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A review by nataliealane
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan is an incredible and harrowing story of survival, espionage, and finding hope in the midst of war. Pino Lella is 17 when WWII fighting comes to Italy. Readers follow Pino from guiding Italian Jews to safety to going undercover as a Nazi general’s chauffeur.
What I liked:
-It explores nuances to wartime support. You have characters like Pino, his brother Mimo, snd the priest Father Re, who clearly are against the Nazis. Then you have people like Pino’s parents who don’t agree with Nazism but are scared and want to protect their children. You have characters who look out only for themselves and others who are very selfless.My library book club agreed that General Leyers (the general Pino works for) is perhaps the most despicable and yet the most interesting character of the book.
-I enjoyed the coming of age aspects and watching Pino develop as a person.
-The writing is both engaging and poetic.
-I enjoyed learning more about WWII in Italy, which I don’t know much about.
What I didn’t like:
-I didn’t care for the romance, although I Understood it’s purpose though. It was a sweet romance that gave Pino hope in a dark time. I just wasn’t personally invested in it.
-Sometines it felt unrealistic, like ALL THIS happened to one person? But I tried to keep in mind 1) the author admitted they had to fill in the gaps of memory (Lella was elderly when he was interviewed) and 2) There are plenty of “amazing” war stories out there. Similar feelings about the violence. Im not a big fan of lots of violence, shock value, etc in books and some parts felt like one big blow after another, but again, it’s wartime. There’s senseless violence all around, and maybe that’s the whole point.
-I found it odd that the author didn’t include sources. Most HF books I’ve read, and especially a thing related to WWII/Holocaust include sources the authors used to fact check, build their story, etc. His main source can still be Pino Lella, whose life The book is supposed to be based, but research is still important, especially as Sullivan said he had to fill in gaps and confirm memories against sources. I personally would be curious as to what exactly he had to make up or embellish upon.
Further digging lead me to some people’s big speculations that the story is very made up and contrasts greatly to the 1985 interview with Lella by a research institute that Sullivan references in his author’s note, and not as accurate/true to life as the author’s statements lead readers to believe.
If you are looking for a gripping wartime historical fiction about the perseverance of the human spirit, check out Beneath a Scarlet Sky. However, at the end of the day, it’s historical FICTION and should be approached as such.
What I liked:
-It explores nuances to wartime support. You have characters like Pino, his brother Mimo, snd the priest Father Re, who clearly are against the Nazis. Then you have people like Pino’s parents who don’t agree with Nazism but are scared and want to protect their children. You have characters who look out only for themselves and others who are very selfless.My library book club agreed that General Leyers (the general Pino works for) is perhaps the most despicable and yet the most interesting character of the book.
-I enjoyed the coming of age aspects and watching Pino develop as a person.
-The writing is both engaging and poetic.
-I enjoyed learning more about WWII in Italy, which I don’t know much about.
What I didn’t like:
-I didn’t care for the romance, although I Understood it’s purpose though. It was a sweet romance that gave Pino hope in a dark time. I just wasn’t personally invested in it.
-Sometines it felt unrealistic, like ALL THIS happened to one person? But I tried to keep in mind 1) the author admitted they had to fill in the gaps of memory (Lella was elderly when he was interviewed) and 2) There are plenty of “amazing” war stories out there. Similar feelings about the violence. Im not a big fan of lots of violence, shock value, etc in books and some parts felt like one big blow after another, but again, it’s wartime. There’s senseless violence all around, and maybe that’s the whole point.
-I found it odd that the author didn’t include sources. Most HF books I’ve read, and especially a thing related to WWII/Holocaust include sources the authors used to fact check, build their story, etc. His main source can still be Pino Lella, whose life The book is supposed to be based, but research is still important, especially as Sullivan said he had to fill in gaps and confirm memories against sources. I personally would be curious as to what exactly he had to make up or embellish upon.
Further digging lead me to some people’s big speculations that the story is very made up and contrasts greatly to the 1985 interview with Lella by a research institute that Sullivan references in his author’s note, and not as accurate/true to life as the author’s statements lead readers to believe.
If you are looking for a gripping wartime historical fiction about the perseverance of the human spirit, check out Beneath a Scarlet Sky. However, at the end of the day, it’s historical FICTION and should be approached as such.