Helpful Score: 5
Interesting story; well written however with the topic, it was not a gripping-page-turner. I did find that the story held me and I wanted to know what happened in the end to all the characters. I knew very little about the Italian Jews and the Italian Partisans. Worth the time to read.
Helpful Score: 3
outstanding book - a piece of history that was overlooked
Helpful Score: 3
Italians working together to save Jewish refugees during the German Occupation of 1943-44 Russell has a deep empathy for her characters and writes about the horrors of guerrilla war.
Helpful Score: 3
I'm a bit of a WWII buff and have read many books on the subject. This is now one of my very favorites. While there are many characters to follow, I was deeply engrossed in the struggle of each one. The kindness, compassion and bravery of the Italians is matched by the heart wrenching stories of the Jewish refugees. The story was very hard to read but so worth it, I would recommend this book to everyone.
Helpful Score: 2
Interesting and historical, but a difficult read.
Helpful Score: 2
A moving story of survival and resistance in World War Two Italy. Characters that you truly care about.
Helpful Score: 2
This book was fabulous! If you like historical fiction , you will really love this. I found I did not know as much about hilter as I thought, so I was inspired to look up facts. The story line is fiction, but the events (dates, numbers, atrocities) are factual. Very powerful book!
Helpful Score: 2
I thought it was a hard book to read, but I really enjoyed the characters and the history throughout the book.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a wonderful book about the Italian Resistance during World War 2. I have read many books about the French role in the war but this is the first I've read about the Italian side. It is well written and indeed shows 'a thread of grace' that the Italian partisans showed to the Jews during the War. Characters include women and children partisans, a Rabbi and his family, a British paratrooper, Catholic nuns and a german doctor who aided the partisans. Well worth the read.
Helpful Score: 2
WOw, this was good. Italian Jews during WWII, a theme of damnation and redemption.
Helpful Score: 2
A wonderful book of inspiring characters. I really learned a lot about Northwester Italy during the last two years of WWII. Great book!
Helpful Score: 2
Finished this today. A good read, Mary Doria writes a book that takes you by the throat until you finish.
Helpful Score: 1
Good read! This is fascinating historical fiction about Italian citizens saving the lives of Jews during WWII.
Helpful Score: 1
Beautiful story about a part of WWII that we don't really know.
Helpful Score: 1
This was amongst my top 10 all time favorite books. Absolutely loved it.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a little hard to get into but once the action started it was a pretty fast read. Good characters and a great plot kept it going. I never realized that this went on in Italy in WWII. Those people were heroes, every single on of them.
Helpful Score: 1
Quite simply, this is an amazing book. Heartbreaking and heart-wrenching with beautiful writing, fully fleshed out characters and powerful messages (without being overbearing or pedantic).
Mary Doria Russell is one of my favorite authors and I wish she would write more! You cannot go wrong with this book.
Mary Doria Russell is one of my favorite authors and I wish she would write more! You cannot go wrong with this book.
Helpful Score: 1
From the author of 'The Sparrow', a wonderful read about Italy and Holocaust survivors
Helpful Score: 1
Moving story of families fleeing German expansion WWII. Starts a bit slow as I wondered how these different life stories woud be woven together. Becomes very engaging and I didn't want to put it down. As always, this author has created a masterful story. A really good read.
This is a stunning book. It is well written, presented logically and with beautiful prose.
Very interest book about WWII , in particular about the Italian partisans who saved so many Jews from Hitler. You see the viewpoints of all the different players, who are well described. Difficult to follow the cast of characters, but a wonderful source of info, and incredibly moving and poignant.
Wonderful book. One of my all time favorites.
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!
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!
This book offers an interesting look into the Italian front during WWII -- something I wasn't very familiar with, even through the few years I spent studying the war in college history courses. I highly recommend the book for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
The book has a few cons, though. First, the characters. It gets extremely bogged down with numerous characters. And then, how the characters are referenced (first name, surname, nickname) changes from chapter to chapter -- sometimes within the same chapter. It gets confusing and I needed to constantly reference the author's list of characters. Second, the plot. With a bunch of characters comes plots that somewhat interact with each other but largely stand alone. This is also conflicting for a reader and makes an already long book take a bit longer to get through.
In addition, the author opens with Renzo and Werner. Their storyline was the most interesting and I found myself looking forward to chapters including them. Other characters didn't have the same depth. If this book had focused solely on Renzo and Werner then this could have been a 5-star novel. Alas, it was a messy, long novel that had little direction.
The book has a few cons, though. First, the characters. It gets extremely bogged down with numerous characters. And then, how the characters are referenced (first name, surname, nickname) changes from chapter to chapter -- sometimes within the same chapter. It gets confusing and I needed to constantly reference the author's list of characters. Second, the plot. With a bunch of characters comes plots that somewhat interact with each other but largely stand alone. This is also conflicting for a reader and makes an already long book take a bit longer to get through.
In addition, the author opens with Renzo and Werner. Their storyline was the most interesting and I found myself looking forward to chapters including them. Other characters didn't have the same depth. If this book had focused solely on Renzo and Werner then this could have been a 5-star novel. Alas, it was a messy, long novel that had little direction.
Amazing read, very well told story that is both heartening and heartbreaking at the same time. I enjoyed reading this book so much that I frequently missed my stops on the subway commuting back and forth to work because I was so enthralled in the book. The only criticism is that the ending left a few things to be desired but overall, well worth the read. I've read most of the author's other books and so far, I've never been disappointed by her writing.
Amazing story of a little-known section of history.
I wanted to like this book but I could never get into it.
This is a wonderful historical novel about the Italian Resistance during WW II. A story of love and war, it speaks to the resilience of the human spirit in the midst of unimaginable horror.
Very well written, but graphic portrayal of events taking place in Northwestern Italy from 1943-1945. It portrays the unimaginable in a way that draws you in and connects you so that the inevitable is that much more real. I don't know why I wasn't expecting that, but oh my that made the end so difficult. This is not a feel good book, but an excellent, accurate and well researched historical fiction novel. I wasn't prepared for that, but am very glad I read it. She does such a very good job of connecting you to the characters, and portraying the awful choices so many had to make for the sake of others.
