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A Thread Of Grace
by Mary Doria Russell
ISBN: 0449004139
ISBN-13: 9780449004135
Format: Paperback
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Summary
During World War II, many Jews managed to find refuge in Italy, particularly in the Piedmont region, where they were sheltered from the occupying Germans by antifascist peasants and others. In this elegiac novel, a woman named Lidia Leoni and her war-veteran son head a group of sympathetic Italians who help hide the refugees-who include a German doctor disaffected with the Nazi regime. Mary Doria Russell creates a panoramic, richly populated story of heroism and cowardice, good and evil, as she brings to life a troubled historical era.
Customer Reviews
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Media Reviews
"Beautiful, noble, fascinating, and almost unbearably sad."
-- Kirkus
"The action moves swiftly, with impressive authority, jostling dialogue, vibrant personalities and meticulous, unexpected historical detail. The intensity and intimacy of Russell's storytelling, her sharp character writing and fierce sense of humor bring fresh immediacy to this riveting WWII saga."
-- Publishers Weekly
"[A]n expansive, well-researched, and compelling novel....Russell is good at presenting the human story while never using the war merely as a backdrop for personal dramas." -- Mary Ellen Quinn
-- Booklist
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published date: 2005
Size: 5.25 x 8 inches
Weight: 0.75 pounds
Pages: 442
Publisher's Notes
Set in Italy during the dramatic finale of World War II, this new novel is the first in seven years by the bestselling author of The Sparrow and Children of God.
It is September 8, 1943, and fourteen-year-old Claudette Blum is learning Italian with a suitcase in her hand. She and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to be safe at last, now that the Italians have broken with Germany and made a separate peace with the Allies. The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it becomes overnight an open battleground among the Nazis, the Allies, resistance fighters, Jews in hiding, and ordinary Italian civilians trying to survive.
Mary Doria Russell sets her first historical novel against this dramatic background, tracing the lives of a handful of fascinating characters. Through them, she tells the little-known but true story of the network of Italian citizens who saved the lives of forty-three thousand Jews during the war’s final phase. The result of five years of meticulous research, A Thread of Grace is an ambitious, engrossing novel of ideas, history, and marvelous characters that will please Russell’s many fans and earn her even more.
From the Hardcover edition.
Other Editions
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A Thread of Grace
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books. Used - Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! ( more information) Offered by Better World Books (United States)
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A Thread of Grace
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books. Used - Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! ( more information) Offered by Better World Books (United States)
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3)
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A Thread of Grace
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books. Used - Acceptable. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped daily. Over one million satisfied book lovers read with Experienced Books. 2005. Softcover. Acceptable condition reading copy showing definate wear. All pages plus cover present. BINDING IS SOFTCOVER; Cover has some wear on edges. Some rubbing on cover.Cover/spine has minor creases and/or small tears. ( more information) Offered by Experienced Books LLC (United States)
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4)
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A Thread of Grace
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books. Used - Good. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped daily. Over one million satisfied book lovers read with Experienced Books. 2005. Softcover. Good condition, showing modest signs of wear. BINDING IS SOFTCOVER; Cover has some wear on edges. ( more information) Offered by Experienced Books LLC (United States)
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5)
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Thread Of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
Westminster, Maryland, U.S.A.: Ballantine Books, 2005. Clean, tight copy with no writing or markings. The spine is not creased. Not an Ex-Library book. Colorfully illustrated cover. Includes cast of Characters, map, Prelude, Coda, A Reader's Guide, and a photograph and a brief biography of the author.. Number Line: 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3. Soft Cover. Very Good. Measures: 5-1/4" x 8". 442 Pages. ( more information) Offered by JP's Books and Beyond (United States)
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6)
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A Thread of Grace
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books, 2005-12-06. Paperback. Acceptable. Reader's Copy Only ***(Spilled Tea on Back Half of Books Pages)~ Smells Great~ No Spinecrease ( more information) Offered by Vision Books (United States)
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7)
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A Thread of Grace
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books, 2005-12-06. Paperback. Very Good. Very slight shelf wear to cover, otherwise excellent! ( more information) Offered by AimeesBooks (United States)
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A Thread of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. PAPERBACK. 0449004139 Brand new and perfect! New and unused condition item. Looks like an interesting title! We ship daily, provide personalized customer service and want you to have a great experience purchasing from us. Thank you for your consideration. . New. ( more information) Offered by BennettBooksLtd (United States)
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9)
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A Thread of Grace
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books, 2005-12-06. Paperback. Good. Edge and corner wear. Creases to cover. Pages still clean and tight. ( more information) Offered by Half Price Books, Inc. (United States)
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A Thread of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. New. 2005. Paperback. 0449004139 . New Store Stock.; 1.1 x 7.9 x 5.2 Inches; 464 pages . ( more information) Offered by Cover to Cover Books & More (United States)
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11)
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Thread Of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books, 2005 This book is in fine condition. The binding is tight and pages are clean. It appears to have not had use. The cover has minor bumps and scuffs. There is no creasing on the spine.. Trade Paperback. Fine. ( more information) Offered by visionarybook (United States)
