The enthralling novel from Victoria Hislop, the million-copy bestselling author of THE ISLAND and THE RETURN.
Thessaloniki, 1917. As Dimitri Komninos is born, a devastating fire sweeps through the thriving Greek city where Christians, Jews and Muslims live side by side. Five years later, Katerina Sarafoglou's home in
Thessaloniki
The Thread
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Review
'Sweeping, magnificently detailed and ambitious'
(The Sunday Times )'Fast-paced narrative and utterly convincing sense of place'
(Guardian )'Fresh, tenacious and rather intrepid'
(Independent )'This is storytelling at its best and just like a tapestry, when each thread is sewn into place, so emerge the layers and history of relationships past and present'
(Sunday Express )'Her best novel yet' (Scotsman )
'A brilliant page turner and destined to become a reading group staple, THE THREAD is rich with drama and historical detail'
(Glamour )'Meticulously researched and compellingly told'
(Woman & Home )'An evocative exploration of the past's hold on a family, with an exquisite love story at its centre'
(Good Housekeeping )'A book to lose yourself in'
(We Love This Book )About the Author
Victoria Hislop read English at Oxford, and worked in publishing, PR and as a journalist before becoming a novelist. She is married with two children. Her first novel, THE ISLAND, held the Number One slot in the Sunday Times paperback chart for eight consecutive weeks and has sold over two million copies worldwide. Victoria acted as script consultant on a 26-part TV adaptation in Greece, which achieved record ratings for Greek television. Victoria was the Newcomer of the Year at the Galaxy British Book Awards 2007, and her second novel, THE RETURN, was also a Number One bestseller. THE THREAD spent nine weeks in the Sunday Times hardback chart, and was widely acclaimed. Her books have been translated into more than 25 languages. Victoria also writes short stories and her first collection, ONE CRETAN EVENING, is available as an ebook.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
259 of 264 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the first book I have read by Victoria Hislop and I shall definitely be reading her others. Young Dimitri visits his grandparents in Thessaloniki in 2007. He would really like them to come and live with other members of the family now they are old and frail but they tell him they are happy where they are.
Most of the book is taken up with the story of their lives. Grandfather Dimitri and his wife Katerina first met as children when Katerina arrives in Thessaloniki as an exile and ends up living next door to Dimitri and his mother in a rundown area while their mansion is rebuilt following a fire which destroyed much of the city.
What follows is a joyful and at times harrowing and poignant story of their lives from the World War I to the latter half of the twentieth century. Katerina has a gift for sewing and embroidery and as she grows up finds it easy to get work. Dimitri is not on good terms with his wealthy father and frequently disagrees with him on politics and his future career to the extent that he is estranged from his family and has to visit his mother, Olga, in secret for much of her life. The chapters which cover World War II show how inhumane people can be but it also shows how compassion and humanity can be found in the most unexpected places.
I found the book enjoyable and well written in a low key style which lets the events of the story speak for themselves. The backdrop of the volatile politics in Greece over the whole of the twentieth century is never obtrusive though the main characters are clearly rooted in their time. I liked Katerina, in particular, as a character and she comes over to the reader as a very strong and down to earth individual. Dimitri is not so prominent in the story and I didn't really feel I got to know him that well as I was reading the book. It is a story of how exile and war affect everyday life and how individuals deal with manmade and natural disasters.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys novels where the setting is as important as the characters. I really felt by the end of the book that I knew a great deal about Thessaloniki even though I have never lived there.
Most of the book is taken up with the story of their lives. Grandfather Dimitri and his wife Katerina first met as children when Katerina arrives in Thessaloniki as an exile and ends up living next door to Dimitri and his mother in a rundown area while their mansion is rebuilt following a fire which destroyed much of the city.
What follows is a joyful and at times harrowing and poignant story of their lives from the World War I to the latter half of the twentieth century. Katerina has a gift for sewing and embroidery and as she grows up finds it easy to get work. Dimitri is not on good terms with his wealthy father and frequently disagrees with him on politics and his future career to the extent that he is estranged from his family and has to visit his mother, Olga, in secret for much of her life. The chapters which cover World War II show how inhumane people can be but it also shows how compassion and humanity can be found in the most unexpected places.
