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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
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 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 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 charactersa charismatic Italian Resistance leader, a priest, an Italian rabbis family, a disillusioned German doctorMary 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 GraceAn addictive page-turner . . . [Mary Doria] Russell has an astonishing story to tellfull of action, paced like a rapid-fire thriller, in tense, vivid scenes that move with cinematic verve.The Washington Post Book WorldHauntingly 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 characters 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 OregonianMary Doria Russells fans (and arent 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 ClubA 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 Mary Doria Russell tells the little-known but true story of the network of Italian citizens who saved the lives of 43,000 Jews during the war's final phase. The result of five years of meticulous research, this is an ambitious, engrossing novel of ideas, history, and marvelous characters. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780449004135
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