Beneath a Scarlet Sky
discussion
Getting to know Pino
message 51:
by
Christian
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Jul 24, 2018 05:23PM
I must say MaryF your posts on this discussion are quite simply terrible, have you ever heard the saying "if you don't have anything nice to say then it's best not to say anything"?
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MayrF. I reject the term "dishonesty". I can "separate fact vs. fiction" and I can distinguish the fiction that was created. I can also innumerate the "facts" that form the basis of the story. Here are some of them, but not all: 1) My father and Uncle Mimmo were sent to Casa Alpina for their protection following the bombing of the "Cristallo Theater" where my father had been stood-up by beautiful girl 2) That my father, being the oldest of the boys at Casa Alpina, was singled-out out by Don Luigi Re to become an Alpine guide and he did risk his life escorting Jewish refugees over the Alps 3) He did survive an avalanche on one of his treks over the Alps 4) He (and his friend Ascari) were robbed by bandits disguised as Partisan's at the Cascata Hotel in Madesimo. 4) He did witness the accidental grenade bombing of children playing. 5) He did enlist in the German Organization Todt on the eve of his 18th birthday, at the request of his Uncle Albert and Aunt Greta, who were working for the Resistance. 6) He was injured at the Todt Boot Camp in Modena during a bombing raid and 7) he was ordered back to Milan to convalesce 8) where he surreptitiously became the driver for the General of the Italian Todt Division, who had a mistress by the name of Dolly and a maid, who was the beautiful girl that stood-him-up at the theater, Anna. 9) He did become a spy, relaying daily information he acquired from driving the General, to uncle Albert, who in turn, transmitted that classified information to the Allies via an OSS radio that my father and Anna delivered to and attached to the Nazi Command antennae located in the new apartment below his parent's on Corso Matteotti #8 (formally Via Del Littorio). 9) He did "single-handedly" arrest his General and delivered him to the awaiting American 5th Army headed by Major Frank Knebel. 10) He did then become Major Knebel's guide, translator and close friend, witnessing the desecration of Mussolini's body in Piazzale Loreto. 11) He did witness Communist Partisan executions, the frenzied fanatic Italian mobs and he did run-for-his-life on more than one occasion. And finally, 12) he accepted that suicidal mission (along with his friend Carletto Beltramini) to personally escort "his General, the same General he had earlier arrested" through the Brenner Pass, to the American's waiting on the Austrian border.
Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned "facts" can be proven, but (and this is where you are wrong), it doesn't mean they did not happen. Knowing this, Mr. Sullivan was very clear in stating that he classified the book, as a novel of "historical fiction", based on what '"he believes", from his investigative research to be true. This is not DISHONESTY, and he disclosed that fact. It is a novel, based on what he believes, to be a true story.
At this stage MaryF, I am fed up with responding to your continuous insulting and negative blogs. You can nit-pick, dissect and carry on with your rampage as long as you like, it is a free country....
The real FACT remains, that people love the book despite your on-going efforts to discredit.
"Ridiculous" things happened during War. Why the American's would have my father and Beltramini escort "The General" to the Border remains is a mystery even to me. But that, Mary F, I believe with all my heart, happened. It is one of those life-changing events that I personally heard from the testimony of Carletto, Mimmo, Uncle Albert, Greta and my even my father, who rarely spoke to me about any of this.Obviously, for many reasons, most of these events are difficult, if not impossible to prove today. But, I repeat, it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
And MaryF...you are right. "Obsessive and Compulsive" may be better words (than rampage) to describe your plight to discourage readers and discredit Beneath A Scarlet Sky....
Amidst all of this recent banter about what is fact and what is fiction, I feel the need to restate that I truly loved this book and this story. My opinion is not based on the accuracies or inaccuracies...as I read it as a work of fiction and I'm also aware that many times, when an older individual recounts events they are His memories, those of which may not match what a history book would have reported. Beneath a Scarlet Sky remains a well written story in my mind and Pino Lella a very intriguing individual. I savored every minute of it. There are always differences in opinions about all books, and variations in ratings/feedback; I, myself, have despised books that the rest of the universe seemed to have loved. To each their own - it's still a 5 star to me.
Michael, I loved this book. I did listen to it through Audible rather than reading it, which I think made the story more powerful.For me the value of historical fiction is not that it gets everything "right", but that it introduces readers to events in a way that is often more interesting than textbook history. The informed reader will do the leg work to find out where the lines were blurred. Other readers just want to enjoy a good story and they don't have any interest beyond that. And both of those readers are valuable humans.
