Avevano spento anche la luna: Graphic novel

by Andrew Donkin (Adaptor), Ruta Sepetys, Roberta Scarabelli (Translator)

Lina ha appena compiuto quindici anni quando scopre che basta una notte per cambiare il corso di una vita. Quando a ricordarle chi è – chi era – le rimangono soltanto una camicia da notte, qualche disegno e la sua innocenza. È il 14 giugno 1941 quando la polizia sovietica irrompe in casa sua, in Lituania. Lina, figlia del rettore dell’università, è sulla lista nera, insieme a molti altri scrittori, professori, medici e alle loro famiglie. Sono colpevoli di un solo reato, quello di esistere. Insieme alla madre e al fratellino viene ammassata con centinaia di persone su un treno e inizia un viaggio senza ritorno tra le steppe russe. Settimane di fame e di sete. Fino all’arrivo in Siberia, in un campo di lavoro dove tutto è grigio, dove regnano il buio e il freddo. Dove non resta niente, se non la polvere della terra che i deportati sono costretti a scavare, giorno dopo giorno. Ma c’è qualcosa che non possono togliere a Lina. La sua forza. La luce nei suoi occhi. E il suo coraggio. Quando non è costretta a lavorare, Lina disegna. Documenta tutto. Deve riuscire a far giungere i disegni al campo di prigionia in cui è rinchiuso suo padre. È l’unico modo, se ce n’è uno, per salvarsi. Per gridare che sono ancora vivi. Lina non si dà per vinta, giurando che, se riuscirà a sopravvivere, onorerà per mezzo dell’arte e della scrittura la sua famiglia e le migliaia di famiglie sepolte in Siberia.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Comics, War, Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published October 12, 2021

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is such a powerful reminder of the power of love and hope. Happy 10th anniversary to this title that is now also in graphic format. My son married a girl from Latvia five years ago. I discovered this book in its original format while they were engaged. After five years of marriage, they have two children and live in Latvia. I went to visit them this past summer and met many who have grown up in that country. One of my daughter-in-law's grandmothers lives in Riga where the museum commemorating the exile is located. She told me a story (in Latvian with my DIL translating) about her family trying to escape to Australia when the Russians invaded in 1941. At that time she was just a toddler. Some of their relatives escaped, but not her family. It was such a privilege to meet those people, knowing their history. If you have not already, please read the original book by Ruta Sepetys and this graphic version. Their story needs to be known.

We'd been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean. I realized that if we boosted one another, maybe we'd get a little closer.

Thank you to Philomel and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

This absolutely broke my heart. I had to stop in the middle of this graphic novel three times just because it was such a tough read. I've never read the full novel, and I still plan to, but now I know I'll need to really be ready for a tearjerker if this version, condensed down into a short graphic novel, could be so devastating!

Between Shades of Gray follows a fictional story in a very real setting: a teen Lithuanian girl and her family are taken by the Soviet secret police in 1941, where they are then hauled off to Siberia and will spend years in terrible conditions. No punches are pulled, and there's a miserable reality to the entire story (which is why it didn't surprise me to learn that the events are strongly inspired by the author's interviews with her own family members, some of whom actually lived through events like those described in the story).

As far as the graphic novel itself goes, the artwork was fine - a bit muddled at times, but it could be because it was an advanced e-copy - but that's not really the selling point here. This story is powerful enough that, frankly, it doesn't need incredible, eye-catching artwork. Instead, the art is muted and dark in a way that fits the story well. All in all, I don't know if "enjoyed" is the right word for how I felt while reading this, but it was an easy 5-star rating and I highly recommend this or the original novel to anyone unfamiliar with these events.

✨ Content warnings for: violence, murder, abuse, starvation, illness, infant death, death of a parent, war, human trafficking

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

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[Ieva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nav noslēpums, ka man ļoti, ļoti patika romāns, uz kā šis grafiskais romāns ir balstīts, tāpēc nav arī brīnums, ka man patika arī šis. Mainot formātu ļoti svarīgajam vēstījuma ir iespēja sasniegt vairāk cilvēku un varbūt tas pat palīdz dažas lietas labāk saprast tiem, kuriem izsūtīšanas nav labi zināma lieta. Arī tīti tehniski pati grafika likās labi saejam kopā ar stāstu.

