<![CDATA[A Thread of Grace]]>

false <![CDATA[A Thread of Grace]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166697257m/16047.jpg 16047 9 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 882031 6 12 2005 A Thread of Grace total:1693|5:508|4:689|3:386|2:85|1:29| 1693 6636 2604 386 4 3 false false Fri Oct 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 18 10:21:48 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 11 00:13:53 -0700 2008
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 ...more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Thu Apr 24 11:15:20 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 10:59:39 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 09:25:29 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 15 18:54:38 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 17 22:54:46 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 03 10:42:55 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false true Wed May 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 21 23:11:42 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 16:43:08 -0700 2008
Honestly, that is what grieves me. To know it is true. These people of the resistance that fought ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Oct 01 12:22:53 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 16 08:10:35 -0800 2007 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 sty...more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue May 01 19:14:34 -0700 2007 Tue May 01 20:27:40 -0700 2007
COMMENTS: I consider Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow one of the b...more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 20:54:12 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 20:58:18 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Sep 16 06:40:22 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 10:08:21 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Aug 27 21:12:44 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 05:43:27 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 21:12:44 -0700 2008
My favorite line, from chapter 1 that talks about the Italian government's indifference to the Nazi command to round up all the Jewish peo...more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Jul 30 10:30:29 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 10:30:36 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Oct 07 16:20:50 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 16:20:50 -0700 2009 A Thread of Grace by...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Wed Oct 28 11:43:11 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 15:16:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Sep 15 14:21:14 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 14:21:36 -0700 2009
The story opens with a Jewish girl on the verge of womanhood traveling through the Alps with her father escaping to Italy which...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 07:25:08 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 11:59:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Apr 10 11:14:18 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 11:15:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Nov 16 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 12:31:52 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 19:21:54 -0800 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 northe...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 07:13:53 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 09:18:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Jul 22 19:39:07 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 22 19:45:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Apr 25 15:09:45 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 15:09:45 -0700 2009
This historical novel is set in the Italian countryside in the waning years of World War 2. Italy has surrendered, and thousands ...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=16047