A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria RussellMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Thread of Grace was a fascinating read for me because of the time period it covers. I knew almost nothing about Italy during World War 2 when southern Italy fought with the allies and northern Italy fought with Germany. Italy from Rome up was governed by a puppet government with Mussolini as a figure head, but with Germany actually in charge. Southern Italy was under allied control and their forces were pushing north. This novel looks at the resistance in Northern Italy, specifically how the fighters risked their lives to help Jews fleeing the Nazis.
It took me a while to get into Russell's characters, but once I did I found them all interesting and a few fascinating. Even during the most barbarous of times, people still act foolish, fall in love, behave with strength or with terrible weaknesses that leave them overwhelmed with guilt. There were some sections where I felt the author lost the story and instead was teaching the readers, but most of the time the plot captured me, especially in the second half.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and would like to learn more about Italy during World War 2.
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