I found the book enjoyable and well written in a low key style which lets the events of the story speak for themselves. The backdrop of the volatile politics in Greece over the whole of the twentieth century is never obtrusive though the main characters are clearly rooted in their time. I liked Katerina, in particular, as a character and she comes over to the reader as a very strong and down to earth individual. Dimitri is not so prominent in the story and I didn't really feel I got to know him that well as I was reading the book. It is a story of how exile and war affect everyday life and how individuals deal with manmade and natural disasters.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys novels where the setting is as important as the characters. I really felt by the end of the book that I knew a great deal about Thessaloniki even though I have never lived there.
300 of 306 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Thread is set in Greece's second city Thessaloniki with a prologue set in the present day. A young Anglo-Greek hears for the first time the story of his Grandparents and this story starts in 1917. A fire rages out of control and most of the citizens are left homeless. A baby boy is born that night and The Thread follows the story of that child - Dimitri Komninos. As a small boy Dimitri plays on the street with Katerina who is a refugee from Asia Minor, she fled when the Turks invaded her homeland.
This is a story of long-lasting, enduring love. It is also the story of a nation and particularly a city. Following the turbulent events of the twentieth century. Fires, wars, invastions, dictatorship and earthquakes this country and it's people went through so much. There are heartbreaking scenes within the story - the brutality and violence that happened during the German occupation - the fierce civil war and fighting between the Government and the rebel communists
At times this is a complex read and The Thread is an apt title - not only because of the links to the textile industry but also the clever way that Hislop has linked her characters, regardless of their race or status within the city.
Ultimately a love story, this is also a story of survival and of bravery, of passion and at times of brutality and such great sadness.
As in her previous novels, the modern day prologue and epilogue tie up the historical story. It's a neat way of letting the reader know how history influenced the present for the characters.
I was bewitched from page one, and The Thread is most certainly going to be one of my Top Five reads of 2011.
This is a story of long-lasting, enduring love. It is also the story of a nation and particularly a city. Following the turbulent events of the twentieth century. Fires, wars, invastions, dictatorship and earthquakes this country and it's people went through so much. There are heartbreaking scenes within the story - the brutality and violence that happened during the German occupation - the fierce civil war and fighting between the Government and the rebel communists
At times this is a complex read and The Thread is an apt title - not only because of the links to the textile industry but also the clever way that Hislop has linked her characters, regardless of their race or status within the city.
Ultimately a love story, this is also a story of survival and of bravery, of passion and at times of brutality and such great sadness.
As in her previous novels, the modern day prologue and epilogue tie up the historical story. It's a neat way of letting the reader know how history influenced the present for the characters.
I was bewitched from page one, and The Thread is most certainly going to be one of my Top Five reads of 2011.
86 of 92 people found the following review helpful
By Susie B
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Victoria Hislop's latest novel is a story about love, loyalty, family, war, politics and Greek history all blended into an easy and accessible read.
The story is set in Thessaloniki, in Greece where, in the early part of the last century, Victoria Hislop tells us: "Thessaloniki was a place of dazzling cultural variety, where an almost evenly balanced population of Christians, Muslims and Jews coexisted and complimented each other like the interwoven threads of an oriental carpet". However, the threads started to unravel during the Greco-Turkish war, when a large number of Muslims left Greece, and further unravelled during the Second World War, when the Jews were tragically removed during the Nazi occupation.
The story centres on Dimitri Komninos, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant who is a native of the city, and Katerina who comes to Greece as a young child, a refugee, separated from her mother, during their flight from Asia Minor when their home in Smyrna is destroyed by the Turkish army. As Dimitri and Katerina grow up, Katerina trains to become a seamstress, creating beautiful garments for the rich, whilst Dimitri studies medicine and becomes interested in the Communist Party. Life is not always easy, but with the invasion of their city by the Italian Fascists and then the Germans, Katerina and Dimitri become horrified witnesses to war and to ethnic cleansing. This causes Dimitri to become much more politically active and to join the resistance movement and, whilst this may not be an obviously romantic context for their love story, it is an exciting one.
