drey's library

I really enjoyed Victoria Hislop’s The Return, a novel set in Granada, and decided to check out her next offering, The Thread.The Thread is set in Thessaloniki, Greece and contains a lot of history – it spans from 1917 to the late 1970s and covers everything from the war with the Turks to World War II and the German occupation and through the difficult path to its current political climate.Told through the eyes of a little girl separated from her mother and sister in the chaos surrounding their escape from Smyrna, this is a story of survival if not triumph, love, and loss. It’s a story of familial ties, multi-cultural communities, and how sometimes, man always finds a way to tear down something good, all in the name of fear and greed.I liked that Hislop tells some of this story with Katerina’s voice. It is quiet and melodic, and quite haunting. It provides a welcome relief from the darkness contained within its pages – from the wars and civil unrest, the expulsion of the Jews to Poland, the ravages and consequences of resisting the status quo, and the stark unhappiness of two of the main characters. Life has not kind to Olga Komninos or Katerina Sarafoglou, though they each get more out of their friendship than they’d expected.The Thread is a lovely read, though it’s a bit slow at times. I also wished there were more of the “good guys,” because all the suffering at the hands of self-absorbed, selfish really got my ire and indignation going. But life is what it is, and eventually Katerina and Olga both find some happiness. Add this to your reading pile for the lovely writing and lyrical depiction of life in this Greek island that I’ve always wanted to visit. drey’s rating: Pick it up!