My rating:

add to my books

A Thread of Grace

by Mary Doria Russell (Goodreads Author)

3.95 · rating details · 3,746 ratings · 663 reviews

Set in Italy during the dramatic finale of World War II, this new novel is the first in seven years by the bestselling author of The Sparrow and Children of God.

It is September 8, 1943, and fourteen-year-old Claudette Blum is learning Italian with a suitcase in her hand. She and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, wh...more

Paperback, 442 pages

Published December 6th 2005 by Ballantine Books (first published 2005)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

Best Unappreciated Books

51st out of 922 books — 1,353 voters

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows

Best Historical Fiction of the 21st Century

21st out of 579 books — 674 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 6,296)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jun 29, 2010

Ellen rated it

Shelves: favorites, novels

Some of the best scenes in literature:

1. The Idiot - ~~mock~~ execution

2. Macbeth - Act 5; Scene 5 - Macbeth's world is crashing around
him when he hears of his wife's death. He remarks, laconically, "She
should have died hereafter," and then delivers what might be the most perfect lines in literature:

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recor

...more

Some of the best scenes in literature:

1. The Idiot - ~~mock~~ execution

2. Macbeth - Act 5; Scene 5 - Macbeth's world is crashing around
him when he hears of his wife's death. He remarks, laconically, "She
should have died hereafter," and then delivers what might be the most perfect lines in literature:

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

...Nowhere in literature is despair and futility communicated better.

3. Invisible Man - Liberty Paints Factory or battle royal

4. Flannery O'Connor - too many to list

5. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Janie telling Joe Starks, "When
you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh
life."

The few examples above come from "Tier One" literature. While this sounds hierarchical, I guess I do view books in general categories. For example, though Mary Doria Russell is an excellent writer, she doesn't make my Tier One list. And, I'm no elitist, but I'd be willing to bet most of us have some sort of invisible line that separates truly great literature from the rest. Then, there is schlocky literature and those books - like Glenn Beck's recent foray into literature (and I'd rather check out Hell for a few days or rip my face off than read The Overton Window) - that are beneath contempt.

However, in Tier Two literature (very good but not great), Russell's scene between Werner Schramm, an SS deserter, and Father Osvaldo Tomitz, an Italian priest, is absolutely unforgettable. Schramm has been dogging Osvaldo for some time, hoping to have him hear his confession. [If you consider this excerpt a spoiler, don't read it.:] Osvaldo wants nothing to do with Schramm, but Schramm persists and starts by asking Osvaldo a number of questions concerning faith, and then begins his confession:

"A priest's office is to instruct the faithful!" Schramm shouts. [Osvaldo is disgusted but resigns himself to hearing the confession.:] ...

"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, he says when he can speak again. "I have murdered 91,867 people."

Osvaldo laughs. You're joking, this laugh says. You can't be serious! "Ninety-one thousand," he repeats. "Eight hundred..."

"And sixty-seven. Yes."

The number is absurd, but Schramm does not laugh. [Schramm tries to makes excuses, to clarify the situation, but Osvaldo cannot comprehend; it is beyond belief.:]

Osvaldo looks at Schramm, at the goat, at the diamond studded-sea in the distance. Mind racing, he tries to imagine what he can possibly say to this...this demon. His mouth opens. No words emerge. He lifts his hands, drops them, and begins to walk over.

"Wait!" Schramm calls. "You must-- What is my penance?"

Osvaldo turns and stares. "Mein Gott, Schramm, what did you expect? Rosaries?" Bending suddenly, leaning hard on hands that clutch his knees, Osvaldo chokes back vomit. Trembling, he lifts his eyes. "Shoot yourself."

I've eliminated both parts of this scene and its ending. It has to be read in its entirety.

The book's title is perfect, for grace does thread its way through this book. Though the plight of the Italian resistance, Jewish refugees and many others in this book prompt situations that are wrenching, the book is uplifting as well.

A poignant and memorable read.(less)

like 20 likes

· see review

Oct 11, 2008

Lisa Vegan rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: those who enjoy fine novels, historical fiction novels, World War II history

Shelves: fiction, bookclub, reviewed, historical-fiction, novels

What I loved:

For once I was able to thoroughly enjoy a historical fiction book without wondering what was real and what was fiction.

This is a character driven story and everyone in the book seemed genuine. I especially enjoyed the poignant sensibilities of the children and adolescents.

