Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
Author : Mark Sullivan
Title : Beneath A Scarlet Sky
Published : 01/05/2017
Pages : 524
Genre : Biography / Contemporary Literature
Publisher : Lake Union Publishing
Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders.
I have spent a great deal of time with books about the second world war, a few have even made it on to my forever shelf. Most of these have dealt with what took place throughout Germany and Poland. So when someone suggests a book about the war that focused instead on Italy I figured it might be worth some of my time to learn something new. With that in mind, I'm still careful about which I choose to read, I think there is probably only so many stories of horrific events you can decide to read and have stuck in your head.
When first meeting Pino he is a teenager in a world of endless possibility, on his shoulders he carry's with him many hopes and dreams that have still not changed much to this day. It invokes images of an idyllic life in Milan with little thought to the political whirlwind that has stormed over his country in. It is only with one act that Pino's world comes crashing down and the harsh truths of what has been taking place come into full view. Throughout the coming days and years, Pino's life took on some very disturbing twists and turns. This is one of those books that will bring out a wide range of emotions in the reader. I think it is hard not to become invested in the tale of our young protagonist. Like so many others I have come to read about, he chooses to see the evil things done by men and so desperately wants to do something about it. To stop these acts and to help others with little thought of himself.
In the telling of this story, the author has brought to light one of the many great untold stories of our past. He brings into focus things that otherwise would be lost to the mists of time. We are brought into this story in an easy style that allows the reader to quickly become entwined in the events that swept across country's and onto the world. While it does not explain the greater details of the fascist regime that took hold of Italy and change the course of a nation it allows you to get a basic grip on some of the key events. Some of the events that take place within these pages are hard to read about, and how humans can treat each other in such way is one that will always confuse me. But it is within the actions of these few brave people who are willing to stand up and say enough is enough that we seek redemption for the rest of us. And while Pino's life as he started to see what was really going on can never be described as easy it contains a lesson for us all. That no matter what we should stand up for others and seek a better future no matter how bleak things look in the darkest depths of the night. Pino was someone who hoped for the best and even when tested to the extremes he fought for the good person within him and refused to give up on his humanity.
This turned out to be a book that I did not want to put down, A tale of someone so captivating I'm sure I will be recommending it to others. It is a book that will bring out strong emotions and will leave you the better for having done so. And just maybe like me once you have finished it you will probably go online to find out more about this man and how these events unfolded.
I have spent a great deal of time with books about the second world war, a few have even made it on to my forever shelf. Most of these have dealt with what took place throughout Germany and Poland. So when someone suggests a book about the war that focused instead on Italy I figured it might be worth some of my time to learn something new. With that in mind, I'm still careful about which I choose to read, I think there is probably only so many stories of horrific events you can decide to read and have stuck in your head.
When first meeting Pino he is a teenager in a world of endless possibility, on his shoulders he carry's with him many hopes and dreams that have still not changed much to this day. It invokes images of an idyllic life in Milan with little thought to the political whirlwind that has stormed over his country in. It is only with one act that Pino's world comes crashing down and the harsh truths of what has been taking place come into full view. Throughout the coming days and years, Pino's life took on some very disturbing twists and turns. This is one of those books that will bring out a wide range of emotions in the reader. I think it is hard not to become invested in the tale of our young protagonist. Like so many others I have come to read about, he chooses to see the evil things done by men and so desperately wants to do something about it. To stop these acts and to help others with little thought of himself.
In the telling of this story, the author has brought to light one of the many great untold stories of our past. He brings into focus things that otherwise would be lost to the mists of time. We are brought into this story in an easy style that allows the reader to quickly become entwined in the events that swept across country's and onto the world. While it does not explain the greater details of the fascist regime that took hold of Italy and change the course of a nation it allows you to get a basic grip on some of the key events. Some of the events that take place within these pages are hard to read about, and how humans can treat each other in such way is one that will always confuse me. But it is within the actions of these few brave people who are willing to stand up and say enough is enough that we seek redemption for the rest of us. And while Pino's life as he started to see what was really going on can never be described as easy it contains a lesson for us all. That no matter what we should stand up for others and seek a better future no matter how bleak things look in the darkest depths of the night. Pino was someone who hoped for the best and even when tested to the extremes he fought for the good person within him and refused to give up on his humanity.
This turned out to be a book that I did not want to put down, A tale of someone so captivating I'm sure I will be recommending it to others. It is a book that will bring out strong emotions and will leave you the better for having done so. And just maybe like me once you have finished it you will probably go online to find out more about this man and how these events unfolded.
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