[Amanda M (On The Middle Shelf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as wonderful as the source novel!

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss and Philomel Books for providing me with an early copy. The graphic novel comes out in October 2021.

Review also posted on my my blog.

“Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.”

I need to start by saying I’m a big fan of Ruta Sepetys’s work. The way she approaches real historical events in her books is done with a lot of respect and consideration whilst she is also able to convey these stories through narratives of well written and interesting fictional characters.

Between Shades of Gray is set in 1941 and it follows a story of a 15-year-old girl named Lina whose family is deported from Lithuania to Siberia during Soviet repressions. On their way to Siberia we follow the fate and cruel treatment of people who were imprisoned along them. I have read the novel version in 2017 and I have also seen the movie when it came out. As glad as I am to relive this story again through graphic novel, the topic it explores also makes it extremely hard. I remember how shocking it was to see one scene from the book play out in the movie and how brutal and terrifying it was. The graphic novel does the same where multiple images stay with you even after you finished reading it. I can imagine it’s not an easy job to adapt 340 pages of the novel into less than 160 pages of graphic version, but it was done brilliantly and not feeling short of anything. The illustrations portrayed the glooming and depressing atmosphere perfectly as well.

“But we weren’t just numbers. We were mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers, sisters.”

This is an important story and I would personally recommend it to everyone because for a lot of people it might be the first time they learn about these events. I live in a place where things like this also happened and this story definitely helped me put some insight on those events and made me see how these people were truly horribly mistreated. Similarly to The Book Thief or The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, this story captures true devastation and horror of such historical events by showing them through eyes of innocent children. By following Lina and her younger brother through all the terrible things that happened to them you could really feel the unfairness of such world.

“The child had been alive only minutes but was already considered a criminal by the Soviets.”

Overall, this was beautifully done and I could not stop reading it once I started. Even for those who have already read the novel or watched the movie this could really feel like a whole new experience.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought about reading the original novel before starting this graphic novel adaptation, but the cover looked so heavy I thought I'd go for the rip the band-aid off fast approach and get it over with. And this is historical fiction about a heavy topic: the deportation of Lithuanian citizens to Siberia under Stalinism. In the midst of World War II, thousands of people are herded into boxcars and shipped across the continent for weeks under inhumane conditions. They are eventually sold into slavery, forced into labor on collective farms, and/or forced to settle with minimal supplies in Arctic camps, constantly suffering and dying due to hunger and cold.

The story does a good job of humanizing the terror and pain, though the writing and art were a bit below average. It felt a little light on historic context but did impel me to research the topic a bit more on my own as I was previously ignorant of it.

[Twilight Gilles · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has read the original book multiple times, I have to say that this graphic novel is one of the best adaptations I have seen. While some of the pages are a little wordy resulting in text boxes that were initially tough to follow, that would be my only real negative comment. The artwork is astounding, emotive, and fits the story. This is a must-read.

[Andràș-Florin Răducanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

O poveste cu accente tragice ilustrată superb.

[Karyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nine years ago, I read the original of this book, Between Shades of Gray. I’ve always been a sucker for novels about the Holocaust, and it was refreshing, if I can use that word, to read a novel based on other atrocities that happened during WWII, not just the horrors endured by European Jews in the death camps.

My family are originally from Lithuania, though they were Jewish, and therefore not really considered Lithuanian, according to what my father has told me. His family was able to escape the pogroms perpetrated by the Russians on the Jewish people living in Lithuania, and came to America at the tail end of the 19th century. But these folks who were ripped from their homes in Lithuania and sent by the Soviets to Siberia could very well have been my family’s friends and neighbors. It’s a sobering thought.

This is a difficult book to read, thanks to the subject matter. There is a lot of heavy material here, and some of the images are disturbing because of the horrors they portray. This is a text-heavy graphic novel as well, but I tend to prefer that as I don’t always pick up on the visual cues in images.

This is an excellent book regarding a lesser known atrocity during WWII, and would be especially good for folks who want to learn about history but prefer a more visual medium.

