Beneath a Scarlet Sky

A Novel

By: Mark Sullivan

Narrated by: Will Damron

Soon to be a major television event from Pascal Pictures, starring Tom Holland.

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.

©2017 Mark Sullivan (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Amazing read

Truly remarkable. One of the best told WWII novels I've read/listened to. I felt like I could feel Pino's feelings throughout the entire story.

Great historical fiction

This is an awesome story about a heretofore unknown Italian WW2 hero. Angst. Action. Love. Super character development. The narrator is spot on; no fake accents. I also liked that the author gave us an addendum to tell us what ultimately became of all the key characters.

Fascinating historical fiction but could be better

I had just recently finished listening to Lisa Scottoline's "Eternal" when I listened to this, so I was a little familiar with the Nazi's treatment of Jews in Italy, and Mussolini's failures as a leader. This was a fascinating story, even if it's only loosely true. The author states upfront that it's historical fiction and it was often hard to find evidence to back up Pino's story. It could have used a good editor (especially in the beginning) when insignificant things were described in painfully excruciating detail.

It also has a bit of a Forrest Gump aspect where Pino seems to conveniently witness every significant event and conversation in WWII Northern Italy. Each time Pino jumped into some kind of precarious situation, I had to keep reminding myself that he was only 17/18 when the story unfolds and the male teenage brain's frontal lobe (decision making, risk assessment) isn't fully developed.

Pino's constant pining for Anna got a little old too, but again, I had to remind myself that we develop some of our strongest feelings and memories in our teen/young adult years, and this is an elderly man's recollection of his youth. Given that, I can buy that Anna loomed larger than life in Pino's memory. I can't help but wonder if either the author's fabricated conversations and event re-fabrications made the story seem less credible - or if Pino's mind has filled in memory holes with events/conversations he imagined. He had to have suffered from serious PTSD after witnessing the Nazi horrors and deaths of loved ones during an era when no one knew about PTSD or how to treat it. Keeping those memories buried for so many decades likely altered some of them.

Pino's portrayed as being fairly modest about his talents and brave actions, but his recollections certainly aren't modest so there seems to be a disconnect there. I have no doubt the author thoroughly researched this story, but it seems odd that so little was known about an Italian spy who was passing valuable info to the Allies. I tried to research General Leyers and some of the events but didn't find much.

Despite the sometimes questionable credibility and lack of editing, it's still a fascinating story of Nazi occupation of Italy during WWII and learning more about how much the Italians, not just Jews, suffered.

Fascinating story, less than fascinating narrative

The life story of this Italian boy during WWII is truly fascinating and compelling. And there are many stories like his, in that they are riveting and courageous and sad and powerful. And they are real. I love that about this book. It's about a life that made a difference in the war and it so deserves the telling.

That said, I didn't think it was particularly week written. Some passages and much of the dialogue felt a bit juvenile or forced. It seemed riddled with cliches and the expected turn of phrase, rather than original writing. The narrator did what he could, so the story was listenable, but I was let down that such a great life story had a mediocre telling.

It was also a bit awkward that at the end, the author made it more about himself and his research, rather than truly telling the rest of Pino's story. There was a better way to end this tale, keeping the focus on the hero.

I still recommend it for the story of Pino... Just grit your way through the mediocre writing.

Great vacay read

When about to leave for a week long vacation, I sent a text out to my friends, asking for recommendations for a good read. Five of my friends recommended this book, so I had to go for it.
It was an interesting part of history I had never heard before. I love historical fiction and this did not disappoint. Although there were moments that became a bit too much filler, I could later see the need for it.
Interesting, was the fact that the afterward was also very riveting.
Definitely a book to put on your list.

good story but would like better writing and dialo

I thought this is a very interesting story but the storyline was very linear and dialogue was uninspiring. the reader neither added to or take away from the book.

Wow.

This story really hit me and broke me. The narrator did a wonderful job and never bored me.

Emotional

Listening to this book was riveting. It was hard to stop listening & do something else! Looking up the information about Pino along the way was so interesting. Excellent read!

Loved this mostly true story

Amazing story of courage and cowardice during the last years of WWII in Italy. How one man survived and helped others while enduring devastating emotional losses of family and friends and the haunting loss of his true love. The last chapter of where people in the story were after the war was great. The lesson to live every day cons manna was palpable.

Thrilling, heartbreaking, and beautiful

What an amazing story! I'm both awed and heartbroken by it. A great read / listen