Glenn Shapiro's "The Threads Remain" is a precisely structured historical novel that excavates personal memory and national guilt with restraint and empathy. Avoiding melodrama or sentimentality, Shapiro crafts a narrative that is neither allegorical nor didactic but instead insists on the enduring weight of individual choices within the machinery of history.

Set primarily in wartime and post-war Germany, the novel unfolds in two interlacing timelines. In 1957 Munich, Friedrich Becker, a young man raised without knowledge of his origins, uncovers the startling truth of his Jewish heritage and the circumstances that led to his adoption. Initiated by the death of his adoptive mother, his search takes him through orphanage records, crumbling memories, and guarded testimonies. His quest for self-understanding is paralleled by a second narrative: the wartime experience of Josef Zohren, a blond, physically imposing German boy whose recruitment into the Einsatzgruppen places him at the heart of the Nazi regime's most brutal operations.

The novel's power lies in its restraint. Shapiro refrains from offering simple distinctions between good and evil. Characters are shaped by their environments but not absolved by them. Josef's arc is not a redemption tale but an ethical dissection. His internal conflicts are rendered with uncomfortable clarity, illustrating how complicity can coexist with humanity and how one moment of courage does not erase a ledger of violence.

Friedrich's pursuit of truth is handled with equal care. Unlike many novels set in this era that rely on the reader's assumed emotional response to the Holocaust, Shapiro focuses instead on how the legacy of trauma operates in silence, in what is hidden, forgotten, or deliberately unspoken. The post-war sections do not treat 1957 Germany as a blank slate but rather as a place weighed down by denial and moral inertia. Institutions like the Arolsen Archive serve as reminders that memory must often be reconstructed from what remains—scraps of paper, uncertain recollections, a misremembered name.

What distinguishes "The Threads Remain" is not only its historical authenticity but also the way history is inextricably intertwined with the characters' lives. The confiscation of a Jewish toy shop, the indoctrination of youth, and the bureaucratic obfuscation of post-war Germany are the crucible in which the characters are forged. Yet the novel resists spectacle. Violence is not aestheticized; it is procedural, numbing, and systemic.

Shapiro's prose is clean and deliberate. His use of German terms and historical references is precise, never ornamental. Even the title bears thematic weight: threads that connect people across time, guilt and rescue, identity and erasure.

"The Threads Remain" does not promise healing, nor does it offer resolution. Instead, it asks what it means to live honestly in the aftermath of horror and whether such honesty is ever truly possible.

This review is based on an advance reader copy provided by NetGalley and BeRead Ltd / Brandylion Press, 2025.

A historical novel that vividly highlights the suffering and torment of the Jews in the Second World War, but is intriguingly told also from the viewpoint of one of the German SS soldiers. So many of us assume we would never personally carry out such atrocities as did those men but through the emotional wrangles of one of his central characters Shapiro makes you realise decisions and actions were not necessarily so straightforward and willingly made by the aggressors.
´The Threads Remain` switches between the events as they occurred during the war and the life of the main character as he endeavours in 1957 to find the truth about his past. At first this moving between the years meant I took a bit of time to fully engage with the characters but, once I became familiar with them, I was hooked.
I think this will really appeal to steadfast fans of WW2 fiction but I also think it has the added twist of touching on the less common approach.
A definite must-read for me.

Four and a half stars rounded up to five. This book had three storylines that intersect. Max and Gerda are a young Jewish couple who own a toy shop. Josef was drafted into the SS when he was fifteen. And Freidrich is trying to unravel the secrets of his past.
I loved this book. I read it in one sitting. It was refreshing to read about a young German soldier who was conflicted about what he was doing, yet still followed orders. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Highly, highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Wow! This book had me hooked from the very first chapter which was heartbreaking.

The Threads Remain switch between time lines and events throughout WW2 and the late 1950’s. The book details the suffering of Jewish people during the war but also shows the life and feelings of a German soldier in the SS which was both thought provoking and eye opening to see the internal turmoil and conflict of a soldier ordered to stand and fight for his country Germany and take part in the atrocities of war.

Such a beautifully written book, I really enjoyed it. One of my favourite books of 2025 so far! Totally deserves 5 stars, it was a gripping read that I couldn’t put down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Heartbreakingly beautiful this book is set in Germany during wartime and post war. It tells the stories of a young Jewish couple, Max and Gerda, Josef a 15 year old schoolboy who is drafted into the SS and Friedrich who is looking for his birth parents.

The way their stories link into each other is quite beautiful but so very sad. I was lost for words after reading this book and immediately wanted to read it again. Without a doubt this will be one of my top books of 2025. Five stars just aren’t enough for this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for my honest and unbiased opinion.

The threads of a young man’s boyhood life are pulled together. The story of Friedrich, grieving for his adopted mother, trying to find out about his birth parents. The reader also follows his early years, of which he only has sketchy memories. With the help of a local librarian, he discovers what happened to them in Berlin during WWII. His beloved boyhood teddy Barli provides the link. The characters are very believable and empathetic, making for a strong and unusual WWII novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

What a great book! One of the best I have read for ages. I wanted to finish it because I wanted to see how it all panned out and fitted together but also, it was so engrossing that I didn't want it to end.

The characters are very well drawn and vivid, Their terrible dilemmas and choices are realistically and heartbreakingly portrayed.

The happenings in each time period all seem entirely believable, I almost felt I was living with the characters and facing the same choices. I certainly felt that I was with Max and Gerda in their shop and following along with Friedrich and Sigrid in their search. Given the setting and subject matter there are some strong and upsetting scenes and the story is so very moving. On a number of occasions it moved me to tears.