[Mid-Continent Public Library]

This story is such a powerful reminder of the power of love and hope. Happy 10th anniversary to this title that is now also in graphic format. My son married a girl from Latvia five years ago. I discovered this book in its original format while they were engaged. After five years of marriage, they have two children and live in Latvia. I went to visit them this past summer and met many who have grown up in that country. One of my daughter-in-law's grandmothers lives in Riga where the museum commemorating the exile is located. She told me a story (in Latvian with my DIL translating) about her family trying to escape to Australia when the Russians invaded in 1941. At that time she was just a toddler. Some of their relatives escaped, but not her family. The Baltic states are so resilient! It was such a privilege to meet those people, knowing their history. If you have not already, please read the original book by Ruta Sepetys and this graphic version. Their story needs to be known.

We'd been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean. I realized that if we boosted one another, maybe we'd get a little closer.
*Reviewed by Darla from Red Bridge*

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were several pages that I had to bookmark and return to to re-read and look at. The scariest and saddest moments of the story are highlighted with the choices for color and words (dialogue and narration) that enhance the reading of the original text story that Sepetys eloquently told.

The adaptation is equally riveting because of the approach Donkin, Kopka, and Livesay took with certain scenes, vantage points, colors, and the emotional lives of the characters on the page in their faces and body language. It's an adaptation that everyone should be celebrating and I will certainly have plenty of copies on hand in our library. It's a hidden history told with humanity and emotion that provides discussion at every turn. And the biggest question always-- why did this happen? How could this have happened?

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad! I liked the original book, and this is an excellent graphic adaptation. I hope it brings in more readers. Kids (and adults) need to know the horrible things totalitarian governments do.

[Aija Puriņa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man ir skaidrs, ja es reiz izlemtu vairāk lasīt vēstures romānus, kuros atainotas latviešu tautai tuvas traģēdijas sajaukumā ar personīgi emocionāliem stāstiem, es noteikti turpinātu iepazīt Šepetis darbus. 🩶

Bet es arī ar apbrīnu lūkojos to cilvēku virzienā, kam šis ir mīļākais žanrs. Tas ir diezgan mazohistiski lasīt kaut ko tik necilvēcisku, nežēlīgu, ļaunu un skumju, lai arī jāatzīst dvēselei ik pa laikam nepieciešamu. Tāpēc es izvēlos grafisko romānu, kurš izlasāms īsākā laikā. Šajā grāmatā ierakstīto piemiņu nedrīkst aizmirst, tas vairs nedrīkst atkārtoties un uz ko līdzīgu nedrīkst pievērt acis.(Un mani biedē cilvēku īsā atmiņa un iespējamība, ka viss iet pa spirāli...) Šīs zināšanas neļauj mūsu komfortu padarīt par pašsaprotamu un bezvērtīgu. Šādi stāsti liek pārvērtēt savas ikdienas grūtības (varbūt nemaz ne grūtības?!).

Stāsts ir par lietuviešu ģimeni, kas tāpat kā daudzas citas Baltijas valstīs (un ne tikai), tika lopu vagonos aizvestas uz Sibīrijas nekurieni. Galvenie tēli ir māte un divi bērni. Grāmata stāsta par garo ceļu, dažādajiem satiktajiem cilvēkiem, iezīmējot to dažādās personības (atkal parādot, ka katrā tautībā var būt nodevēji un arī sirdscilvēki un ka visus nevar sviest pār vienu kārti!). Stāsts lieliski parāda šausmīgo padomju sistēmas neiejūtību, ļaunestību, empātijas trūkumu, cilvēcības neesamību. Lieliski parādīti mazie prieciņi, kas liek caur pelēkajiem toņiem saskatīt gaismas cerīgo staru.

Apraudājos, protams. Grāmata kā piemineklis tiem, kam nepaveicās, neizturēja, novārga un neatgriezās dzimtenē. Un apbrīnas parādīšana tiem, kas kaut kādā brīnumainā izturībā tur tālumā, aukstumā izturēja 12 un vairāk gadu. Turklāt atgriežoties par to neko nedrīkstēja stāstīt, tad jau nemaz nav jābrīnās, ka šie cilvēki apprecēja citus deportētos, jo kurš gan cits to vispār spēj līdz kaulam aptvert un otru pēc tās visas elles tā pa īstam atbalstīt?🖤🩶🤍

[Ioana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prima mea întâlnire cu stilul scriitoarei Ruta Sepetys a fost dureroasă, emoționantă și încărcată de neputință și furie. "Printre tonuri cenușii" deapănă un incredibil periplu al unei familii lituaniene din timpul celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial.