I’m a sucker for maps and this book had a map of real places and one of fictional places that were within the real map’s area. There was also a handy characters list at the fr...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Sep 11, 2010

Ben Babcock rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: from-library, 2010-read, historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Damn it, Mary Doria Russell made me cry again!

Culture class is once again the culprit, although this time it's Nazi anti-Semitism versus the Italian resistance instead of Jesuits and scientists versus aliens on Alpha Centauri. A Thread of Grace begins with Italy's surrender to the Allies, and from the Jewish perspective of the book, this is one of history's great ironies. It's a relief that Italy has surrendered; to be sure, this is a turning point in the war. Jews in the Italian-oc...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Apr 28, 2008

Holli rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, literary-fiction

I stayed up until after midnight last night finishing this. I started out listening to it on tape and got half way finished and it was on hold for someone so I had to turn it in and get the book. The narrator did a great job with the French, German, and Italian accents. Russell is so smart. She weaves the fictitious characters and places with historical fact and makes a beautiful and difficult story. This novel is very character-driven. I wondered about the characters when I wasn’t read...more I stayed up until after midnight last night finishing this. I started out listening to it on tape and got half way finished and it was on hold for someone so I had to turn it in and get the book. The narrator did a great job with the French, German, and Italian accents. Russell is so smart. She weaves the fictitious characters and places with historical fact and makes a beautiful and difficult story. This novel is very character-driven. I wondered about the characters when I wasn’t reading about them. And even though some of them are larger than life, they are believable and human all the same. I can understand how Schramm would embrace Nazism so totally. I love the way Russell uses Schramm in juxtaposition to the priest, Dom Osvaldo Tomitz. How Tomitz refuses Schramm absolution for killing 91,867 people because he feels no remorse. And then Schramm in the end gives Tomitz his last rites and has a conversion/redemption experience at his death. I also love the scene where Mirella presides over the Sabbath with Schramm at her table and he realizes for the first time that she is a Jew, this woman who has been nursing him for months. The novel points out the overall absurdity of war and what defines an enemy—the last battle the partisans engage in, killing the Republicans right and left, finding out the war is over, staying up all night to bury them because they are fellow countrymen. And, of course, there’s the death of Renzo Leoni—masterful and perfect. He risked his life again and again to save Jews, fight with the partisans, bring them supplies, etc. And he is hung as a Fascist/Nazi sympathizer because that was one of his disguises. There are no easy answers in this novel, but Russell certainly helps us live with the questions.
“There’s a saying in Hebrew,” he tells her. “’No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there’s always a thread of grace.’ After the Yom Kippur roundup in ‘43, people all over Italy helped us. Almost fifty thousand Jews were hidden. Italians, foreigners. And so many of them survived the occupation. I keep asking myself, Why was it so different here? Why did Italians help when so many others turned away?” (p. 421—conversation between Rabbi Iacopo Soncini and Suora (Sister) Corniglia).

This is one of my favorite novels of all time. Like Russell's earlier book, The Sparrow, there are a few scenes where the characters wrestle with difficult theological questions. She handles this so well, so authentically, and so truly. No easy answers, but somehow she makes it okay to live with the questions. There is one exchange between Doktor Schramm and Don Osvaldo that I would put in the top 5 literary "scenes" of all time.--HR

