Reading books about war is always difficult and painful. Every time I open a book I imagine what sorrowful emotions will overwhelm me, but I can't help it. Reading books about the war is necessary to know how it was, to remember and never forget. This time I happened upon a book about World War II in Italy, specifically about the Italian resistance during the Nazi takeover of the country. The novel is based on true events, the protagonist is a man who really exists in history with superhero abilities, but modestly calls himself a coward and thinks he didn't sacrifice himself enough for others. It's hard to hold back and not argue, but he certainly knows better.
Mark T. Sullivan (b. 1958) is an author of thrillers. Born in a Boston suburb, he joined the Peace Corp after college, traveling to West Africa to live with a tribe of Saharan nomads. Upon returning to the United States, he took a job at Reuters, beginning a decade-long career in journalism that would eventually lead to a job as an investigative reporter for the San Diego Tribune.
During the writing of the novel, the author not only personally interviewed in detail the main participant in the events of those years, but also meticulously collected material for his work, trying to make the book as authentic as possible. The text of the narrative strikes with sincerity and participation of the writer in what he writes. The picture comes alive before your eyes and moves, the book is like a movie with a voice-over.
The central shot is of seventeen-year-old Pino Lella, interested in three things: beautiful girls, jazz music, and delicious food. In the summer of '43, the life of a young and carefree boy changes abruptly. The war, which had previously been present only on BBC news, invades the lives of the Milanese. Fighting the Nazis, the Allies began bombing Milan, day by day in front of Pino's eyes the city turns into ruins. After another bombing, when he stepped outside, he could hardly recognize it. Buildings had collapsed one by one, streets were like ruins, clouds of dust hung in the air, and here and there the bodies of the dead lay.
The young man, not spoiled by his parents' money, had been through many ordeals. Simple, kind and sympathetic Pino, able to sympathize, helped those in need without asking or persuading. He was responsible for his actions, quickly learned from his mistakes and was able to find a way out in difficult situations. Modest, reserved and trying to hide his frustration and anger for the sake of the work he undertook, he recklessly risked his life. Courageous and risky for his age and wise beyond his years.
To keep their children out of war, Pino's parents sent their sons to a Catholic camp in the mountains, but instead of skiing and admiring the Alps, the brothers contracted to help the priests. Pino became a guide, ferrying Italian Jews across the Alps to Switzerland. Knowing that helping Jews was considered treason and punishable by death, the guys, sparing no effort, did a good deed. I remember one of their most dangerous winter crossings. They had found a lonely hut in the mountains and decided to wait out a snowstorm there, and at the same time to get warm and rested. Tired they fell asleep and woke up to the sound like the rumbling of a locomotive. It was an avalanche that fell directly on the hut, blocking it completely and trapping the travelers in it. The only way out was blocked with snow and ice, the chimney was blocked with shards of ice, and there was no air flow. People were walled in by the monolithic block of snow, fear of the Nazis receded into the background, the natural elements seemed to be against them as well. I watched Pino and his charges with bated breath, mentally helping them out of the snowy captivity.
Meanwhile, Pino was growing up. He was turning from a naïve boy into a man. In a few days he would turn 18, which meant that he was to be drafted and taken to serve in Mussolini's army. To save their son and nephew from death on the battlefield (all recruits were sent to the Russian front, where the mortality rate of young Italians was 50%), his relatives hired him as a personal driver for General Leyers, notorious for his cruel treatment of people and turning them into slaves. Working for the Nazis and wearing swastikas was hated by Pino, but it was the only way he could help the resistance troops. He became a spy and passed important information to the Allies.
Describing the heroic deeds of the main character, the author does not idealize Pino, does not try to convince the reader of the uniqueness of this man, but rather on the contrary, draws attention to immaturity and imperfection, to weaknesses and flaws, shows the way he grew up. It is worth mentioning that the boy was helped to survive and be a hero by the feeling of love, Pino met a girl and fell in love. In just one year, the boy turns into a man in every sense of the word.
The novel is action-packed, it was insanely interesting to read, impossible to tear yourself away. Some moments (indeed, many moments) caused horror, there were scenes when the tears were stuck in your throat. Little Nikko in a Catholic camp, blown up by a pseudo-partisan grenade and dying in his mother's arms. Hungry and dying of thirst slaves in a tunnel. Children's fingers in the opening of a red wagon designed to transport cattle to Auschwitz. Blackshirts beheading partisan corpses in the cemetery. Mass shooting of Nazi "whores".
A terrible war, an undeniable feat of humanity. I think this book can safely be put on a par with the many famous novel by Thomas Kenilly "Schindler's List". I look forward to the film adaptation of "Under the Scarlet Sky", which is due out soon.
This article was sponsored by Ashraf Atalla
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