A Thread of Grace

A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
Historical Fiction
  A Thread of Grace starts with the Italian surrender to the Allies during WWII. Claudette Blum and her father are Jewish refugees intent on crossing the Alps from France in order to find freedom. What they find instead is more Germans.

This is a story of the German occupation of Northern Italy. Roman Catholic priests and nuns saved many Jews from the Germans who were intent on finding them and sending them to the concentration camps. Even though the Germans were fighting and being hit by air attacks daily they were still diligent about rounding up the Jews in the area.

Italians hid and helped the Jews. The Italian resistance fought the Germans. This novel is a historical fiction depicting the actions of the people in Northern Italy.

The characters in this book are wonderful. Renzo is a rogue who seamlessly flits between the Germans, the resistance and the Jews. Claudette is the tragic character caught up in an awful war. Schramm is the uptight scumbag German obeying his orders and fighting his conscience afterwords.

I loved this book and learning about all about this area during the war. So many people helped others at great peril to themselves.

First Line: "This is what everyone would remember about his mother: her home was immaculate."
Rating:
(4.0/5)