WME and Curtis Brown rep Holland. Q: You have a background as an investigative journalist for both newspaper and magazines, why didnt you tell this story as straight narrative non-fiction? For example, I couldnt tell the story of the thirty or so escapes As a spy I think he believed overwhelmingly in the value of his mission, and he felt compelled to bear witness to the atrocities committed by Nazis in Italy. Pinos father sat in the grass next to his violin case, his arms wrapped around his knees and an enchanted look on his face. A: It did take me an awful a long time to dig up the details that surrounded Pinos story. Why or why not? I had a great, loving wife, and two remarkable sons. 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. Knebel told him to be at a certain hotel in Milan early on the morning of May 5. In April 1945 he delivered Leyers to the Fifth United States Army and was then a driver for Major Frank Knebel until the end of the war. I had to comfort him repeatedly during the course of his long recounting, and I was moved again and again. shortcoming. It isn't as though he'd admit "It's almost entirely fiction; I made most of it up. First, I had a new and dear friend. I dont know. Pino looked at the sky and said, Im only asking for a little love.. The Nazi occupation of Italy and the underground railroad formed to save the Italian Jews have received little attention. Sullivan shows the tragedy of war, and how it can change the way that a person sees life. Its a chance for Pino to become a spy, once again risking his life. Nessun Dorma is a towering piece that builds and builds, demanding that the singer grow stronger, reveling in his love for the princess and surer of victory with every moment that ticks toward dawn. You will learn about a 1985 Lella interview in which he paints a wildly different, almost recognizable picture of himself and his wartime activities and experiences. Mr Lellas parents had pressed him to volunteer for the job to avoid being conscripted by the Germans and sent to the front line. Something that had purpose and meaning because I wasnt feeling the purpose and meaning in my life at that point. Is it offensive? Out of the goodness of his heart, or is it one of his favors? Mother of God, no.. And then the next thing I heard was, Hes alive.. Pino's father and uncle, and also Mark T. Sullivan, evidently did not know that the tragic retreat from . The WW II era was a When the two men finished, the crowd on the hillside stood and clapped and whistled. Pino Lella at age 17. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour of Milan after having read, Beneath the Scarlet Sky. Not only did we enjoy our guides thorough and historical knowledge of this jewel of an Italian city, but we came to appreciate how a young boy in Milan was able to live up to the challenges of his time and with courage became an unlikely hero and saved lives during the Nazi occupation. When Michele played that night, a thick, honeyed voice called from his violin. Not nonfiction. You show no mercy, do you? We drove high into the Alps and Sullivan says that Pino Lella continues to "blow my mind. Barbareschi, Re, and other priests and nuns, and ordinary Catholics risked their own lives repeatedly to save others, which helps explain why 41,000 of the estimated 49,000 Jews living in Italy before the invasion managed to survive. Sullivan calls his book a novel. 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So it's no surprise that the premise of Mark T. Sullivan's Beneath a Scarlet Sky wowed me. I have also questioned this concerning General Layers. For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience. World War II Italy has never been more alive to me. Gregg Hurwitz, New York Times bestselling author of The Nowhere Man, Action, adventure, love, war, and an epic hero all set against the backdrop of one of historys darkest momentsMark Sullivans Beneath a Scarlet Sky has everything one can ask for in an exceptional World War II novel. Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author ofPlaying With Fire. fellow countrymen. The morning after that he looked ruined, and told me hed suffered repeated nightmares of the event as an eyewitness. defined enemies who forced one person after another to decide who they were Contact the supplier for availability. Yet it is all true. He saw men worked to death and brutally treated by Leyers men. I did it by remaining focused on the emotions that radiated off Pino when he first told me his story. With little fanfare, the plans for an Italian Nuremberg were dropped. His mother and father designed and manufactured high-end purses. I lived in an apartment on the third floor of the villa with a view of red tile roofs, the water, and the Alps beyond. Reader Q&A, He heavily research the saga, but it was published as a novel because so many of the records were destroyed. Do you think its possible for such an underground network to exist today? Major General Leyers saves four sick children from Platform 21and from death. Its not good., What do you think it means? Carletto cried. and Tom Holland has been selected for the lead role. Does he strike the right balance between page-turner and paying homage to the brutal truth? Pino noticed some girls down by the rock wall that surrounded the fruit grove. Some public transport will be used. He jogged downhill to catch up with Carletto, told him his plan, and they tried to artfully intercept the girls. Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. Larry Minkoff, a fellow writer, told me hed heard a little about Pino, and his story, but wasnt going to pursue it. And I seriously considered driving into the 19th St bridge abutment. for Jews escaping Nazi-occupied Italy. Pino asks Anna out on a date, and she accepts but fails to show up. The Lellas were active in promoting Milan as a global center of fashion until the day they died. Pino had never told anyone, but felt like it was time, and started telling him about Father Re and the escapes, and the Nazi general hed driven for. