Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan tells the tale of Pino Lella during WWII in Italy. The Germans are invading Milan and as a teen, Pino helps the Jews cross out of Italy into Switzerland undetected at night. Once he turns 18, he must enlist in the military and Pino's parents urge him to enlist for the Germans instead. After sustaining an injury, Pino is tapped to become the personal driver for General Leyers, Hitler's right hand man. Along the way Pino also meets Anna, the maid for General Leyers' mistress and it is love at first sight.
I loved this book and following the story of Pino Lella. His life story is so incredibly inspiring and I tore through this book in a few days. I think it helped that I had read that some of the conversations were fictionalized prior to reading so I didn’t have some of the same hang ups that other readers did. I read a few other reviews that had a hard time believing Pino was present at all the events that occur in the book and I was a little hesitant to start reading. Once I knew that the story was at times fictionalized, I was able to read through the book and not get caught up in the believability of plot points because the story itself was so captivating. I recommend this book to anyone who likes WWII reads. Myself being a fellow Italian, it was told from a perspective I haven’t read much about before, which was fresh and exciting. The rights have been sold for a television/film adaptation and I can’t wait to see it!
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