At any rate, ignore the naysayers (I believe she has single-handedly posted on every positive review of the book, which speaks to an obsession that is likely unhealthy), and simply love your Dad, because for you your Dad was always going to be a hero, as all Dads are to their boys. You didn't need a book to know that. The book just means we know it too.
Cheers!
Hi Michael. I am the founder of this book. I read your father's book and loved it. Mark even joined us to discuss the book. I'm very sorry that you had problems with one of our members. She's gone and shouldn't be coming back. I hope you come back. Please email me if there are any problems.Mary
Lory wrote: "Amidst all of this recent banter about what is fact and what is fiction, I feel the need to restate that I truly loved this book and this story. My opinion is not based on the accuracies or inaccur..."I agree. I have recommended it to all my friends who like historical fiction. Unbelievable story and I enjoyed it because it was about a real person.
Hi Michael,I just finished this book and have been reading everything I can find about your father and anything more to his life story. What an incredible man. I can only imagine living through the things he has lived through and somehow still living a full life afterwards. I pray he finds true peace and joy in the rest of his life. I wonder if he knows how many lives he touched telling this story of human kindness, goodness, love, generousity and sacrafice. God bless you Pino, thank you for showing us your heart.
Mary (Marbear) Mary, what do you mean you "are the founder of this book"? That is just an interesting statement :) ! Are you the founder of Goodreads? Or did you first post this book on this forum?
I just finished this incredible novel. This one will be with me for a while. My dad served in WWII in European Theater. He shared some experiences, but not all. I did not fully appreciate the valor so many young men displayed while I was busy raising my family. Now that I am retired and enjoying a quieter life, I am extremely interested in learning about events of WWII, especially through Historical Fiction reading. I, as many, appreciate your dad sharing his life story with a great author as Mike Sullivan. Pino Lella is a true hero!! May he be blessed in his remaining years.
Questo Libro ha toccato il mio cuore in tanti modi e dovràessere tradotto in Italiano e introdotto nelle scuole .
La storia di Pino Lella è cosi importante che ieri come oggi ci ritroviamo a rispondere e a difenderci dai stessi demoni sociali.
Grazie di tutto Signore Pino Lella, il vostro contributo non sarà' scordato ma è
tempo di rivelarlo e diffondere il messaggio che il libro presenta e il coraggio di allora un ragazzo e adesso un uomo che per me è un Eroe.
Vorrei tanto ringraziare di persona tuo Padre.
Grazie Michele Lella per rispondere tutti i messaggi anche quelli non troppo belli
This book has touched my heart in so many ways and it will have to
be translated into Italian and introduced into schools.
The story of Pino Lella is so important that as yesterday we find ourselves responding and defending ourselves from the same social demons today.
Thank you for everything Lord Pino Lella, your contribution will not be forgotten but it is
time to reveal it and spread the message the book presents and the courage of then a boy and now a man who is for me a hero.
I would very much like to thank your father in person.
Thanks, Michele Lella to answer all the messages even those not too beautiful
Ciao Daniele Viola
Wow Daniele...What an honor to hear those words from you!"Che onore sentire quelle parole da te..."
I will definitely pass them on to my father.
For your information, Beneath A Scarlet Sky has been translated into Italian. The Italian editors shamefully changed the title to "L'ULTIMO EROE SOPRAVVISSUTO" (meaning "The Last Living Hero"). My father is not happy with this title as he never considered himself to be a hero, let alone the "last living hero". Fortunately, they did a magnificent job translating it, but the title has not generated a whole bunch of sales in Italy. To my father, he's happy with that as he prefers to live in anonymity at 92. Michael Lella, Pino's son.
Michael, Incredible and moving story about your father and his experiences during WWII. I am a US Soldier currently serving in Milan. I have visited many of the sites mentioned in your fathers story, giving me a new perspective. And I will absolutely be taking my family to the places i have not been to yet. Please tell Pino Thank you For his service and sacrifice. Jeff
My question, if you are still accepting, is how did you ever find and select Mark Sullivan to write your father's story? He was absolutely great. I loved his writing. I'm an author myself and reading is how I improve my writing skills. When I was about a chapter into this novel, the writing was so wonderful I looked to the front of the book to see the author's name and nearly fell over when I saw "Mark Sullivan." I was sure this was written by someone who grew up in Italy.