Amazon.com
Mary Doria Russell's extraordinary and complex historical novel, A Thread of Grace, is the kind of book that you will find yourself haunted by long after finishing the last page. It opens with a group of Jewish refugees being escorted to safe-keeping by Italian soldiers. After making the arduous journey over a steep mountain pass, they are welcomed into a small village with warm food and clean beds. They have barely laid their heads to rest when news is received that Mussolini has just surrendered Italy to Hitler, putting them in danger yet again. This opening sequence is a grim foreshadowing of the heart-breaking journey these characters will experience in their struggle for survival.
The rich fictional narrative is woven through the factual military maneuvers and political games at the end of WW II, sharing a little-known story of a group of Italian citizens that sheltered more than 40,000 Jews from grueling work camp executions. Rather than the bleak and hopeless feeling that might be expected, the novel has the opposite effect; it reminds us that just as there will always be war, crime, and death, so too will there be good people who selflessly sacrifice themselves to ease the suffering of others. Perhaps best of all, Russell succinctly opens and closes her writing with short pieces that bookend the story with the force of a freight train. Her moving finale wraps up her narrative in the present day, with a death bed scene that's sure to rip the heart out of readers of every faith and ancestry.
On the surface, Russell's third novel may seem quite different from her earlier works. Both The Sparrow and its sequel, Children of God , were futuristic stories about Earth's first contact with alien life forms, but a closer look reveals several similarities. Fans of her earlier books will be pleased to find that Emilio Sandoz, the charismatic Jesuit priest from the first two books, finds new life in Renzo Leoni--A Thread of Grace's charming and haunted chameleon. The two have different circumstances and histories, but both characters are made of the same cloth--tormented by their consciences and plagued by unrequited love. Also similar to her earlier books, the characters in A Thread of Grace don't all enjoy a happy ending. A note in the reader's guide tells us that Russell flipped a coin to determine the fate of some of the characters. This may be upsetting for many readers, particularly those used to Hollywood endings, but it does serve as a frank reminder of the arbitrary nature of war and death. --Victoria Griffith(less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Jul 30, 2007

Wealhtheow rated it

Shelves: historical, sociology

sobbed through her earlier books, and this is no exception. Set during WWII, with many jewish main characters, Russell nevertheless avoids the obvious tragedies (although there are oblique mentions to the events in other countries) in order to concentrate on hearts, minds, and shattering illusions. She has an obvious love and understanding of her characters, and so even the most horrifying come across as realistic, almost sympathetic. Her plot is complex and interweaves many disparate elements w...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Jan 15, 2009

Jen rated it

Shelves: fiction, my-favorites, truthiness

I read this book during the holiday season but find myself thinking about various scenes at odd moments. I'll be brushing my teeth, and suddenly, I'll be on the Ligurian coast of Italy while a German deserter confesses to the local priest that he is responsible for over 91,000 deaths. I'll be on the edge of sleep, and as I close my eyes I'll see a toddler learning to walk when suddenly the bombs start to drop. I'll be driving and will be visited by one of the kind visions of an Italian soldier w...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Nov 03, 2008

Bobby rated it

Shelves: reviewed

A 4.5 stars effort. A rich and complex (and at times, not so easy to follow) portrayal of both historical and fictional events that take place in northwest Italy (in real and made-up locations) during WWII and the Nazi era. Though it is a little difficult to get into this book initially, those who are able to do it will enjoy a cast of memorable and well-developed characters and powerful ideas about what it is to be a human, especially in a time of crisis. Though not as nearly funny as Catch-22,...more

like 3 likes

· see review

May 14, 2008

whichwaydidshego? rated it

Recommends it for: Those interested in WW2 &/or who love a good story based in truth.

Shelves: ww2, modernfiction, historicalfiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In the Author's Note, speaking of those that provided their experiences and memories for her novel she says, "What I have written in not real, but I hope they will find it true."

Honestly, that is what grieves me. To know it is true. These people of the resistance that fought and struggled to save a handful of displaced Jews in the bloodlust of revenge in the days following the war's conclusion were killed as supposed devotees to the fascisti. These were the people that s...more

like 1 like

· see review

Nov 16, 2007

Robin rated it

Shelves: all-time-faves

I will admit that this is a tough read, and thank goodness for the character list in the front to keep everyone straight.
With that said, this book is amazing. Pure and simple. Of the many books I have read about WWII in Europe, Russell’s book is set apart in subject matter and writing style. I found the setting in Northern Italy fascinating, as we seem to hear very little of this area of German Occupation. Also, the role of the Italian resistance, Catholic Church, and peasant farmers,...more

like 2 likes

· see review

May 01, 2007

deanne pearson rated it

SYNOPSIS: Follow the lives of several Jewish refugees, the Italian Catholics who seek to protect them, and an AWOL German doctor as they struggle to survive in the Italian mountains during the later years of World War II.

