Review: I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
This audiobook is a masterpiece! I started listening late at night, slept for two hours, and after that continued to listen until the end.
I am Romanian, I have lived in Romania for exactly 38 years and 10 days before moving to Norway. Although I was just six years and a half when the events of December 1989 took place, I remember them vividly. I have been blessed, or cursed, depending on who you are asking, with a very good memory, so I clearly remember where I was when everything happened.
I was at my grandma’s home in the countryside and when they showed on TV that things got out of hand, me and some other boys from the village went to the national road and we saw tanks and other military vehicles rolling, filled with soldiers, armed to the teeth and prepare for battle.
My wife, Alina, was born on the 20th of December and her mother told us that while she was in the maternity, they were scared half to death by the sound of firearms and by the reports doctors brought in.
New York Times best-selling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys has managed to awaken in me feelings, thoughts and memories that I thought long forgotten. I Must Betray You is written with passion, attention to details and most of all, respect towards the Romanian people.
Our family was fortunate enough, to my knowledge, to have never been in the sights of the security service, but I’m sure that everything in this historical novel was extensively researched and documented.
The story is told in first person by Cristian, a 17-year-old boy forced to become an informer, a rat, by the secret police. Throughout the story we see him struggling with guilt and with paranoia.
Besides that, we also have a beautifully written love story that is absolutely uplifting. From the mysterious beginnings, right up to the heart-stopping finale, I Must Betray You is a roller coaster of events and emotions that I will never forget.
As a Romanian, I can’t help but sing the praise of multiple award-winning actor and narrator Edoardo Ballerini and his perfect performance for this fantastic audiobook. Mr. Ballerini does a fantastic job with all the characters, he reads beautifully, he pronounces all the words in Romanian flawlessly and he enriches and elevates the narrative experience with talent and emotion.
Even author Ruta Sepetys took time to record the afterward in her own voice, which I always appreciate. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys is a unique work of historical fiction that will remain with me my entire life.
Both the author and the narrator are absolutely amazing and I really can’t find words good enough to express my feelings right now.
Pick up this audiobook and listen to it, you will not be able to stop until the end!
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Victor Dima
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