Having an Italian father and an Irish mother, honestly, I was shocked how well Sullivan told this story.
Thank you for sharing. I read this awhile back and I find myself thinking of it occasionally, especially of two young boys, kids, leading Jews through the mountains.
I hope your father realized how brave he truly was.
I just finished listening to Beneath a Scarlet Sky. I read some of the comments and they are very interesting and helpful in how this book came to be. I found it very interesting and heartfelt and that individuals lived through this to tell their story. Thank you.
I loved this book and as others found it very moving. Especially so because of my family story. My father was born in Milan in 1938. My grandparents (his parents) lived there. We are Jewish. They worked hard to find a way out of Italy as they slowly lost all their rights and it got closer to Italy joining the war. They ultimately did. They were on the last plane leaving Milan before Italy joined and the borders closed. My family had a lot of history in northern Italy that unfortunately was “lost” as they assimilated ultimately in America. These times trying to leave were very difficult. There were many people they sought help from including a catholic priest. He wasn’t able to get them the visa but left a positive impression. I so appreciate your story and everyone who contributed to helping Jews escape and survive. It’s not just a story it’s real history. Thank your father for all he did. Thank you for sharing his story.
Michael, this is the best story I have read in a very long time. I felt your father's pain in the written words throughout the entire book. I was in Italy last year and was on Lake Como and surrounding area but not Milan but I could envision where he was. Such an amazing and courageous young man. He lived more in his one life than any of us will. My heart hurt for the loss of his love, Anna. I am telling everyone I know about this book. Please thank him for sharing his incredible story. And thank you for being here on this website Michael.
Dear Michael,Thank you so much for opening up this forum to us. It has been quite interesting to read peoples comments and views. Mostly favourable, I must say and I am one of them. I cannot for the life of me understand why some people want to waste everybody's time arguing about semantics. If they are unhappy with the book just say so and get off the forum!
I loved the book and was fascinated by the story and cannot wait to go and see the areas described and for the TV series to be made.
As for the doubts expressed by some members that "The General" (Leyers), was not the officer identified in the book, or that certain events did not happen in the time lines expressed. Speaking from personal experience of the security world, I would say that despite OSS archives being declassified and do not align with the novel, what must be realised is that the security authorities decide on WHAT is declassified. Thereby inferring that much information is STILL classified. Lets be realistic here, this is ONLY a novel!!
I bought a copy of Beneath a Scarlet Sky after a friend recommended it. What an amazing story! Thank you and thank Mark Sullivan too. I wrote a 2-page summary in Italian and read it out to my fellow students in the Italian-language class I attend in Jerusalem, Israel earlier today. I hope they'll all have an opportunity to read the book too!
Michael, you must be a very proud son. Your father's strength to re-tell this story is admirable. Please let him know that it has touched my and my family's hearts. We connected to this book so much that we are planning a trip to Northern Italy/Austria/Switzerland this fall and want to visit some of the places that were written about in the book. Does Casa Alpina still exist? Are there any hikes around the area that you would recommend? Wishing you, Pino, and the rest of your family well!
Kudos to you! I blocked her eons ago and life is better for me too. It is one thing to dislike a book, it is another to seek out EVERY post to tell them they are wrong. Imagine the power of that time spent on something meaningful, like famine and finding the cure the cancer!I listened to the audio book as well and just loved it! I understand not every word was true, but I think it tells a tale worth knowing.
Cheers!
Rick wrote: "PS: Sorry, I forgot to include "troll"! My bad! BFF 4 EVAH" I don't even know you Rick, and I don't even read what's her name's posts anymore, but surely you can do better? ;)Happy reading!
Your father's story was so astounding I have reread the book at least three times. I joined the US Army at 17 and was stationed in Germany. I spent all my free time and money in the Alps. During the beginning of the book I felt like I could have been with him in the mountains. However, when he began saving people and then spying on the general I was stunned. As a child my mother taught me about antisemitism and to embrace the Jewish people because Catholics didn't do enough. I wish she had had the opportunity to hear his story because I know she carried guilt even though she was only little girl. To be honest this story has encouraged me to study the Italian campaign because it shows the effects of the war's impact on civilians. You should know as I am sure you do that you father is a big a hero as there has been. More so because he did the right thing quietly without looking for glory. His strength is something that I draw on often. I have five sons and they all know his story and two of them have read the book. Your dad lives on in our family. By the way, I am an Irish-Greek American who is married to a wonderful Jewish girl. So my boys are technically Jews. I can say without pause this Jewish family is honored by your father's heroism.
