A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell

I finished this book Monday night - it is my first read for the WWII Reading Challenge. It "tells the little-known story of the vast underground effort by Italian citizens who saved the lives of 43,000 Jews during the final phase of World War II." (quoted from the back cover) It was very well-written and followed the stories of several different characters. While this book and The Madonnas of Leningrad were very different stories, I was struck at the end by the similarity between Claudette (in this book) and Marina (in Madonnas) - how neither would talk about their experiences during the war and how their children didn't feel like they knew them - and even thought they were cold. I rate this book 4 out of 5.