Mary Doria Russell — A Thread of Grace

Black Swan (UK) 2005 Paperback, 512pp. It is 8 September 1943 and 14-year-old Claudette Blum is learning Italian and carrying a battered suitcase. She and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps towards Italy. There they hope to find safety now that Italy has made peace with the Allies. However, almost overnight, Italy will become a battleground for the occupying German forces, the advancing Allies, an increasingly confident Resistance, Jews in hiding and ordinary Italians simply trying to survive. Against this dramatic backdrop and through the experiences of a handful of fascinating, beautifully-drawn characters, Mary Doria Russell's first historical novel recalls the little known but true story of the Italian citizens who saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews during the final, desperate phase of the Second World War. Tanned; cover creased. (ISBN: 9780552772884). Good.