COMMENTS: I consider Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow one of the best books I have read in a long time. While I can't say the same of her most current novel, I did enjoy the time I spent with it. Russell artfully weaves together several story lines while painting an...more

like 1 like

· see review

Apr 11, 2008

Danika rated it

Recommends it for: Anyone

I'll admit this is not an easy read (on several levels). For one, It starts with pages of maps and character descriptions. It's also not the most uplifting topic. It covers roughly the last 18 months of WWII in Northern Italy. Follows the Italians in the region, the Jews many of them were hiding/helping and the German soldiers. Despite the content, I did not find it bleak. It certainly wasn't uplifting, but it was a fascinating look at a specific part of history I didn't know much about. Ch...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Sep 17, 2007

Ellis rated it

Recommends it for: lovers of historical fiction

Shelves: fiction, history

Mary Doria Russell is an absolute favorite of mine. I was enthralled by "The Sparrow" and "Children of God" so you can imagine how thrilled I was to find she had a new book out. I enjoyed it and stuck with it because of her--but it was a dense read that was difficult to follow--a criticism I find ironic b/c it is the complaint many of my friends gave about "The Sparrow" and I "hated" them for it! :)

Most interesting about the book is the gl...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Aug 27, 2008

kate rated it

I'm really enjoying this book... It's about Jewish refugees escaping to Italy through the northern border (think Alps) and the Italians who help them.

My favorite line, from chapter 1 that talks about the Italian government's indifference to the Nazi command to round up all the Jewish people in Italy:
"Artistically inefficient, they shuffle papers and announce that another permit, or a letter from Rome, or some new stamp is required before they can process such a request, an...more

like 1 like

· see review

Oct 07, 2009

Jill Celeste added it

I can t imagine running for my life. I can t imagine having to hide my religion, to rely on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter, to tell my children to mix their moldy bread in milk to disguise the taste. I can t imagine any of it.[return][return]But, after reading A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell, I can imagine it all and so much more.[return][return]A Thread of Grace is the story of Jewish people living in Italy during the German occupation. Many of them, for years, hav...more

· see review

Jan 30, 2012

Rosemarie rated it

I fell into this story, with its huge and varied cast of characters, and barely put it down until I finished it--with tears. The time is immediately after Italy's surrender during WWII. The Italian army must withdraw from territory it occupied in France. The Italians resisted German efforts to enforce their policies of terror and extermination on the Jews of the region, but now all are trying to get over the Alps into the relative safety of Italy before the Germans take charge of the territor...more

· see review

Sep 07, 2011

Charlene rated it

A story that won't be easily forgotten. I was reading this over a long holiday weekend and ended up neglecting everything else to finish it. We have not heard many stories of the fate of the Jews in Italy; or even stories of the war itself. That's especially odd to me, since my father was a veteran of the Sicily and Italy invasions, but I didn't realize that it took the actual surrender of Germany to free the mountain corners of Italy.
Russell's strength as a writer is that you imm...more

· see review

Sep 03, 2011

Winnie rated it

From Amazon:
"Set in Italy during the dramatic finale of World War II. It is September 8, 1943, and fourteen-year-old Claudette Blum is learning Italian with a suitcase in her hand. She and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to be safe at last, now that the Italians have broken with Germany and made a separate peace with the Allies. The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it becomes ov...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jul 29, 2011

Amy rated it

Shelves: italy, world-war-ii

The story of partisans fighting in northern Italy during the last two years of World War II. This really is a beautiful tapestry of a book. Lots of characters—the voice doesn’t change, but they each illustrate different stories in this tiny, mountainous place.

Renzo Leoni is the most compelling, the most cinematic, the most unforgettable. He’s a former pilot, trying to drink away his own feelings of guilt. He’s an intelligent, multi-layered hero, and the banter between him and his...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Jan 23, 2011

Eva Nickelson rated it

Set in Northern Italy, in the last two years of World War II, this book was amazing. It features a multitude of characters, ranging from Italian Jews, Italian Catholics, Jewish refugees, and German occupants. Russell weaves their stories together, loosely at first, linking all of them with the resistance movement in Italy. The book portrays a devastating time in Italian history, yet it calls attention to the strength and warmth of its characters.

While the story does have heavy plot m...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jul 31, 2010

Sarah rated it

A Thread of Grace. Mary Doria Russell. 2005. Random House. 430 pages. ISBN 0375501843.

A Thread of Grace is Mary Doria Russell's third novel and first historical fiction piece set against the backdrop of 1943 Europe.

Claudette Blum is a young, teenage Jewish girl escaping with her father and other refugees to Italy with no foresight or knowledge that thair lives are about to become much more endangered. Through a handful of diverse characters and personalities, Russell tel...moreA Thread of Grace. Mary Doria Russell. 2005. Random House. 430 pages. ISBN 0375501843.

