A Thread of Grace

No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there's always a thread of grace

A Thread of Grace is about Jewish refugees in Northern Italy during World War II. But like Mary Doria Russell's other books, it's about so much more than that.

Tapestry is a good word to describe this book. There are a lot of characters, and their stories weave together to paint a picture of the last two years of WWII. The number of characters is a bit overwhelming at the beginning, but Russell is so good at creating distinct people that it doesn't take too long to begin sorting them out. There's also a list at the beginning of the book that outlines the characters, their aliases, and their basic relationships. The list is helpful, though I accidentally spoiled myself for a plot point via one of the descriptive aliases.

The book tells the amazingly true story of many Italians' simple refusal to report on their Jewish friends, family, and neighbors. The book is dark; there's a war going on and the casualty rate is high. But through it all Russell reveals an underground effort to protect the Jews that is astounding. All told, the Italians saved an estimated 43,000 Jews during these two years.

Russell says that she flipped a coin to determine whether several of her characters would live or die. This method highlights the arbitrary nature of death in a war and contributes to the dread in each scene. More than once I found myself wondering as I read whether a given character's coin came up heads or tales. The lack of a discernible protagonist adds to this atmosphere, as it doesn't even seem like there's a particular character who has to make it to the end of the book. Given that it's about a war, I shouldn't have been surprised that Russell's ruthlessness and death count rival GRRM's in A Song of Ice and Fire.

One of the characters, Claudette, is told early on, "save your tears, you may need them later". At the time it's good advice, as she needs to focus on crossing the Alps before the Germans catch up. But it becomes something of a mantra for her. There were so many moments in her story that I just wanted to tell her that she needed her tears now. That bottling up all the sadness she experienced was not going to be healthy. Then again, I probably cried enough tears for the both of us.

The part of the book that has stuck with me the most is the interaction between Schramm and Don Osvaldo. Schramm was a German doctor who experimented on people with diseases and disabilities. Specifically he was looking for the most effective way to kill them. He also spent 10 days stationed at Auschwitz, during which time he was directly responsible for the deaths of 91,000 Jews. The book opens after he has deserted and is looking for a priest to confess his sins to. But Don Osvlado is so horrified at his confession that he refuses to absolve him or offer penance. He spends the rest of the book struggling to reconcile that level of evil with his belief in a merciful and forgiving God. The conclusion of their relationship is beautifully ironic.

Everyone should read this book. It's a beautiful portrait of the grace that humanity is capable of. Though I should warn you, this being a book about war, that there is a torture scene I found difficult to read.