Book Reviews of A Thread of Grace

Interesting story; well written however with the topic, it was not a gripping-page-turner. I did find that the story held me and I wanted to know what happened in the end to all the characters. I knew very little about the Italian Jews and the Italian Partisans. Worth the time to read.

outstanding book - a piece of history that was overlooked

I'm a bit of a WWII buff and have read many books on the subject. This is now one of my very favorites. While there are many characters to follow, I was deeply engrossed in the struggle of each one. The kindness, compassion and bravery of the Italians is matched by the heart wrenching stories of the Jewish refugees. The story was very hard to read but so worth it, I would recommend this book to everyone.

WOw, this was good. Italian Jews during WWII, a theme of damnation and redemption.

This book was fabulous! If you like historical fiction , you will really love this. I found I did not know as much about hilter as I thought, so I was inspired to look up facts. The story line is fiction, but the events (dates, numbers, atrocities) are factual. Very powerful book!

I thought it was a hard book to read, but I really enjoyed the characters and the history throughout the book.

Good read! This is fascinating historical fiction about Italian citizens saving the lives of Jews during WWII.

A wonderful book of inspiring characters. I really learned a lot about Northwester Italy during the last two years of WWII. Great book!

Interesting and historical, but a difficult read.

Quite simply, this is an amazing book. Heartbreaking and heart-wrenching with beautiful writing, fully fleshed out characters and powerful messages (without being overbearing or pedantic).

Mary Doria Russell is one of my favorite authors and I wish she would write more! You cannot go wrong with this book.

Amazing story of a little-known section of history.

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" characters that are all interconnected. I did really find myself caring about a few of the main characters - the disillusioned German doctor; the exuberant, drunken, self-made Jewish spy; the grieving rabbi's wife, forced to hide away in the Italian countryside.

In the end I was thrown off a bit by the enormous cast, but overall, I found it to be an absolutely beautiful story. 4.5/5.0 stars, with just that half star taken off for the daunting number of characters!

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