Historical Fiction 

2017 (Lake Union Publishing)

An epic World War novel by an acclaimed writer, Mark T. Sullivan. With the war as a backdrop, the story of a young Italian protagonist Pino Lella unfolds gradually, as the young lad is being a typical adolescent, obsessed with music and seeking the company of pretty girls. His steady transformation into a solid person in his own right occurs at a steady pace, as he turns into a courageous young man who is willing to put his life on the line to save Jews who need saving. The inner life of the boy is beautifully showcased by Sullivan, as Pino learns of hardship and compassion, and sometimes they are both the same. 

The story flows from one event to the next, much like a thriller. Sullivan describes glowing vistas with consummate ease, grabbing the reader’s imagination, planting us on the spot, to feel with Pino, and for him. The emotions he evokes, make you shudder, weep, laugh, smile and you read on mesmerized. And you know there’s always more to come, so you turn the page, and keep on turning. 

I read ‘Beneath the Scarlet Sky’ in two days, putting everything aside in order to follow Pino’s voyage of self-discovery, through pain and joy and love and family ties. 

Although the disaster of war is writ large in the pages, I am left with the sentiment that this is a novel about great faith and boundless courage, about love and loyalties. 

Some memorable characters are General Leyers, the shifty Nazi. Pino undertakes the role of his driver in order to spy for his people and relay information while driving the General around to far-flung and dubious hideouts. Their interactions make for edge-of-the-seat moments, often enough. My heart was in my mouth, forever fearing for Pino and the risks he puts himself through. Auschwitz and other concentration camps are referred to in passing. I felt the hate that Pino felt, as much as the boundless joy when the war ended, despite the fact that the bloodshed and gore have affected him irretrievably. 

Beautiful Anna, six years older and a widow, is Pino’s great love. A positive soul, she tells Pino when he laments, “How do you find happiness? You start by looking right around you for the blessings you have. When you find them, be grateful.” 

Pino’s brother Mimo and his buddy, Carletto are invigorating characters, adding zest to the fine fabric of the novel.  

Father Re is a pivotal character in Pino’s life, since the young lad is sent to this convent to escape Milan’s war-torn ravages. Pino’s transformation from a strapping adolescent, to a muscular and tall eighteen-year-old savior occurs at the convent. The strength of the Father’s belief, is the boy’s constant companion, egging him on to continue to surmount all obstacles his path is generously strewn with. 

Pino fails to grasp why he must undergo the suffering of others repeatedly. 

Yet it is Faith that helps him carry on relentlessly, not without difficulty. 

“Faith is a strange creature, like a falcon that nests year after year in the same place, but then flies away, sometimes for years, only to return again, stronger than earlier.”

 “Pino realizes that the earth did not know war, that nature would go on no matter what horror one man might inflict on another. Nature didn’t care a bit about men and their need to kill and conquer.”

It’s a long book- 514 pages, but  its powerful narrative had me in its grips, and the lessons of courage and faith have been reawakened in me.

©kamalininatesanSept2021