A Thread of Grace is Mary Doria Russell's third novel and first historical fiction piece set against the backdrop of 1943 Europe.

Claudette Blum is a young, teenage Jewish girl escaping with her father and other refugees to Italy with no foresight or knowledge that thair lives are about to become much more endangered. Through a handful of diverse characters and personalities, Russell tells of how numerous Italians played a hand in saving thousands of Jews near World War II's end.

The BEST and most AMAZING part of A Thread of Grace is the prelude, hands down! This prelude may be the best I've ever read in any book because it will grip, shock, and pull you in as a reader. Even if A Thread of Grace is not going on your to-be-read bookshelf or wish list, you must stop at a bookstore or pick it up just to read the prelude, at least. All I can say without providing spoilers is "Wow"!

A Thread of Grace in its entirety though, I regret to say, is dry and just not as engaging as I'd hoped. I really appreciate Mary Doria Russell's research invested in this novel, but with the excess of WWII-era novels released in mass numbers these days, it didn't stand out nearly enough for me to really enjoy it from an entertainment or even an educational standpoint. I found myself comparing it to Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian; another WWII novel about refugees on the run seeking safer ground that also brings together a cast of vastly unique and unlikely characters. My review for Skeletons at the Feast can be found here: Dreamworld Book Reviews - Skeletons at the Feast.

Mary Doria Russell has won several awards for her first novel entitled The Sparrow (1996), which is followed up with Children of God (1998). I have attempted to read The Sparrow, but was unable to finish. I've come to the conclusion that perhaps Mary Doria Russell and I just aren't compatible!

Read more book reviews at http://dreamworldbooks.com.(less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Oct 28, 2009

Andrea Bowhill rated it

WWII, Mussolini had surrendered Italy to Hitler. Disillusioned where this war was going a small group of Italian Soldiers part of the resistance had taken it upon themselves to save the lives of Jewish refugees from the work camps and execution from Nazi soldiers by escorting them on an arduous journey through a mountain pass, selflessly sacrificing there lives to save others. Along the way Italian citizens just ordinary people all learning to survive the horrors of War and its brutality, they e...more

like 1 like

· see review

Aug 08, 2009

Holyn rated it

My sister gave this to me to read. Ten pages into it I felt a familiar sensation. Twenty pages into it I thought I was having deja vu and then fifty pages into it I realized I had definitely read this book before. BUT I did not remember how everything ended so I read it again and am glad I took the time to do so.

This novel is set in Northern Italy during the Nazi occupation from 1944-1946 and follows the lives of various people as they attempt to survive during this time - Jewish ...moreMy sister gave this to me to read. Ten pages into it I felt a familiar sensation. Twenty pages into it I thought I was having deja vu and then fifty pages into it I realized I had definitely read this book before. BUT I did not remember how everything ended so I read it again and am glad I took the time to do so.

This novel is set in Northern Italy during the Nazi occupation from 1944-1946 and follows the lives of various people as they attempt to survive during this time - Jewish refugees, Italian peasants, partisan fighters, Nazi soldiers.....it is a story whose layers are woven together in a sort of life tapestry. I remember being confused a lot of the time during my first reading of this but the second time around it was easier to keep people and places straight.

The characters in this novel come to life through Russell's writing and she does not try to keep things happy or easy to read. She seems to have done her research and I apprecite the dose of reality this book has. With that said, this is not a happy read and there are individual story lines within the book that I wish had a storybook ending. I think the book as a whole has a 'happy' ending because the Nazis are conquered and sent packing....but all that is left behind in their wake....

While reading this novel I thought a lot about the various reactions different countries and cultures had to the Nazi invasions across Europe. Some were ambivalent, some welcomed them at first, some refused to become involved in the fight for many years...and a select few decided to fight. Why the different reactions? I don't know....What would the world have been like had more people reacted like many Italians and refused the Nazis admittance and then fought them once they invaded - all while doing what they could to protect Jewish people? I don't know....but I can speculate that fewer Jews, civilians, and soldiers on all sides would have been killed.

