A Thread Of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
01/06/2005 . Source: Sue Davies 

pub: Doubleday. 430 page hardback. Price: £16.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-385-60866-7.

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Maria Doria Russell's first two books were in the crossover area that made them to all intents and purposes Science Fiction. The first thing I need to say here is that this one is not but as her publisher's have been kind enough to send us a copy we'll overlook it.



Following themes developed in 'The Sparrow' and 'Children Of God', Russell once again addresses the thorny question of morality, religion and politics. Her chosen setting this time is not a faraway planet but our own during World War II. This is not so long ago but the kind of events that took place still beggar our belief and may appear to be stranger than fiction.

In the autumn of 1943, thousands of Jewish refugees braved the horror of the Alpine passes to get to Italy. The Italians have abandoned the war. Previously, Mussolini had been allied to Hitler's Germany but now Italy has made peace. Assuming it will be a safe haven, the refugees come to realise that they are in almost as much danger as those they have left behind or become separated from.

Over the mountains comes fourteen year-old Claudette Blum and her father. Helped by a returning Italian soldier, she experiences the bitter sweetness of first love and the desperate sadness of loss.

Renzo Leoni, an Italian Catholic, is chameleon-like as he befriends priests and Germans alike to further the cause of Italian resistance. Rabbi Iacopo finds he must become a man of action and his wife Mirella take on new responsibilities as the struggle to stay free becomes a joint fight with the Italians against the metalled boot of German occupation. Schramm is a deserting SS doctor, horrified by the road he has taken and his confession to Father Osvaldo Tomitz makes the priest question his ability and right to forgive. This is Tomitz' own call to arms in the dark days that follow.

Based on true accounts of the occupation, this is a comprehensive and very moving account of how people making a stand can make a real difference. It was a revelation that all this went on during the closing stages of World War II.

Overall, this is an exceptional and heartbreaking narrative that is relentless in its examination of morality and faith. It is the connections that form between all the characters that is most gripping and once you have taken these characters in the conclusion is all the more disturbing. Russell does not flinch from the reality of war and its aftermath and we as readers follow it though to the bitter end. She has cast a welcome light, not only on the horror of war, but of the goodness of selfless people who would not sit back and accept occupation.

I recommend this as an absorbing and disquieting read.

Sue Davies