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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
🎧4.25⭐️
I had the audiobook read by Will Damron who is very good.
Until recently I hadn’t read any books from Italy’s perspective during WW2, this is now my second. The first being From Sand and Ash Amy Harmon.They are very different offerings.
Based on the true story of Pino Lella, it’s his story however much is fictionalised due to the lack of information available.
Pino won my heart, it’s very character driven. There’s much sadness, but also love and hope.
Well worth reading or listening.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Did not finish. I know myself better than this. I can’t read war books.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A story set in WW2 Italy and based off a true story- Beneath a Scarlett Sky gripped me from the very start. Don't skip the authors notes in the beginning or end as they really shape the reality of this novel. I liked Pino as a main character but also loved how well rounded the author made this family and friends that surrounded him in this story. A great read.
challenging
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
2.5 -3 stars.
The beautiful cover and synopsis of the story pulled me in to want to read but unfortunately many aspects of the writing left a lot to be desired.
Sullivan prefaces with the book being based on the life of an Italian hero, Pino Lella, with changes making it more biographical fiction.
I love how this WW2 book takes place in Italy. There is so much history, from the Catholic Church involvement, the Italian Resistance, and Italian Jews escape to Switzerland. The Italians perspective of the Nazi regime, the effects of the Allied forces, Italy’s treatment of prisoners and insight to the Italian treasury and government. Reading a story about the brave Italians who did fight back is very moving. So much historical evidence was destroyed after the war and many stories about this time don’t take place in Italy.
However, the storytelling fell flat at times, even though I knew in my head what was happening on the page was adventurous and thrilling, I didn’t feel compelled. Sullivan did a lot of telling instead of illustrating scenes. Also the dialogue seemed kind of juvenile at times.
Maybe part of my issue, is the book is plot driven, and Pino felt kind of shallow and flat with his perspective. Even though, it’s supposed to be his story.
The scenarios Pino ends up in were kind of unbelievable. The sheer number of profound events he witnesses, and survives, and the coincidences of being in the right place at the right time. Just the coincidences of how he came to be with his wife too.
The insight into Italy’s history and resistance was what kept me interested. It did become tiring to keep up with what could be real, or not with Pino’s experience. And it is marketed to be about his real life and sacrifices, so I hate to be questioning what happened, and what didn’t this much. I wish we could have gotten the true story of Pino Lella.
The elements of the history could have still been brought up, without the fictional embellishments of Pino’s experience. The most profound part, to me, was how he led so many groups of Jewish refugees through the dangerous terrain of the Italian Alps to safety in Switzerland. It was very moving. It lost me a little, when he became a driver for a Nazi general, and then was a spy for the Allied forces.
It was a decent read, but one you can put down and come back to as needed. I wouldn’t read it again, but I’m not mad I did. If the history sounds interesting and you like an action-themed, ever-changing plot, give it a try. Another reader may like it more than I did.
The cover might be one of my favorite covers ever.
The beautiful cover and synopsis of the story pulled me in to want to read but unfortunately many aspects of the writing left a lot to be desired.
Sullivan prefaces with the book being based on the life of an Italian hero, Pino Lella, with changes making it more biographical fiction.
I love how this WW2 book takes place in Italy. There is so much history, from the Catholic Church involvement, the Italian Resistance, and Italian Jews escape to Switzerland. The Italians perspective of the Nazi regime, the effects of the Allied forces, Italy’s treatment of prisoners and insight to the Italian treasury and government. Reading a story about the brave Italians who did fight back is very moving. So much historical evidence was destroyed after the war and many stories about this time don’t take place in Italy.
However, the storytelling fell flat at times, even though I knew in my head what was happening on the page was adventurous and thrilling, I didn’t feel compelled. Sullivan did a lot of telling instead of illustrating scenes. Also the dialogue seemed kind of juvenile at times.
Maybe part of my issue, is the book is plot driven, and Pino felt kind of shallow and flat with his perspective. Even though, it’s supposed to be his story.
The scenarios Pino ends up in were kind of unbelievable. The sheer number of profound events he witnesses, and survives, and the coincidences of being in the right place at the right time. Just the coincidences of how he came to be with his wife too.
The insight into Italy’s history and resistance was what kept me interested. It did become tiring to keep up with what could be real, or not with Pino’s experience. And it is marketed to be about his real life and sacrifices, so I hate to be questioning what happened, and what didn’t this much. I wish we could have gotten the true story of Pino Lella.
The elements of the history could have still been brought up, without the fictional embellishments of Pino’s experience. The most profound part, to me, was how he led so many groups of Jewish refugees through the dangerous terrain of the Italian Alps to safety in Switzerland. It was very moving. It lost me a little, when he became a driver for a Nazi general, and then was a spy for the Allied forces.
It was a decent read, but one you can put down and come back to as needed. I wouldn’t read it again, but I’m not mad I did. If the history sounds interesting and you like an action-themed, ever-changing plot, give it a try. Another reader may like it more than I did.
The cover might be one of my favorite covers ever.