As the lives of Dimitri and Katerina become further entwined, we learn not only about them and their growing and changing love for each other, but about the story of Thessaloniki itself, about how and where we live can shape and define us, and about how political changes can impact on ordinary families and change their lives completely. It is also about how the past cannot be forgotten and about how what has gone before impacts on life in the present.
This book was a gift from a friend and I must admit that, initially, I wasn't sure I would enjoy it. However, after a few hours curled up on the sofa, I have changed my mind. This isn't a great literary novel, but it is an absorbing story with characters you can warm to and an interesting lesson in Greek history too. There is a real sense of time and place with this novel and it would make a great weekend or bedtime read. Book your place on the sofa.
The story is set in Thessaloniki, in Greece where, in the early part of the last century, Victoria Hislop tells us: "Thessaloniki was a place of dazzling cultural variety, where an almost evenly balanced population of Christians, Muslims and Jews coexisted and complimented each other like the interwoven threads of an oriental carpet". However, the threads started to unravel during the Greco-Turkish war, when a large number of Muslims left Greece, and further unravelled during the Second World War, when the Jews were tragically removed during the Nazi occupation.
The story centres on Dimitri Komninos, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant who is a native of the city, and Katerina who comes to Greece as a young child, a refugee, separated from her mother, during their flight from Asia Minor when their home in Smyrna is destroyed by the Turkish army. As Dimitri and Katerina grow up, Katerina trains to become a seamstress, creating beautiful garments for the rich, whilst Dimitri studies medicine and becomes interested in the Communist Party. Life is not always easy, but with the invasion of their city by the Italian Fascists and then the Germans, Katerina and Dimitri become horrified witnesses to war and to ethnic cleansing. This causes Dimitri to become much more politically active and to join the resistance movement and, whilst this may not be an obviously romantic context for their love story, it is an exciting one.
As the lives of Dimitri and Katerina become further entwined, we learn not only about them and their growing and changing love for each other, but about the story of Thessaloniki itself, about how and where we live can shape and define us, and about how political changes can impact on ordinary families and change their lives completely. It is also about how the past cannot be forgotten and about how what has gone before impacts on life in the present.
This book was a gift from a friend and I must admit that, initially, I wasn't sure I would enjoy it. However, after a few hours curled up on the sofa, I have changed my mind. This isn't a great literary novel, but it is an absorbing story with characters you can warm to and an interesting lesson in Greek history too. There is a real sense of time and place with this novel and it would make a great weekend or bedtime read. Book your place on the sofa.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly written
I bought this as I am interested in the history of Greece and heard that this had been well researched. Read more
Published 9 hours ago by Mr. M. Gunston
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful Read
I loved the book it really brought Greece alive and its people What they suffered has shaped the whole country.
Published 1 day ago by J. M. Bridgen
4.0 out of 5 stars
A better match of history and story
I enjoyed The Island but was disappointed by The Return (see review). I felt that The Thread was a return to form in that it was a better balance between history (Greek in this... Read more
Published 4 days ago by AlexM
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishingly captivating
I have read other books written by the author and thoroughly enjoyed them. Especially the island, having visited this part of Greece. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Miss Donna McAllister
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful historical read
Victoria Hislop has the most marvellous ability to take a historical event and weave it into a great read. I loved my second book from her.
Published 7 days ago by Naurene Leppan
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Thread Victoria Hislop . Review
I read this book because my son wanted proof that I could order for my new Kindle. I'm an avid crime reader This one is perfectly competent but not really for an 83 year old PD... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Brenda Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really easy to read
Goes from the beginning of the last century till the modern days, and it is a good reflect of what happened at that time. Really good read.
Published 7 days ago by S. Domingo Blanco
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great story
Well documented, enjoyable story-thoroughly enjoyed it! Victoria Hislop is a very good writer who keeps your interest throughout the book. Good historical detail.
Published 8 days ago by Maggie
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Thread
I enjoyed the book very much,especially the historical and religious aspects of the book.The descriptions of the scenes and characters was very vivid.
Published 8 days ago by Harry Conium
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hislop standard.
Each of her books has a certain charm, and she has not missed it this time. Waiting for her next.
Published 9 days ago by Lucyanne
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