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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
4.5 There are so many books written on WWII from the English, French or German perspective but very few written on Italy. The main character is a 17 year old Italian boy who does it all: leads people over the Alps into free Switzerland, is part of the resistance, is a driver for a German general. It has mystery, love interest, history, and it is a true story. I couldn't put it down and loved all the insight into the Italian version of the war in the last 2 yrs. Would highly recommend.
What a saga! I really loved Pino, even after reading the "aftermath." He seemed to have been such a beautiful, tragically flawed human. I think he wanted to escape the war and all of it's painful memories, but was never fully able to do so. The novel was well written with a good technique of storytelling, but the middle sections with him as a driver was my favorite.
It took me some time to get through this book because of the heaviness of the content, but it was a very good story - and based on a real hero. Recommend.
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Many WW II stories are about Allied victories on the Western Front. And the stories are usually told by the generals (or sometimes by the soldiers who fought in the trenches). This book has a refreshingly different perspective. The protagonist, Pino Lella, is a teenager boy – and so a civilian living in Milan Italy, a town that fell under Nazi control after Italy surrendered to the Allies. Though a work of fiction, the story conveys a sense of realism -- and that’s because Pino Lella was a real person and the story is based on (and extrapolated from) Pino’s recollections of his experiences in and around Milan during WW II. Occasionally, the story seemed a bit exaggerated; although I cannot say whether that was based on the author’s own embellishments, Pino’s memory of decades-old events or just my own overly-skeptical nature. Still, the book is an interesting/horrifying/sad/uplifting/valorous view of life as a civilian in a war zone.
= = = = = = = Updated Oct 16, 2017 = = = = = = = =
Based on Mike Lella’s (Pino Lella's son) comment on my Amazon review, I should have called this book a work of HISTORICIAL fiction (rather than just fiction) as it is based on the recollections of a real person (and a real hero). I should probably work on my overly-skeptical nature, too.
= = = = = = = Updated Oct 16, 2017 = = = = = = = =
Based on Mike Lella’s (Pino Lella's son) comment on my Amazon review, I should have called this book a work of HISTORICIAL fiction (rather than just fiction) as it is based on the recollections of a real person (and a real hero). I should probably work on my overly-skeptical nature, too.
I try to read a variety of genres, but one of my favorites is historical fiction. I'm a sucker for a good World War II book, even if there are hundreds if not thousands of good ones. When I first read the synopsis about Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan I'll admit I passed on it. But I kept seeing it come up on lists of best books of the year and eventually I just broke down and bought it.
I'm so dang glad I did. The story is about Pino Lella an Italian boy who grew up in Milan during World War II. The book picks up with him a few years before his 18th birthday with the Nazi's overtaking Milan and his personal story through the end of the war. If even a quarter of the stories in this book are true Pino is a true hero. The book is broken into a couple of distinct portions of his life in the war. The first is a short introduction to Pino in his youth, a young man obsessed with finding a female counterpart. As the war in Italy ramped up his parents sent him away to a Catholic school near the Swiss Alps where he rescued Jews and helped them cross the border into Switzerland. The final section is after he turns 18 and becomes a personal driver for one of the highest-ranking Nazi's in Italy and spies on him for the allies.
All three areas of the book are so brilliantly written that the entire story flies off the page. I've read my fair share of historical fiction, but this one is special in that the characters are as big if not bigger then the global war. There are so many times where Sullivan smartly takes the story to a personal level. Pino's struggle with friends when he becomes a Nazi. Pino's maturation process during his time-saving Jews to Switzerland. And probably the most profound is his outright confusion on what to do as he learns about the atrocities of the Nazi's.
I hope the whole story is fact and not fabricated. Sullivan did a ton of research for this novel, and the accounts are from Pino himself (who is still alive) and anyone Sullivan could get a hold of to corroborate his stories. Even if they're not true (which I hope they are) it's a story that I will never forget. It's a story of heroism, loss and despair, and more than anything humans ability to love during the most perilous times. I love this book so much and am so glad I read it.