I appreciate the characters in this book because they put a face on a tragedy that can be too overwhelming to comprehend in its entirity. And I am left wondering, what would I do were I placed in a similar situation?? I hope I would have enough faith and willingness to grasp at a 'thread of grace' to fight and protect those who need it.... (less)

· see review

Apr 10, 2009

Istop4books rated it

Shelves: lit-and-fiction

This was very interesting at times, but most of the time I just read in a state of confusion. Way too many characters and way too many plotlines. This book needed some careful editing, and perhaps it could have been 2 stories or the historical parts written a bit more clearly. I can't quite put my finger on what it was that didn't work, but having read many WWII books, this one just didn't cut it for me.
There is no Status entry for RIP - but that is what this fine book is now doing. It met ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Nov 19, 2008

'stina rated it

Shelves: 2008

I've been on a somewhat serious reading kick lately, and if you're looking for a really amazingly well written novel, take a gander at Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell. It's a story without a main character, really, though there are a few that stand out. It focuses on a region of northern Italy from September 1943 to about 1947ish. I had no idea about the resistance. For whatever reason, my history teachers always just said Italy, Japan and Germany were the Axis, and left it at tha...more
I've been on a somewhat serious reading kick lately, and if you're looking for a really amazingly well written novel, take a gander at Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell. It's a story without a main character, really, though there are a few that stand out. It focuses on a region of northern Italy from September 1943 to about 1947ish. I had no idea about the resistance. For whatever reason, my history teachers always just said Italy, Japan and Germany were the Axis, and left it at that without talking about Italy's early departure. Italy surrendered to the Allies, in early September 1943, and Germany almost immediately took Italy over. Someone in the story at some point says "Half of Italy is protecting the other half" and that seemed to be the case. Thousands of Jews from all over Europe fled to Italy, because the Italians really could have given a shit about the German purity initiatives. This novel tells the stories of the Italians working together all over the countryside and in some of the towns to protect foreign and native born Jews. It's a remarkable tale in and of itself, but the author weaves a really elegant and beautiful novel together to make it more compelling. The detante among Italians in and of itself is rather remarkable, since the fascists and communists and everyone else in between know that as soon as the war is over, a new civil war is going over the Italian state. But the common German enemy makes them uneasy allies work very closely together. Russell's characters are rich and interesting, ranging from 8 year-old-boys to elderly ladies, and I found myself often crying over the characters she chose not to save.

I told Graham yesterday that I have to stop reading WWII novels for awhile. I am not feeling particularly warm towards Germans right now. There's an early scene in the novel where a German physician who spent ten days at Auschwitz confesses his sins to a Roman Catholic Priest. The priest is at first unable to comprehend 91,000 deaths. And then he is unable to allow that God would forgive such a sin. That particular German does what he can to atone for his...sin seems not harsh enough of a word...monstrosity?, but I could never really warm up to him as a human being because of what he had done.

This is the third Mary Doria Russell novel I've read. I read The Sparrow and Children of God, which were very different books in terms of subject matter, as they told the story of first contact with an alien race. But they're not really. Her writing style is almost too big to capture into a genre. She touches a lot on issues of morality and faith and God, but she also touches on the human experience. She just sets the novels in different places.

Go read it. It's not a happy story, but it's a very, very good one. (less)

like 1 like

· see review

Sep 02, 2011

Angie added it

Shelves: didn-t-finish

Everyone I know loved this book, and I think Mary Doria Russel is a superb writer, so I decided to give it a try despite the fact that I am tired of books about the horrible atrocities against theJews in WW II. I've read the books & seen the movies, from Anne Frank to Sophie's Choice, and i donot need another.
That being said, the first part of the book was delightful as only Russell can be. The book opened with a marvelous scence of a drunken Nazi doctor trying to find a priest to make a co...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 18, 2011

thewanderingjew rated it

Because I read this a very long time ago, I really cannot write a thorough review, other than to say that the author has done an admirable job of drawing the characters who, while living through the time of the Holocaust, in spite of awful conditions of horror and deprivation, often managed to hang on to their humanity. In sharp contrast are the fiends who perpetrated the monstrous deeds demanded of them, by the Nazis and Facists. Also, in sharp contrast, are the two emotions that somehow lived ...more

