REVIEW: Beneath a Scarlet Sky

Beneath a Scarlet Sky
Author: Mark T. Sullivan

Pino Lella is a typical Italian teenager...he enjoys his friends, girls, music....what all young people enjoy. Then Milan is bombed by the Allies, and World War II tears his world apart. Pino leaves Milan and joins a group that helps guide Jews over the Alps to safety in Switzerland. As he nears his 18th birthday, his parents push him to join the German Army to prevent his being sent to the Russian front with the Italian forces. Pino joins the German army, but he isn't a Nazi.....he is acting as a spy, passing information on to the Allies. As he drives a German general all over Italy, he is gathering intel to help the Allies win the war. He sees so many atrocities -- Jews being worked to death, cattle cars filled with people being sent to concentration camps, people shot in the streets.....   Pino Lella was a forgotten hero of WWII and his remarkable story is finally being told.

I enjoyed this book. I listened to the audiobook version. The descriptions of what Pino Lella saw and experienced during the war in Italy was very emotional for me. I can't even imagine experiencing so much violence, death and fear. My father fought in the war and then was stationed in Germany following Germany's surrender. He would rarely talk about it, but said the aftermath of the fighting was so horrifying that he didn't want me to know what it was like. Towards the end of the book, Pino sees fascists and collaborators being executed in the streets following the German surrender. Those scenes immediately brought my dad's words about the horrific nature of war back into my mind. He said he hoped that I never had to experience anything remotely like it. My father wasn't even 20 years old and had to see people being shot in the streets, civilians so worn down by war and violence that they killed themselves by jumping in front of trains, and children starving to death because there wasn't enough food. I can't even imagine it.

I loved most of the story. But, at times, the book rambled on a bit too long and got more than a little melodramatic, especially regarding Pino's girlfriend. When I got to the end of the story, it made more sense why Anna was mentioned all the time and the effect she had on his entire life. But.....for most of the book I was rolling my eyes when he went on and on about her beauty, their love, etc. I suppose it really is what an 18 year old in love for the first time would say and do...... but, for me, it really slowed down the plot development in regards to Pino's spying and the war a bit too much. And the long descriptions of how she looked, smelled, talked......it got old by the end of the story. I was also just a little bit incredulous that Pino could actually have done all of the things credited to him -- meeting Mussolini and witnessing his death, a post-war warning to James Dean not to buy the car that ultimately caused his death, miraculously escaping so many deadly situations, etc. He just seems a little bit overdone....too "larger than life.''  I'm not saying that I don't believe Sullivan's research....I just think things might be just a bit exaggerated in places. In my opinion, at times the writing style comes off as a bit juvenile.....melodramatic, over-simplified and exaggerated...and that has an effect on the impact of the story. But, I have to remind myself that the story is about an 18-year old boy who is thrown into an experience of violence and terror that those of us who weren't there (or who have never experienced war destroying our country) cannot possibly really understand. I have the suspicion that some facts are exaggerated.....but overall the story is so powerful that I'm not sure I really care if some of the events and deeds by Pino Lella didn't happen exactly as reported. That he was willing to spy at all.....or help Jews across the mountains....or resist the Nazis in any way when it meant death to be caught makes me have a deep respect for the man. Many normal citizens were too afraid to do anything.....they pretended not to notice the murder of millions of Jews because they were afraid for their own lives. Would I have had the guts to resist and face almost certain death for it??? I'm not sure I would. None of us can really be sure unless we are faced with those same life-and-death situations. If some of the details are exaggerated, then so be it. Pino Lella's story should be told. Even if a few details are over-blown, that doesn't negate the fact he risked his life on a daily basis to do what was right. That is a lot of courage for an 18-year old to possess and quite a scarring way to grow up. 

All in all, despite a few little things here and there, I enjoyed this book. I had never really read anything about the situation in Italy and what happened there once Germany surrendered. The audiobook is narrated by Will Damron. He read at a nice, even pace. I have hearing loss but was still able to easily hear and understand everything. The audiobook version is just under 18 hours long. It kept my attention except in a few spots where it focused on his love life a bit too long. The reason didn't become apparent until later in the story. I can see why those chapters are included now, but I still feel that all that detail slowed down the story. Some could have been edited out to shorten the book, while still preserving the idea that she was very important to him.