WORD LISTS

"I Must Betray You" by Ruta Sepetys, Chapters 18–36

Wed Jan 24 12:57:38 EST 2024
By Vocabulary.com (NY)Visual Thesaurus Moderator
In 1989 Romania, with the country controlled by a dictator, seventeen-year-old aspiring writer Cristian Florescu dreams of freedom, especially when he is blackmailed by the secret police into informing on the family of an American diplomat.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: "Beneath the Gilded Frame"–Chapter 7, Chapters 8–17, Chapters 18–36, Chapters 37–63, Chapter 64–Epilogue
idle
He stood, making idle chatter as the students filed out of the building.
wisp
His wisps of remaining hair were slicked with a greasy pomade.
crude
I began to sketch the layout of the Van Dorns’ apartment, purposely crude and simplistic. Walls. Doors. Windows.
pomade
I smelled the oily pomade in his hair. Musk over sweat. Disgusting.
meticulously
His fingernails were meticulously clean and buffed.
buff
His fingernails were meticulously clean and buffed. Odd on such enormous, knuckled hands.
fancy
The agent’s large mitts—perhaps Paddle Hands fancied himself a goalkeeper?
appraise
OSCAR’s behavior was appraising, smug. Thinks he has the upper hand.
altercation
Recent informer source report states that OSCAR had a physical altercation with his friend and fellow student Luca Oprea.
bleak
We trudged down the cement stairs to join the sea of humanity swarming into the freezing dark—that bleak wasteland of time.
To stand in lines.
contemplate
My father said nothing, just shrugged. My father was quiet when he was mad, quiet when he was tired, quiet when he was happy, and quiet when he was contemplating.
fabricate
The video I saw that afternoon was not a fabricated script.
The boys on-screen were not actors.
They were real people, in a real house in the West, with real food.
disparity
What did she think of the disparity? Mama had seen movies from the West. How long had she known that the lives depicted on-screen weren’t fantasy? Did she ever question why other people ate bananas while we lived in a charcoal wasteland?
convulsion
His hands began to vibrate and then his entire body quaked with convulsion.
naive
How naive. Had I really thought that Luca and I were the only student informers? There were probably many.
predicament
I walked home, my mind tangled with predicament and paranoia.
perestroika
“You mean the restructuring plan? The one they mentioned on Radio Free Europe?”
“Perestroika? Bah,” Bunu scoffed. “Maybe in other countries. But not here. Ceauşescu would never allow that in Romania. That would dilute his authority.”
insulate
“This five-foot-nothing man has absolute mental control over twenty-three million people. And his wife is part of that power. We have two dictators and they’ve insulated and trapped us.”
brooding
“Of course. Writers are dangerous. And you’re a brooding, philosophical Virgo. You’re not a follower. Even your hair’s a revolution.”
survey
I surveyed the passengers, sandwiched together.
Wrinkled faces.
Wrinkled clothing.
Wrinkled spirits.
proletarian
Speaking of holidays, Santa Claus is considered too religious here. In Romania, we replaced him with a proletarian character named Moş Gerilă, Freezer Man. We celebrate our winter season by entering the factories for work!
dignitary
The album was packed full of colorful photos featuring Beloved Leader and Heroine Mother with dignitaries and heads of state.
benevolent
They thought he was a benevolent dictator. They’d welcomed him into their countries.
terminology
I quickly scanned through the article, struggling with some of the terminology.
glasnost
But I recognized a few words from the Radio Free Europe broadcasts:
Democracy. Perestroika. Glasnost.
barter
“Yeah, Reagan and Bush aren’t really fans, but back in the day, Nixon bartered a deal with Ceauşescu. Romania was allowed to open a cultural office in New York and the U.S. opened this library in Bucharest.”
novelty
“Yeah, you’re always in school or standing in a line. Hey, take me to stand in line sometime. That would be interesting to write about for my college essays.”
He wanted to stand in a line? Did it seem like a novelty to him?
bravado
The way he said it, he was concerned. “Okay,” I said. He seemed relieved. Maybe the bravado had been for show.
cinch
There’s a plastic bag over my head, cinched at the neck.
awry
My family knew something had gone awry, but they didn’t know what.
persevere
“Keep trying. She’s worth it. And so are you.”
Was it my sister’s kindness? Her encouragement to persevere? Whatever it was, it broke me.
discreet
Comrade Director gave a discreet nod when I passed him in the hall the next day.
savvy
How did Luca deal with this guy? Luca was kind but not savvy. No wonder our classmate had a breakdown.
dupe
If I got my notebook to Mr. Van Dorn, the embassy would see me as a source of truth and report that Ceauşescu was duping everyone.
sentiment
“What was described in the article?”
“Just general sentiments of a song,” I said.
chisel
But the momentary, minuscule crack in his armor, I saw it. I had chiseled my way in and briefly distracted him.
viability
Consideration should be given to OSCAR’s family loyalty and viability as a continued source.
stark
The stark loneliness of the small, pale room was warmed by a photo of Pope John Paul II.
raze
When Ceauşescu razed the center of Bucharest, a brave engineer saved several historic churches.
prattle
Could Mrs. Drucan hear her daughter? I hoped not.
She prattled on and her eyes filled with tears.

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