Some of the best scenes in literature:1. The Idiot - mock execution2. Macbeth - Act 5; Scene 5 - Macbeth's world is crashing aroundhim when he hears of his wife's death. He remarks, laconically, "Sheshould have died hereafter," and then delivers what might be the most perfect lines in literature: To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing....Nowhere in literature is despair and futility communicated better.3. Invisible Man - Liberty Paints Factory or battle royal4. Flannery O'Connor - too many to list5. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Janie telling Joe Starks, "Whenyou pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uhlife." The few examples above come from "Tier One" literature. While this sounds hierarchical, I guess I do view books in general categories. For example, though Mary Doria Russell is an excellent writer, she doesn't make my Tier One list. And, I'm no elitist, but I'd be willing to bet most of us have some sort of invisible line that separates truly great literature from the rest. Then, there is schlocky literature and those books - like Glenn Beck's recent foray into literature (and I'd rather check out Hell for a few days or rip my face off than read The Overton Window) - that are beneath contempt.However, in Tier Two literature (very good but not great), Russell's scene between Werner Schramm, an SS deserter, and Father Osvaldo Tomitz, an Italian priest, is absolutely unforgettable. Schramm has been dogging Osvaldo for some time, hoping to have him hear his confession. [If you consider this excerpt a spoiler, don't read it.:] Osvaldo wants nothing to do with Schramm, but Schramm persists and starts by asking Osvaldo a number of questions concerning faith, and then begins his confession:"A priest's office is to instruct the faithful!" Schramm shouts. [Osvaldo is disgusted but resigns himself to hearing the confession.:] ..."Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, he says when he can speak again. "I have murdered 91,867 people." Osvaldo laughs. You're joking, this laugh says. You can't be serious! "Ninety-one thousand," he repeats. "Eight hundred..." "And sixty-seven. Yes." The number is absurd, but Schramm does not laugh. [Schramm tries to makes excuses, to clarify the situation, but Osvaldo cannot comprehend; it is beyond belief.:] Osvaldo looks at Schramm, at the goat, at the diamond studded-sea in the distance. Mind racing, he tries to imagine what he can possibly say to this...this demon. His mouth opens. No words emerge. He lifts his hands, drops them, and begins to walk over. "Wait!" Schramm calls. "You must-- What is my penance?" Osvaldo turns and stares. "Mein Gott, Schramm, what did you expect? Rosaries?" Bending suddenly, leaning hard on hands that clutch his knees, Osvaldo chokes back vomit. Trembling, he lifts his eyes. "Shoot yourself."I've eliminated both parts of this scene and its ending. It has to be read in its entirety.The book's title is perfect, for grace does thread its way through this book. Though the plight of the Italian resistance, Jewish refugees and many others in this book prompt situations that are wrenching, the book is uplifting as well.A poignant and memorable read.
I simply loved this moving rendering of life in northern Italy during the long period of Nazi occupation after Mussolini stepped down. It is the story of two families of Jewish refugees who hide out in the mountains with the support of Italian peasants and poorly equipped partisan fighters of diverse origins. The tale is well researched and very satisfying in revealing the strengths of a community and the ability of the human heart to thrive under great challenges.At the beginning of the narrative, thousands of Jewish residents and refugees in coastal towns near the border with France make the decision to cross the mountains to the north and hide out in the rural country of the piedmont portion of Italy. The book dwells on the life of a 15-year old Belgian refugee girl, Claudette Blum, travelling with her middle class father. Hardship and losses cannot quell her spirit, nor keep her from falling in love with a former Italian soldier, Santino, who helps them cross the mountains. Both find a pathway to serve the resistance network. Other key characters include a former Italian Jewish airman, an Italian Rabbi, a priest, a nun, and a deserter German doctor. The story brings to life their experiences and moral choices, along with their successes and failures in endurance and sacrifice. The prose is largely invisible and transported me very vividly into the rural environment and social discourse of characters I could root for.As you can see from the box on the map, the site of the story is the region between Genoa and Nice (the towns are fictional). At the start in the Fall of 1943, the Allied invasion of Italy was bogged down south of Rome, and from then until the end of the war they only got as far as the middle of Italy (the “Gothic Line” on the map). During this nearly two years, the Nazis were free to try to carry out the “Final Solution” for the Jews of northern Italy, which the former Fascist government had been reticent to accede to. However, the resistance curtailed that effort, with the consequence that nearly 45,000 Jews were saved and “only” about 5,000 were nabbed and sent to the death camps. Through ambushes and sorties, the partisan fighters inflicted about 20,000 casualties on the German forces, thus making a valuable contribution to the war effort by diverting German troops from defense against the Normandy invasion. The SS used their usual tricks of terrorist intimidation. They pushed for a policy that for every soldier killed, 20 residents from the closest village would be slaughtered in response, and anyone harboring a rebel or a Jew would be shot. Fortunately, few regular German soldiers carried out such policies, but when such atrocities were enacted, it took community courage and resolve to continue resisting. At one point the Rabbi wonders: “I keep asking myself why was it so different here? Why did Italians help when so many others turn away?” He recalls to a nun a saying in Hebrew: “No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there’s always a thread of grace.”From the four books of hers I've read, Russell seems to me a gifted and versatile writer who puts her training in anthropology to good use in her skilled approaches to elucidating the essence of our humanity in the face of challenges.