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12)
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A THREAD OF GRACE
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. Very Good-. 2005. Trade Paperback. Very good (-) cond book - some shelf wear, chipping along edges and light corner curl, pages clean, mild spine creasing ; 464 p. . ( more information) Offered by The Cracked Book, LLC (United States)
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13)
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thread of grace
russell, mary doria
Trade Paperback. Ballantine Books 2005. Worn Along Spine and Edges. All books in VG or better condition. ( more information) Offered by Sixth Chamber Used Books (United States)
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14)
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A Thread Of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books, 2005. Trade Paperback. vg-. There is visible edgewear and shelfwear. . ISBN: 0449004139. ( more information) Offered by Brookings Book Company (United States)
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Thread Of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books, 2005 Trade Paperback. Very Good. Reader's creases. Light shelfwear.. ( more information) Offered by Bookman (United States)
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16)
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A Thread of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books, 2005. Trade Paperback -- Very Good -- Clean and bright with only slightest of wear. 442 pages.. ISBN: 0449004139. Trade Paperback. Very Good. ( more information) Offered by gigabooks (United States)
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17)
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A Thread of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
New York U. S. A.: Ballantine Books. As New 2005. Softcover. Marfree, acidfree later prtg, not marked-in, underscored, clearance or discard. Mails from NYC usually within 12 hours. ; 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches; 439 pages; Online Rev: Ms Russell's extraordinary & 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 & 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 & 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 & hopeless feeling that might be expected, the novel has the opposite effect; it reminds us that just as there will always be war, crime, & death, so too will there be good people who sacrifice themselves to ease the suffering of others. Perhaps best of all, Russell succinctly opens & 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 & ancestry. On the surface, Russell's third novel may seem quite different from her earlier works. Both The Sparrow & 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 & haunted chameleon. The two have different circumstances & histories, but both characters are made of the same cloth--tormented by their consciences & 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 & death. --Victoria Griffith From Publishers Weekly Busy, noisy & heartfelt, this sprawling novel by Russell--a striking departure from her previous two acclaimed SF thrillers, --chronicles the Italian resistance to the Germans during the last two years of WWII. Three cultures mingle uneasily in Porto Sant'Andrea on the Ligurian coast of northwest Italy--the Italian Jews of the village, headed by the chief rabbi Iacopo Soncini; the Italian Catholics, like Sant'Andrea's priest Don Osvaldo Tomitz, who befriend & shelter the Jews; & the occupying Germans invited by Mussolini's crumbling regime. In the last camp is the drunken, tubercular Nazi deserter, Doktor Schramm, a broken man who confesses to Don Osvaldo that while working in state hospitals & Auschwitz, he was responsible for murdering 91, 867 people. Meanwhile, Jewish refugees in southern France, including Albert Blum & his teenage daughter, Claudette, are fleeing across the Alps to Italy, hoping to find sanctuary there. Russell pursues numerous narrative threads, including the Blums' perilous flight over the mountains; Italian Jew Renzo Leoni's personal coming to terms with his participation in the Dolo hospital bombing during the Abyssinian campaign in 1935; the dangerous frenzy of the Italian partisans; & the bloody-mindedness of German officers resolved to carry out Hitler's murderous racial policy despite mounting evidence . ( more information) Offered by BobPrudhomme, Relentless Bookfinder (United States)
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A Thread of Grace (Qty: 53)
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. New. All items are BRAND NEW. Delivery Confirmation provided with shipping confirmation email. Fast Response to all emails. ( more information) Offered by Movies With A Smile, Inc. (United States)
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A Thread of Grace (Qty: 9)
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. PAPERBACK. 0449004139 We sell only brand new merchandise! . New. ( more information) Offered by Robin Pugh's Nest of Treasures (United States)
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A Thread of Grace (Qty: 33)
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. PAPERBACK. 0449004139 We sell only brand new merchandise! . New. ( more information) Offered by Robin Pugh's Nest of Treasures (United States)
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A Thread of Grace (Qty: 8)
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. PAPERBACK. 0449004139 We sell only brand new merchandise! . New. ( more information) Offered by Robin Pugh's Nest of Treasures (United States)
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A Thread of Grace (Qty: 11)
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. PAPERBACK. 0449004139 We sell only brand new merchandise! . New. ( more information) Offered by Robin Pugh's Nest of Treasures (United States)
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A THREAD OF GRACE
RUSSELL, MARY DORIA
BALLANTINE/FAWCETT. TRADE PAPERBACK. NEW CONDITION. ( more information) Offered by Montclair Book Center (United States)
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Thread Of Grace
Russell, Mary Doria
Ballantine Books. NEW PAPERBACK. Binding:PAP Vendor: Ballantine Books Subject:Fiction . 0449004139 . Binding:PAP. Vendor: Ballantine Books. Subject:Fiction. ( more information) Offered by BayShore Books LLC (United States)
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A Thread of Grace
MARY DORIA RUSSELL
Ballantine Books, 2005 Paper Back. New. ( more information) Offered by Eighth Day Books (United States)
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A Thread of Grace (Qty: 5)
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books, 2005-12-06. Paperback. New. Brand New. In Stock. Order Now. Free upgrade with tracking. Over 600,000 items available. Buy from a trusted Power Seller. ( more information) Offered by *** www.HarvardBooksellers.com *** (United States)
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A Thread of Grace (Qty: 4)
Mary Doria Russell
Ballantine Books. Paperback. Very Good. Satisfaction Guaranteed! ( more information) Offered by more books (United States)
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