Suntem în iunie 1941, când o bătaie în ușă zguduie casa. Îmbrăcată încă în cămașă de noapte, Lina Vilkas, o adolescentă de cincisprezece ani, este arestată împreună cu mama și fratele mai mic. Poliția secretă sovietică, NKVD pe scurt, adună zeci de lituanieni ce, din punctele lor de vedere, constituie un pericol pentru societate, fiind împotriva regimului comunist. Aruncați în vagoane mizerabile, oamenii sunt deportați în Siberia, unde începe lupta pentru supraviețuire.

Varianta grafică a adus un plus vizual poveștii îmbibate în cruzime și inumanitate. Am scris mai multe despre lectură într-un articol publicat pe blog.

https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2023/...

„Am închis ușa băii și mi-am privit chipul reflectat în oglindă. Nu știam cât de repede avea să se schimbe, să se șteargă. Dacă aș fi știut, mi-aș fi privit mai mult timp fața, ca să o țin minte.„

[Svetlana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrifying and heartbreaking. 4.5 🌟

[Dovilė Tik · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Ar jums kada teko spėlioti, ko verta žmogaus gyvybė ?
Mano brolio gyvybė tą rytą tebuvo verta kišeninio laikrodžio."

[Neil Franz · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Andrius, I'm...scared."

He stopped and turned to me. "No. Don't be scared. Don't give them anything Lina, not even your fear.”

[Markéta Forejtová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Až napotřetí mě tenhle příběh rozplakal. Grafický román moc doporučuju, líbilo se mi, jak pracoval s přímými citáty z knihy. A k téhle knize kresby prostě patří.
4,5/5*

[Irena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moc povedené zpracování knihy.
Román jsem ještě nečetla, takže pro mě byl příběh nový a neznámý. Knihu si asi brzo taky přečtu.
Ještě, že paní spisovatelka píše o těchto tématech. Nesmí se na ty hrůzy zapomenout.

[Dr. Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Penguin Teen & Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Books like Between Shades of Gray are incredibly important. This book was the first time I learned about the deportation of the Baltic States by the USSR. Sepetys masterfully depicts the horrific events in a way that makes the trauma these people faced real, while also never losing hope. This book is hard to read because it completely humanizes these experiences. There is no way to look at the events in this book and think they're justified.

I loved the way this was adapted for graphic novels! This will bring Lina's story to so many more people. I think this will only impact more people to be more empathetic. I really loved Lina. She was such a strong character and she always sticks to her convictions. Her story is one that won't ever leave me.

CWs: Antisemitism, blood, child abuse, child death, confinement, death, death of parent, genocide, grief, gun violence, kidnapping, injury/injury detail, murder, violence, war, xenophobia.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great graphic adaptation of the novel. All the important bits were included, the drawings were nice and creative and they conveyed the emotions of the scenes, and even though the story has to be condensed I still ended up crying. This story never fails to make me cry.

[Xavier · Rating 3 out of 5]

The translation of novel to a graphic novel is always difficult. And Between Shades of Gray is far from the exception. Donkin reduces the novel into its core beats and misses the nuance of what made the original novel so impactful. I suggest reading the novel over the adaptation.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usually not a big fan of graphic novels made after actual novels. But this one was so beautifully created.
Absolutely loved it. And a very good adaptation it was. The story held its grounds, did not feel like a short recap. The characters had depth.
Really very well done.

[Jan Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashes in the Snow is the movie tie-in version of Between Shades of Gray, and was a book club selection. When looking up the book, I found out they are the same book. And the original novel has a young adult graphic-novel version that I obtained from my local library. Better than skipping it altogether due to reading overload!

The subject is yet another genocide-like atrocity we have never heard of. Starting in 1941, the Soviet Union, having taken over the Baltic states, deported Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians for political reasons or simply to make more room for Russians. The story in this book describes one fictional family -- including one artistically talented young lady -- who were deported from Lithuania and, with thousands more, end up spending 12 years in frigid northern Russia, much or most of it within the Arctic circle. Moreover, per an author's note, the eventual survivors were treated like criminals and silenced regarding their experiences. The story was written in the spirit of whistle-blowing: to tell the world what had been going on.

