NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A powerfully imagined novel . . . [a] profoundly moving book that engages the heights and depths of human experience.”—Los Angeles TimesIt is September 8, 1943, and fourteen-year-old Claudette Blum and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to find safety now that the Italians have broken from … Italians have broken from Germany and made a separate peace with the Allies. The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it quickly becomes an open battleground for the Nazis, the Allies, Resistance fighters, Jews in hiding, and ordinary Italian civilians trying to survive.
Tracing the lives of a handful of fascinating characters—a charismatic Italian Resistance leader, a priest, an Italian rabbi’s family, a disillusioned German doctor—Mary Doria Russell tells the little-known story of the vast underground effort by Italian citizens who saved the lives of 43,000 Jews during the final phase of World War II. A Thread of Grace puts a human face on history.
Praise for A Thread of Grace
“An addictive page-turner . . . [Mary Doria] Russell has an astonishing story to tell—full of action, paced like a rapid-fire thriller, in tense, vivid scenes that move with cinematic verve.”—The Washington Post Book World
“Hauntingly beautiful, utterly unforgettable.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Rich . . . Based on the heroism of ordinary people, [A Thread of Grace] packs an emotional punch.”—People
“[A] deeply felt and compellingly written book . . . The progress of each character’s life is marked or measured by acts of grace. . . . Russell is a smart, passionate and imaginative writer.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A feat of storytelling . . . an important book [that] needs to be widely read.”—Portland Oregonian
“Mary Doria Russell’s fans (and aren’t we all?) will rejoice to see her new novel on the shelves. A Thread of Grace is as ambitious, beautiful, tense, and transforming as any of us could have hoped.”—Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club
“A story of love and war, A Thread of Grace speaks to the resilience and beauty of the human spirit in the midst of unimaginable horror. It is, unquestionably, a literary triumph.”—David Morrell, author of The Brotherhood of the Rose and First Blood
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I am second generation Italian. I am so proud of the fact that my Uncle Joe signed up in the U.S. Army in World War and was part of the liberation forces that saved France from German Occupation. He even married and brought back a French war widow with a twelve-year-old son. A Thread of Grace is one of several books I have read that shows the …
My new favorite from Mary Doria Russell, although one of her earlier works. An unusual story of WWII, set in Northern Italy. Read This Book.
A Thread of Grace
by Mary Doria Russell
Set in Italy during the dramatic finale of World War II” What a Book! The war on so many battle fronts unifying the people and their fight. No matter who we are, we are human, we are individuals. And we have to stop prejudices and judgment of others. We are, at the core, human beings and we have …
This is one of my favorite books of all time. This is not your typical historical fiction that takes modern storylines/ideas/etc and pastes them onto the backdrop of a point in history. This book transports you into Northern Italy during World War II. The characters are era- and culturally accurate. The major events actually happened. The author …
Between 3 and 4 stars.
Russell tells an amazing story about the efforts Italian citizens made during World War II to hide and protect Jews from the Nazis, between September 1943 and the end of the war. By telling dozens of intertwined stories (from Jews, Catholics, partisans, Germans primarily) the author creates a rich fabric that reads like a …
A great story about oppresses people having the humanity and courage to risk their safety for those more severely defiled. A sad story that gives hope that humans can survive our worst tendencies.
Depicted hardships of dwarfs and the struggle the people had during WWII
It is a novel that brought history to life. I certainly learned about this unnerving time when Italians opened their heads and hearts to save the Jews.
I was interested in learning more of Italian history and this was a great way to do it! Interesting storyline in novel format set in what life would have been like during WW 2. If you like history but not strictly historical books this one will keep you reading and learning until the end. A little graphic for teens.
Well written and easy to read even though a difficult subject.
While many books have been written about the tragedies that befell Jews during the second world war, this one manages to pull some things positive from the horrid.
It should also appeal to anyone interested in the role of Italy in the war, the reluctant alliance between Italians and their German neighbors, and especially the difference of how …
Absolutely loved this book
I enjoyed this book as an audio read and loved it. The depth of the characters made the book so enjoyable.
Important but tedious
I really enjoyed this book. Well written.
Mary Doria Russell is one of my favorite authors. This was my second read of this book, which is a fictional account of a very real story…the incredible bravery, patriotism, and generosity of spirit of the Italian partisan resistance during WWII, and especially their assimilation of Jewish families during the Nazi occupation. If you are …
Although a little difficult to sort out all of the characters in the beginning, this book is well worth the effort. Parts of the story will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. It is one of the author’s best efforts and I highly recommend it.
Interesting treatment of an era that is well-known, but set in a location that rarely gets credit for what happened there. Sometimes it is easy to confuse which character(s) you are reading about at any given moment.
It is so beautifully written, the characters so finely developed, and the humor that is so seamlessly interjected make me want to take my time reading it. This is one I will read again.
The book throws light on the World War II Italian Resistance movement (which I knew very little about) and describes the sacrifices made by ordinary people who went to extraordinary lengths to oppose the Nazis. Russell makes the characters “come alive” so that the reader cares about their fate. WARNING: for many of them, it’s NOT “happily ever …