I Must Betray You - Ruta Sepetys
I remember 1989 very well. We went to Poland on a train from The Netherlands to see family. We traveled through West Germany, stopping at the border for hours, East Germany, West Berlin, East Berlin, more border stops, a packed train where you had to climb over people to reach the toilet, and finally Poznan, where we left the train through the window, easier than trying to brave the crowds getting off and on. Poland was on the brink of revolution, and only a few months later would release itself from the iron grip of the USSR. I was only 9, but followed the news every day, watching the Eastern Bloc crumble as each country became free again, the Berlin Wall falling, and finally, the revolution in Romania, when the totalitarian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu had ruled for decades was finally toppled. If you were around at the time, 1989 was a year of huge change, and the images we saw will always be imprinted on my brain. If you were growing up in Western Europe at the time you were completely aware of how the continent was divided, and that you were more than lucky to be on the side you were. And as I had family on both sides of the iron curtain, I heard so many stories, of what it was like “on the other side”, and also of times before WW2, of atrocities committed by the USSR on people (including their own). Romania was always on my mind though, a country where so much harm was committed, so isolated, but kind of celebrated in the West as some kind of success story? Anyway, I’ve written about this before and this is meant to be a book review not my life story!
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys is just a beautiful novel. As soon as I read about it I knew I had to have it - people just don’t talk about Romania during the time of Ceaușescu anymore, and being in the US it always shocks me how people do not really know that much about what it was like to live in Europe post WW2. Historical fiction has always been my favorite genre, and I grew up reading it - it was my gateway to learning so much more about the world. I Must Betray You is set in Bucharest in 1989, on the cusp of revolution, and tells the story of 17 year old Cristian Florescu. In a country where everyone is monitored, and where anyone could be informing on anyone, Cristian is placed in a position where he has no choice: betray or be betrayed. So he does what he can to save his friends, his family, and himself, all the while never knowing who may be betraying him.
This is such an important story to tell, a story of millions living in absolute poverty and fear, while a few steal everything they can and live in ridiculous abundance. A story of growing up not knowing what is real and what isn’t, subject to isolation and surveillance from the moment you are born. It’s a story of liberation that comes at a cost, and one that shows that change does not happen in an eyeblink, but takes strength and bravery. And lastly, it is the story of trauma that lasts for decades and passes through generations, one that I have personally seen with my own eyes. I cannot recommend this book enough!!