The only disappointment I have is that it is not based on a true story and I suppose that in real life life Friedrich might not have found all he was seeking but miracles do happen.

Amazing book. Easy five stars! I did not want to put it down! Will be recommending in my Facebook group! Also buying copies for my book loving family members!

Wow what emotive writing. Writing at its best. Heart-breaking, guilt, love, drama, love, forgiveness and humility rolled into orders from the German forces in WW2.

Truly a novel that was written with depth of feeling for the people it portrays.

Tip.. do not start this book without a pack of tissues at the ready, could not put this book down. Another burnt dinner!!!

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this blockbuster

A heartwrenching story told by a German soldier Josef, who realises what they had to do , and how Jews were treated was all wrong. Also through the words of a young German, Frederick, who was adopted and starts to seek out his biological parents brings both stories together. Beautifully written it will touch your soul.

Friedrich is sixteen and all he remembers of his family is his mother and being hidden in a cupboard. The war has intervened since then and no one is the same.
Josef was drafted into the war but doesn't really know why he is there and what he is doing.
Max and Gerda are running a toy shop but are soon forced to make choices.
Their lives are intertwined but can the truth be revealed.

The Threads Remain floored me in the most haunting way.

Told across dual timelines, WW2 and 1950s Germany, the novel follows young Friedrich as he begins to uncover the truth of his past, and Josef, a 15 year old boy pulled into the machinery of the SS, throughout is the love story of Max and Gerda, Jewish toyshop owners whose quiet acts of resistance break your heart even more than the violence.

Josef’s storyline in particular had me sitting with the discomfort of complicity and the very human pull to belong, even when it costs everything. And Friedrich’s search for identity, his grief and resilience, felt deeply real.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Young Jewish couple Max and Gerda are running their treasured family toyshop, but impending danger will force them to make unimaginable choices to stay alive.
There are decisions to be made
Just fifteen and drafted into the SS, Josef is unprepared for war. Serving his country will force Josef to question all he knows about himself. Can he do everything that’s asked of him – and should he?

This is a good read. Although fiction, it has all the traits of a true story. A story which can probably be repeated many times in history. The brutality of the situation is portrayed but not overdone. The separate stories and timelines meet at a satisfying ending. In

Ooh this book was incredible! Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read it. The timeline jumps around a bit, between Friedrich in 1957 and Josef in the early 1940s, as well as young Friedrich at the same time, as we follow their different paths through the war and how they intertwine… in more ways than expected. I love how historical fiction can make all these connections between characters that probably also happened in real life, but were so rare that few ever get told.

Josef’s story was fascinating, watching him begin as a gentle giant who, due to his size, ends up recruited into the SS. He is always a sympathetic character but we do see his young mind become indoctrinated into Nazism and it’s just so interesting and realistic to have a character who isn’t just Good or Bad, who does things which horrify him but who also starts to believe he is doing them because there is “no other way”… until there is.

And I loved Friedrich’s story as all the threads of his life came to light, how there were so many times a name was casually mentioned and you’d go “wait a minute I remember that person…” I kept wanting to skip back a few chapters to double check stuff but reading on a kindle makes that a lot harder!

I loved this and was left wanting a little more at the end. The only thing I didn’t like was how when German words were used, they were immediately followed with a translation in brackets, which broke the flow a little. A lot of them were unnecessary too - we don’t need to be told for example that Platz means “square” or Bahnhofstrasse means “train station street” and, if we do, a glossary of terms at the end would suffice. Most words used were either obvious from their context, or a translation wasn’t actually important to the story.

A book that cuts across history and tells the story of Jews during WW2, but also a German who was drafted into the SS and his struggles throughout. This is a heavy read but an important reminder of history.

An amazing WWII story about young lives during the war and the trials they are put through to decide where their lives will go. I loved it!

At times, a brutal and unflinching novel in its depiction of war in Germany and the work of the fearsome Einsatzgruppen, whose role was to hunt down the Jews. At other times, compassionate and tender but without stepping into mawkishness. Not an easy read by any stretch but an excellent piece of work.

At first the chapters moving between different times had me confused, but as the stories began to intertwine all became much clearer.

There is goodness and evil in equal measure in this novel. The author's style is direct and concise, which makes the depiction of the brutal acts the SS soldiers were forced to carry out all the more chilling, and the terrible situations described extraordinarily tense.

Some novels ask you to read them—this one insists you remember.

The Threads Remain is a profoundly moving and morally unflinching story about legacy, silence, and the long shadows cast by war. From the moment we meet Friedrich in 1957 Munich, searching for clues about a past he never knew was his, we are pulled into a narrative that spans generations. Parallel to his journey, we follow Josef—a blond, blue-eyed teenager drafted into the Nazi killing machine—whose inner conflicts echo long after the war ends. With spare, deliberate prose, Shapiro traces how the most personal stories are inextricable from the machinery of history, and how identity can be both erased and reclaimed by the passing of time.

There is no spectacle here. The violence is bureaucratic, impersonal, numbing—just as it was in reality. And yet, threaded through this darkness is a subtle hope: that remembrance matters, that silence is not the final word.

The Threads Remain is not just a story—it’s a reckoning. With its historical precision, emotional resonance, and moral complexity, it stands among the most affecting novels I’ve read about the post-war legacy of the Holocaust.

Essential reading for fans of literary historical fiction that confronts history with sentiment and courage.