· see review

May 26, 2010

Betsy rated it

This beautiful, heartbreaking, richly detailed story follows several intertwined groups of people during World War II in Italy, shortly following the country's surrender (but before the end of the war in Europe which would continue for more than a year). Italian resistance fighters, Roman Catholic clergy, refugee Jews, Italian Jews, former and current German military officers and Italian citizens dedicated to hiding Jews all interact together in wonderful, scary, delightful, surprising ways. T...more

like 1 like

· see review

Feb 10, 2011

Leah rated it

Shelves: 21st-century, american-writers, historical-fiction, wwii

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Never in my entire life have I cried as much as I did while reading A Thread Of Grace. I also took more time to read it than I have ever devoted to a novel before. More on that later. But the most remarkable part, after I cried my eyes out for ten straight minutes at the ending, was the Author's Note, which posted this Marble Memorial's inscription included by the author:
WHEN RACIAL HATRED RAGED IN EUROPE,
JEWISH REFUGEES, UNCERTAIN OF THEIR FATE,
COMING FROM DISTANT COUNTRIES
...moreNever in my entire life have I cried as much as I did while reading A Thread Of Grace. I also took more time to read it than I have ever devoted to a novel before. More on that later. But the most remarkable part, after I cried my eyes out for ten straight minutes at the ending, was the Author's Note, which posted this Marble Memorial's inscription included by the author:
WHEN RACIAL HATRED RAGED IN EUROPE,
JEWISH REFUGEES, UNCERTAIN OF THEIR FATE,
COMING FROM DISTANT COUNTRIES
- AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, GERMANY, POLAND-
FOUND HOSPITALITY AND SAFETY IN THESE VALLEYS.
HIDDEN IN ISOLATED COTTAGES,
PROTECTED BY THE POPULATION,
THEY WAITED WITH TRUST AND HOPE,
THROUGH TWO INTERMINABLE WINTERS,
FOR THE RETURN OF LIBERTY.
IN HOMAGE TO AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO HELPED THEM,
THOSE REFUGEES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS
EMBRACE THE NOBLE INHABITANTS OF THESE VALLEYS
IN BROTHERHOOD.
Even though the characters were fictional, even though Claudia Blum wasn't a real person who's father actually died, even though Renzo Leoni didn't really slip effortlessly into disguise after disguise while nursing a wound from Abyssinia only he can see, even though Rabbino Iacopo and his wife never hid all those Jews in their house... The story of Italian villagers banding together to save the lives of 43,000 Jews is real. Part of history that I didn't know about until now. Now that I do though, I hold each of the real-life heroes in my heart in gratitude. They could have saved a relative of mine, or a grandmother of a friend, or even you. As two characters discuss in the novel, the crime of the Holocaust and the death of so many was not just stealing their lives; it was stealing the lives of their children and grandchildren and all who would come after them. Immeasurable murder. This novel is filled with death, and the grief of these deaths is fresh and painful each time thanks to Doria Russell's terse yet delicate prose.
In many ways, there are echoes of her previous book, The Sparrow. Dedicated members of the clergy with good in their hearts, a wisecracking Renzo who holds a dark secret or two, a weary, soft-eyed Jewish woman hardened by life's difficulties could match either Claudette Blum or Sofia Mendes. And just like in The Sparrow, towards the end we are treated to a line which gives away the meaning behind the title. In this case, Rabbino Iacopo repeats an old Hebrew phrase: "No matter how dark the tapestry G-d weaves for us, there's always a thread of grace." If I had been presented with that quote at the beginning of the novel, I wouldn't have know what to make of it. Now though, it speaks to me, and I understand. It's a Vedic belief, far pre-dating String Theory, that everything in the universe is bound by one single unbroken thread, and all things on earth are connected by it. Hinduism and Judaism aren't really connected, but the fates of these partisans, rabbis, veterans, housewives, clergy, and peasants are bound together, and they are each other's thread of grace in their kindness to one another and their lifesaving activities.
That makes the tragedies of the novel all the more painful, and the heartless actions of some all the more horrifying. We actually begin the story with a man who should go down as one of the worst monsters of WWII, with the blood of thousands, mostly children, on his hands. A German doctor who used his skills in paediatric medicine and his experience with his disabled sister as a chance to slaughter Germany's "unsuitable", believing it to be for the good of the nation. His monstrous actions are so horrible, a priest refuses to give him absolution for his sins, essentially, condemning him to Hell in the eyes of Catholic doctrine. Yet, it is he who delivers the last rites to this same priest after he has been tortured and mutilated by the Third Reich, and releases him from his misery. It is he who devotes the remainder of his life to penance, saving the lives of children and the injured and sick. There is hope yet. That is his thread of grace.
But just like The Sparrow, the true star of the show is a Jewish woman. Not the "Good" Herr Doktor, but one Claudette Blum, who's name undergoes an Italian makeover for safety. She and her father Albert, separated from her mother and little brothers, must trek up over the Alps to hope for a chance at falling into a safety net. Claudette makes it, but her father does not. In one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the book, Claudette and her beau, an Italian soldier, stand over her father's grave. Claudette confesses that she would like to lay a stone, to show love to her father, an old Jewish cemetery custom. But with Germans everywhere, that risks exposing the village and desecration of the grave. So she brings flowers instead, but her brave beau takes a pebble and buries it into the earth on the grave, she does the same. Cue the tears. As the novel progresses, she grows tremendously as a person through hardship, and we spend the last few pages with her in a hospice in Toronto in 2007 as she breathes her last breaths. She is another thread of grace connecting us with every story as she struggles to live and grow with the threat of death, either by the Nazis, starvation, or disease over her head constantly.
Each character stands out in their own way though. There's a rich tapestry's worth of different characters spanning across European ethnicities and religions in this work, and though sometimes it may be difficult to keep up with who's who, you soon get into the rhythm of it and find yourself putting the pieces together, sometimes in horrible conclusions, other times, in great epiphanies.
I encourage you to read A Thread of Grace, if, for nothing else, to understand the gravity of WWII like never before, but to be reminded of the innermost strength of the human spirit when all else seems lost. (less)