The Baltic states lost a over a third of their populations and Poland, Romania, and Finland were also affected.

According to the story these were not Jews. That doesn't mean that Jews, being targeted for extermination, weren't the most affected during this general era. What it does is amp up the scale of suffering overall.

Reading this kind of exposé leads to thinking about how thin is the veneer of civilization. I was reminded of the movie "Mr Jones," about the Holodomor. But mainly I thought about Ian Buruma's Year Zero: A History of 1945 -- a book worthy of being read by everybody and one I could benefit from rereading -- because so much terrible stuff was perpetrated or permitted after the war -- by the Allies, no less. So Between Shades of Gray shocked but did not surprise me. It does not make for placid reading even in the graphic version.

3 1/2 stars rounded up

[ElsaMakotoRenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great graphic novel adaptation as a companion to the OG novel! That being said, I don’t think I’d recommend if you haven’t read the original novel. There is a lot cut out and/or condensed, as would be expected, so some bits of characterization and things of that nature just aren’t present.

Personally I think Between Shades of Gray-the comic version-easily could have been much longer. I wasn’t disappointed AT ALL since that’s kind of normal for comic adaptations, but still. I loved this as a companion to the original book, I just wouldn’t recommend as a stand-alone.

The art style is great and I really liked that aspect as well! Specifically I loved seeing the differences between plot art and Lina’s sketch art. And, this is kind of silly, but I just really liked the way Lina’s braids are drawn. They looked very cute! The very end of the book also has some gorgeous panoramic sky-focused panels/pages that I loved.

Very happy to add this to my collection!:) Between Shades of Gray/Ashes in the Snow is my absolute favorite Ruta Sepetys book, so I’m so glad to read it in graphic novel form.

[Devcezmesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Snažili jsme se ze dna oceánu dosáhnout na nebe." Lina

Miluju autorčinu tvorbu a její knihy si pravidelně každý rok alespoň jednou přečtu. (Ne, zatím to neomrzelo :D)
Neskutečně moc jsem se těšila, až tenhle krásný grafický román vyjde i u nás a já si nejen doplním svou knižní sbírku, ale také se znovu vrátím k onomu silnému příběhu a tentokrát ho uvidím v barvách.

Cením si zachovaných pasáží z knihy, které mám už ve své hlavě snad navždy uchované. A samotná poznámka autorky zde v netradiční komixové podobě mi opět vykouzlila slzičku v koutku oka.

Opět krásné, emotivní, silné a plné naděje. Doporučuju.

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wow book. It might not be for everyone as there is much in the way of concepts and content that might be difficult, even for adults. A little known piece of Lithuanian and Russian history unfold during several years during and after World War Two, for thousands of "criminals" who only committed the crime of being born somewhere the Soviet government disapproved of. Men, women, and children were imprisoned, starved, and worked to death over a twelve year period. Yet, somehow, the people found ways to survive, live and love.

[Veronika Součková · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nějakou dobu jsem přemýšlela, jestli si tenhle příběh přečíst jako grafický román nebo klasickou knihu, a nakonec jsem sáhla po grafickém zpracování. Kresba mi sedla, krásně tu všechno znázornila, včetně hrůz, které si deportovaní lidé kvůli Sovětskému svazu museli zažít.

Řekla bych, že práce Ruty Sepetys jsou celkově důležité, protože pomocí fiktivních postav a toho, co se dříve opravdu dělo, může hrůznou historii přiblížit co nejvíce lidem, aniž by si museli číst odborný text.

Jak Ruta psala v epilogu, o těchto historických záležitostech by mělo vědět co nejvíce lidí, aby se to už nikdy nemuselo opakovat.

[Cadence · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a really long time since I read the original book, so I’m partly going off memories. I would say this isn’t as good as the original but I also think it would be unfair to compare them seeing as they have different formats. As a graphic novel adaptation, I think this was done well. I do think something was lost in making it a YA book, however.

[Gonnhe · Rating 3 out of 5]

En general, me parece una buena adaptación de la novela original. La esencia está ahí, así como todo lo que recuerdo más importante (que, para haberme leído la historia tres veces, es bastante), pero es verdad que a mí se me ha hecho algo apresurada y no me ha conmovido tanto. Sin embargo, me ha encantado el formato, y el estilo de las ilustración es muy acertado para la ambientación.