My interest in WWII increased as an adult through historical novels. Beneath a Scarlet Sky is based on the true story of Pino Lella, a 17 year-old Italian boy living in Milan in the midst of the war and Nazi occupation.
One of the things I have come to realize is how so many countries were directly affected by Hitler’s gruesome war and tactics and how many true heroes must have gone unnoticed or forgotten. If not for a chance meeting Pino Lella’s story would have died with him. Many stories can be told from the accounts of many people. There are some stories that can only be told by one person. Beneath a Scarlet Sky is one of them.
Just recently it was announced that Spiderman’s Tom Holland will play Pino Lella in the movie version of Beneath a Scarlet Sky. I suggest you read the book first because if it’s anything like Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, it won’t even come close to the book by comparison.
Here is a quote by Pino taken from the end of the book when the author goes back and meets with him to tell him what he found out about a key person in story:
You know my young friend, I will be 90 years old next year and life is still a constant surprise to me. We never know what will happen next, what we will see and what important person will come into our life or what important person we will lose. Life is change. Constant change. And unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it change is nearly always a drama, if not a tragedy. But after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day no matter how flawed. And we must have faith in God and in the universe and in a better tomorrow even if that faith is not always deserved. ~ Pino Lella, 17 year old WWII hero.
