have been written in a different way. Maybe it was just me - but I did have to re-read a few sentences as they just seemed off. Still, I think the story is a good story. 

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

A phenomenally great book! Highly recommend this book. This is a biography of Louis Zamperini - really a remarkable man. He was kind of a scamp growing up. His brother took him under his wing in high school and encouraged him to expend his energies running. Louis becomes a great runner and makes it to the Olympics - held in Germany just before the start of WWII. When Pearl Harbor is bombed Louis signs up and becomes a bombardier flying in a B-24. Sent out on an assignment in the Green Hornet to look for another downed plane, they crash into the ocean. Only 3 survive the crash and Louis Zamperini is one of them. Two of the survivors manage to survive 47 days at sea with little rations and very little water. Sadly though they are not rescued by the Americans but are found by the Japanese. Phil and Louie become POWs. It is a remarkable story of courage, determination and survival. Often I have heard that the generation that fought in WWII was the greatest generation and this book really shows some of the reasons why - their courage and resilience - both on the part of those serving and those left at home to wonder and worry. It is heartbreaking to read what the POWs suffered through. Still, I think it is important to remember and to know so we can prevent this type of thing from happening again. 

It is amazing that Louie survived and that he made it back to his family. Still he wasn't whole. He had flashbacks and began drinking. His wife - an amazing woman of great courage and conviction - convinced Louie (maybe badgered him) into attending a sermon by Billy Graham -- and it changed Louie's life. He became a Christian and devoted the rest of his life to serving God! This book is a must read! It is a great story.