· see review

Nov 10, 2009

Erika S. rated it

A wonderful book. It was so engaging, I often forgot that I was reading a book and felt more like I was in the story. While I have read a lot of WWII fiction, I had not read anything about WWII Italy and the Partisan uprising against the Nazi regime, which invaded Italy after the Italian armistice. The book features a huge cast of characters (Russell was thoughtful enough to include a cast of characters at the beginning of the book so I didn't get too lost) - there are a couple of "main"...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Jul 22, 2007

Katy rated it

Shelves: not-on-the-bookshelf, pleasure-reads

I can't say that I enjoyed this book, but I found it interesting. It certainly didn't have the impact on me that her book "The Sparrow" did, but it was a different kind of book. The details about the Italian resistance to the Nazis and how they helped save some of the Jewish refugees is a story that I had never heard and am very glad to know of now. Overall, though, even though I found the book interesting, it just wasn't as compelling for me.

like 1 like

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 209 210 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
What did you think of the book?	14	56	12 hours, 8 min ago

combine
Other Editions (10)

More editions...

Genres

Historical Fiction

157 users

History > World War II

30 users

Book Club

29 users

Cultural > Italy

29 users

War

15 users

World War II > Holocaust

14 users

Literature > Jewish

8 users

Religion

7 users

Adult Fiction

7 users

Adult

6 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Mary Doria Russell

Mary Doria Russell is an American author. She was born in 1950 in the suburbs of Chicago. Her parents were both in the military; her father was a Marine Corps drill sergeant, and her mother was a Navy nurse.

She holds a Ph.D. in Paleoanthropology from the University of Michigan, and has also studied cultural anthropology at the University of Illinois, and social anthropology at Northe...more

More about Mary Doria Russell...

Books by Mary Doria Russell

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About A Thread of Grace

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from A Thread of Grace

“When the preponderance of human beings choose to act with justice and generosity and kindness, then learning and love and decency prevail. When the preponderance of human beings choose power, greed, and indifference to suffering, the world is filled with war, poverty, and cruelty.” — 11 people liked it

“Shall I tell you why young men love war? . . . In peace, there are a hundred questions with a thousand answers! In war, there is only one question with one right answer. . . . Going to war makes you a man. It is emotionally exciting and morally restful.” — 5 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved A Thread of Grace

Holocaust and genocide

147 members

last activity Dec 12, 2011 05:09am

shelf: read

Outer Banks Mommy & Me

48 members

last activity Feb 01, 2012 05:38pm

shelf: read

HomeSchoolingTaglets

41 members

last activity Jan 10, 2012 09:58pm

shelf: read

title link	preview: A Thread of Grace
avg rating	preview: A Thread of Grace Goodreads rating: 3.95 (3746 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16047.A_Thread_of_Grace?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320549126m/16047.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16047.A_Thread_of_Grace?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell[/url]

A Thread of Grace

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website