Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel
Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, the USA Today and #1 Amazon Charts bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man's incredible courage and resilience during one of history's darkest hours.
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.
Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.
Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.
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Community Reviews
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
509 pages
What’s it about?
This book is based on a true story and takes place in Italy during World War II. The story follows young Pino Lella from 1943 through the end of the war. We see Pino change from a carefree teenager to a man willing to risk his life for what he believes is right.
What did it make me think about?
This novel made me wonder at all the stories that go untold after a war. Italy during WW II is a very complicated place. Between the Fascists, the Nazi's, and the Resistance their were lots of sides to come down on. This story sheds some light on Italy’s history.
Should I read it?
For fans of "Unbroken", those interested in World War II, or anyone who likes historical fiction this is an engaging and interesting story. Pino Lella is a man you will root for throughout this book.
Quote-
“Pino left the chapel believing that he’d entered it as a boy and now exited having made a decision to become a man.”
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"Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, the USA Today and #1 Amazon Charts bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours."
A young Italian boy is tasked with guiding Jews safely to Switzerland through deadly mountains passes in Italy at the request of a Catholic Priest. He is then forced to join the Nazi Organization Todt as a driver for the second most powerful Nazi in all of Italy. He is working as a spy but friends and family think him a traitor and he is unable to tell them otherwise.
This story reminds us that even in our darkest hours we can find love, keep faith, and carry on.
"The best thing is to grieve for the people you loved and lost, and then welcome and love the new people life puts in front of you.”
"When we’re apart, I feel like all the music stops.”
“To be young and in love. Isn’t it remarkable that something like that can happen in the middle of a war? It says something about the inherent goodness of life, despite all the evil we’ve seen.”
"By opening our hearts, revealing our scars, we are made human and flawed and whole."
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