Beneath a Scarlet sky

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Sullivan, Mark T.	4-week checkout	In transit
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Sullivan, Mark T.	4-week checkout	Due 05-23-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Sullivan, Mark	4-week checkout	Due 05-16-2024
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Sullivan, Mark T.	4-week checkout	Due 05-17-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Sullivan, Mark T.	4-week checkout	Due 05-15-2024

In 1940s Italy, teenager Pino Lella joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps and falls for a beautiful widow, he also becomes the personal driver of one of the Third Reich's most powerful commanders.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

good book submitted by liqian on August 2, 2019, 3:30pm You really really should read it.

Well worth reading submitted by d hart on August 18, 2019, 9:40am This fast-based, exciting book is based on a true war experience in Italy.

Remarkable story, mediocre writing. submitted by 21621031390949 on June 27, 2020, 12:52pm Amazing story. Mediocre writing, but the story kept me turning pages (all 507) to the end. Personally, I think no book should be longer than 450 pages.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky submitted by leighsprauer on August 10, 2023, 3:04pm For the life of me, I can't understand why this book has gotten such high ratings. Sullivan describes the wartime escapades of resistant fighter/spy Pino Lella, based on the true story of this World War II hero. Or maybe not a hero, but definitely a guy who was there during WWII. Sullivan is quick to acknowledge that although the novel is based on Lella's life, it is a work of fiction. It's unclear which parts of the story are true and which parts are fiction, or even which parts Lella himself may have claimed to be true despite having no basis in fact.
I suppose it doesn't matter: we could just look at it as a piece of fiction, right? But unfortunately it's not great fiction. If it were all true, it would be an amazing and jaw-dropping story, a la Louis Zamperini. But as fiction it just seems shark-jumping ridiculous. The fantastical feats, the unbelievable coincidences, the absurd situations - you half expect Sullivan to tell us that he saw it all happen on Mulberry Street.
The writing is simple, and it does move quickly, and it's full of adventure, so I suppose it's got that going for it. But not worth the time.