Book recommendation

If you read and liked "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" and/or "Birds without Wings" (both by Louis de Bernières) you'll probably also like "The Thread" by Victoria Hislop. I read most of it on the trip to and from Vienna, and the rest last night -- it's a bit over 300 pages and not a tough read.
It was an amazon recommendation; what made me order it was the fact that it's situated in Thessaloniki, which isn't far from Skopje (as a matter of fact, between 1913 and 1943 the south-eastern part of today's Macedonia was part of the Greek territory), and that it's a novel with a historical background. Being constitutionally unable to remember any historical (and not only historical, alas) facts presented in non-fictional form, I was of course happy to find something dealing with the period from 1917 to 1978 in fictional form. The historical facts are sound, and the characters living through them excellent -- it's basically about two families living in Thessaloniki, their intertwining stories, and the rich ethnical and historical background of Thessaloniki from WW1 to WW2 (1950 - 1978 more or less forming the coda of the symphony). 

I'm terribly behind on exchange-reading, but maybe the weekend will provide an opportunity.