I'm so dang glad I did. The story is about Pino Lella an Italian boy who grew up in Milan during World War II. The book picks up with him a few years before his 18th birthday with the Nazi's overtaking Milan and his personal story through the end of the war. If even a quarter of the stories in this book are true Pino is a true hero. The book is broken into a couple of distinct portions of his life in the war. The first is a short introduction to Pino in his youth, a young man obsessed with finding a female counterpart. As the war in Italy ramped up his parents sent him away to a Catholic school near the Swiss Alps where he rescued Jews and helped them cross the border into Switzerland. The final section is after he turns 18 and becomes a personal driver for one of the highest-ranking Nazi's in Italy and spies on him for the allies.
All three areas of the book are so brilliantly written that the entire story flies off the page. I've read my fair share of historical fiction, but this one is special in that the characters are as big if not bigger then the global war. There are so many times where Sullivan smartly takes the story to a personal level. Pino's struggle with friends when he becomes a Nazi. Pino's maturation process during his time-saving Jews to Switzerland. And probably the most profound is his outright confusion on what to do as he learns about the atrocities of the Nazi's.
I hope the whole story is fact and not fabricated. Sullivan did a ton of research for this novel, and the accounts are from Pino himself (who is still alive) and anyone Sullivan could get a hold of to corroborate his stories. Even if they're not true (which I hope they are) it's a story that I will never forget. It's a story of heroism, loss and despair, and more than anything humans ability to love during the most perilous times. I love this book so much and am so glad I read it.
Gripping tale let down by somewhat pedestrian writing.
Wow
This book is devastating. It’s messed me up a little bit. It is haunting. It gave great insight into WWII in Italy.
This book is devastating. It’s messed me up a little bit. It is haunting. It gave great insight into WWII in Italy.
Even when you, the reader, know something devastating is going to come, I still felt devastated at what happened in the novel. Great job getting to those emotions.
Part of my five star rating comes because I lived in Italy for 3 1/2 years when my husband was stationed in Northern Italy during the mid-to-late 1980's. And we love Italy, for the most part, so I felt Sullivan portrayed Italy and Italians very well. Occasionally my husband would have someone tell him a story from when they fought in the resistance (strange, no one every offered that they fought with the fascists though . . .)
There were time in the novel when the Italians spoke to each other I thought, Hmm, that sounds a bit more like how an American would phrase things than an Italian, but I am certainly not a linguistic expert, perhaps they felt Americans would understand it better.
Here are a few questions I feel Sullivan addressed that would be good to talk about in a book group:
1. What did you think about the revenge killings in Milan immediately after liberation?
2. Do you blame Pino for not speaking up?
3. What do you think about General Leyers? Was he a hero? Liar? Why?
4. Should Pino have killed Leyers when he had the chance?
5. Do you think Pino would have had a lasting relationship?
Part of my five star rating comes because I lived in Italy for 3 1/2 years when my husband was stationed in Northern Italy during the mid-to-late 1980's. And we love Italy, for the most part, so I felt Sullivan portrayed Italy and Italians very well. Occasionally my husband would have someone tell him a story from when they fought in the resistance (strange, no one every offered that they fought with the fascists though . . .)
There were time in the novel when the Italians spoke to each other I thought, Hmm, that sounds a bit more like how an American would phrase things than an Italian, but I am certainly not a linguistic expert, perhaps they felt Americans would understand it better.
Here are a few questions I feel Sullivan addressed that would be good to talk about in a book group:
1. What did you think about the revenge killings in Milan immediately after liberation?
2. Do you blame Pino for not speaking up?
3. What do you think about General Leyers? Was he a hero? Liar? Why?
4. Should Pino have killed Leyers when he had the chance?
5. Do you think Pino would have had a lasting relationship?
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
I think this is a beautiful story, well told. A bit too gory for me, and some really dark and heavy content.