What do You think about A Thread Of Grace (2005)?
A wonderful book. It was so engaging, I often forgot that I was reading a book and felt more like I was in the story. While I have read a lot of WWII fiction, I had not read anything about WWII Italy and the Partisan uprising against the Nazi regime, which invaded Italy after the Italian armistice. The book features a huge cast of characters (Russell was thoughtful enough to include a cast of characters at the beginning of the book so I didn't get too lost) - there are a couple of "main" characters that are all interconnected. I did really find myself caring about a few of the main characters - the disillusioned German doctor; the exuberant, drunken, self-made Jewish spy; the grieving rabbi's wife, forced to hide away in the Italian countryside.In the end I was thrown off a bit by the enormous cast, but overall, I found it to be an absolutely beautiful story. 4.5/5.0 stars, with just that half star taken off for the daunting number of characters!
—Erika
There are numerous novels relating to WWII, but few compare to the obviously well-researched saga by Mary Doria Russell. Previously, most of my associated reading on this subject was centered on other European or Asian countries, but this book is focused on Italy's mountainous regions, with its small hamlets, isolated towns and farmlands. Throughout the narrative, Russell has traced the activities of fascinating characters, powerfully interspersed with the general impact of the war. The major thrust is the efforts of Italian partisans against the brutality and murderous persistence of the Nazis, all mainly in the attempts to provide safety for the Jewish refugees. An important aspect of these efforts was the assistance of the Catholic church, often at great risk to their own well-being. The action is intense and compelling and moves rapidly throughout the novel.Russell has clearly portrayed the suffering and privation of the Italian and Jewish people along with the incredible pomp and excesses of consumption by the Nazis. She clearly pictured the devastation of the bombings,the famine and the senseless acts of cruelty by the enemy. It is amazing how anyone survived any of these onslaughts.I have often remarked how a well written novel can inform as well as a work of non-fiction . While interjecting interesting facts into the plot, it can spur the urge to investigate further. Russell has acheived this aspect in her book. She has meticulously and capably introduced historical details throughout, with many scholarly references, from medieval periods to WWII. A minor criticsm of this complex narrative was my difficulty in keeping track of the numerous "foreign" names throughout. However, to her credit, the author has provided a list of characters in the introduction, along with useful maps, which was a handy reference.Rating this book was slightly difficult. Although the quality of the writing was excellent, I felt that it merited a 4.5.
—Barbara
This is a truly beautiful story about Italian peasants willing to risk their own lives and go hungry in order to shelter and feed Jewish refugees during WWII. It also gives some grim insight about the reality of guerrilla warfare among the Italian partisans during this time. Heartwarming but also realistically heartbreaking. Not only a good story, but I learned a lot, too.I would have given this book four stars except that the book is written in the present tense, which makes it a lot harder for me to read. In this case it took me about twice as long to get through than it would have had it been written in the past tense.
—Jeanette "Astute Crabbist"