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Giovanni: Barbareschi: A seminarian. Beneath A Scarlet Sky is coming out as a release To Be Announced (TBA). His friend choked up, and tears ran down his face while he fought for control. Whats magnificent? Uncle Albert said, looking around, puzzled. parents sent Pino and his brother into the mountains for safety, they worked It ended up being one of the most emotional and rewarding experiences of my life. Hes one of these 'instantaneous friends' kind of guys: very loving, very warm, very giving. Up on the hill, Pinos father adjusted the position of his violin, a beautiful central Italian petite from the eighteenth century that Porzia had given him for Christmas ten years before. Lives in Grumo Appula. Did you trust Anna? He's 92 today. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. Shes sick, and hes teasing her like that about snakes and spiders. Over the course of those first three weeks, as Pino opened up more and more, I experienced his deep pain and marveled at his ability to go on after being so depressed and traumatized he too had contemplated suicide. At age 17 in 1943, he began a two-year war-time experience that is the subject of a recent and riveting Amazon bestseller, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, by Mark T. Sullivan. war-shattered Italy. View the profiles of people named Pino Lella. 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Were it not for Sullivan's compulsion to go out of his way to help convince folks believed the novel represents a story that "hews closely to what happened to" Lella, I'd not likely stumble across the record of that interview and ultimately listen to it. Fifty thousand people showed up for his funeral at the Duomo. By the end of act 2, Calaf has answered all the riddles, but the princess still refuses to marry him. The conversation is described in Sullivan's epilogue to 'Beneath a Scarlet Sky.' . I did nothing.. I realized I was worth more dead than alive. His wife looked like she wanted to argue, but then she just waved him away, as if he were some bothersome fly. He thought about what it would be like to know his mother was going to die. From marksullivanbooks.com Buy Now Bozeman best-selling author Mark Sullivan has pledged $15,000 toward a charity that plans to mail free books every month to hundreds of. We talked for hours in his drawing room which was filled with old tapestries, and paintings, a grand piano, and the mementos of a long, fascinating life. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. It was the thing that supported him. He enjoys himself and almost seemshuman. Does he capture the mood of the 1940s? How do you evaluate a systematic review article. Tells us about Pinos family and friends who became national heroes, Righteous Among Nations, fashion designers, racecar drivers, and even a saint. If you can, talk about your sense of the dark forest or the abyss maybe in contrast or comparison to Pinos. unequivocally true. Horst Kopkow. And just about every aspect of his journey during that last 20 months of the war was deeply emotional . When you have done men favors, when you look out for others so they can prosper, they owe you. I realized very early on, for example, that in addition to Pinos story I could tell the broader history of the fight for what Winston Churchill called the soft underbelly of Europe.. Anna Marta is the love of Pino Lella 's life. 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. Beneath a Scarlet Sky shares the story of a teenage spy, Pino Lella. Mark has received numerous awards for his writing, including the WHSmith Fresh Talent Award, and his works have been named aNew York TimesNotable Book and aLos Angeles TimesBook of the Year. during the summers as a child Pino and Mimo were sent to a missionary called Casa Alpina near lake Como. Pino Lella is a normal Italian teenager living an idyllic life in Italy, until bombs begin falling on Milan and word of Nazi atrocities begin to circulate. . Pino arrived with a friend. Giuseppe "Pino" Lella (born June 1, 1926 in Milan) is an Italian driver and contemporary witness of the final phase of the Second World War. And, of course, Anna gave him strength. Innocent?, Exactly what? Mr. Beltramini said. Yes. Then, in interviews I conducted in Germany in 2016, Leyers daughter, his former religious minister, and his former aide told me that the general was released after testifying in secret against Albert Speer, Hitlers architect, the head of the entire OT, and the only member of the Fuhrers inner circle to escape the hangmans noose at the war crimes trials at Nuremberg. The peaches were not quite ripe, but the figs were. That Pino and Mimo Lella did not live at Casa Alpina as the book claims they were. I already wrote, and Lella has never been able to show a photograph of his stay and of his brother Mimmo in Motta. Ildefonso Schuster, the Cardinal of Milan during and after the war, worked to save the city and the Jews under Nazi occupation. eye-opening as Under a Scarlet Sky, by Mark Sullivan and published in 2017. He died during a practice run on the Monza track in 1954. U.S. Army Major Frank Knebel returned to California and became a newspaper publisher. Facebook gives people the power to share. Why did Mark Sullivan write Beneath a Scarlet Sky? By. Mirella was so lovely and did everything to make this tour spe, Our group of 4 greatly enjoyed our Aperitivo Tour of Milan with Mirella. I gave in to it and adjusted by switching obligations. What does it mean to be called a wop or a dago? unspeakable brutality and witnessed grievous losses because of conflicts among //