Hi Micheal, I am a lover of great stories and hold tightly to these heroic tales of wonders such as Luis Zamperini and Lale Sokolov, Andrée de Jongh. There are too many to name.
I wanted to say however, that I have loved your father in a way I feel will forever change me. This story, is one of the most precious of my life that I will carry in every day to be braver and constantly faith filled.
My husband and I have a unique story and its one with many ups and downs and watching others we love suffer in pain. Change can happen slowly and usually trudges through great valleys that seem without end. What your father lived through... is a true testimate of faith, beauty, hope.
One day I hope to visit Casa Alpina and Madesimo. Just to see with my own eyes. What strength he carried... I doubt he even knew how brave he was most of the time. He chose to believe in what he could be... in what he needed to be, living within such sacrifice.
I know I have so many questions, but I believe my most important one is, after living through so much pain and horror, how did your father find joy again? How did he find the courage to love again?
How does he look back on his own story? So often those who have lived it do not see it as those who hear it. They see their mistakes, they seem their failings. I hope your father sees the hero he was and still is. I will love him forever.
Dear Juliet. That is one of the most compelling comments about my father that I have ever had the pleasure to read. It touches my heart to hear what an impact the story had on you and many others. To answer your question, I believe that Dad has been able to "block out" the pain he suffered and get on with life a long time ago...Generally speaking, he is and has been an optimist his whole life and although not without faults, he lives his life positively having found a way, in time, to heal from the horrors he experienced. By the time he came to America in 1950, he put the War behind him and never let it get him down again. Now at 93, the story of what he experienced has come back....but not to haunt him. This time he is sharing in the joy and love from others like yourself, who express these kind thoughts....Casa Alpina and Madesimo are the vocal points of the novel and it really is a great site to see.....Thank You so much for sharing. Michael Lella, Pino's son.
This made me cry. I think it's remarkable that you made this space to dialogue and share about your father in a way you can react to personally. Thank you for that. To know you can share personally, my love for him... deeply touches my heart. I love to paint.. I would love to paint something for your dad. If you were able to email me, when we have friends visit the states they could send it to a p.o box or something for him. I know he appreciates his anonymity. :)
My email is littlewoodnymphs@gmail.com. I hope it works out for me to get a gift to him.
Hi Juliet. I will send you a personal email....but I wanted to thank you for expressing your feeling on this public forum first. I believe it's important to share in the dialogue with others who have been touched by the story. Thanks again.
Just put the book down and thoroughly enjoyed it. Read it in two days. What a fascinating story of a courageous man. Glad this story was told and not forgotten.
It’s been a while since this discussion section was active, and I’d consider it negligent to overlook reference to more recent developments. See:Philip’s top default review – more recent comments:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mike Lella’s answer to “Is Pino still living” question – more recent comments:
https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...
Comments section of my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mary wrote: "It’s been a while since this discussion section was active, and I’d consider it negligent to overlook reference to more recent developments. See:Philip’s top default review – more recent comments..."
Thank you...I will check these out.
Hi! I read the book about your father. I can’t stop thinking about the incredibly horrific events that happened to such a young man. And at the same time, it is remarkable how he found Anna again, seemingly by coincidence, after such a length of time. Such a moving account of your father’s life. It left me with a sense of appreciation and gratitude for all that men like your father did to fight for freedom. My husband and I are traveling to our dream destination, Italy, in the summer of 2020. I told him he has to read the book before we go, because I plan to go to some of the places mentioned. Can you tell me if Casa Alpina still exists and how to get there? I am also interested in visiting the location of Carletto’s family fruit stand. Let me know if you are able to help! Thank you!
(My name is Amber, writing from my husband Daniel’s computer.)
[Amber] wrote: "(My name is Amber, writing from my husband Daniel’s computer.)"Amber, if you want to edit message 85 and there's no "edit" button appearing between "reply" and "delete", try this link:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I could answer your questions but I prefer not to be e-yelled at today (let me know if that's a false fear no matter what).
I listened to the book on Audible. It was 17 hrs 43 minutes and I finished it in less than a week. It is the best book I have ever read or listened to. This is not my normal style of book, but I could not stop listening. The story is compelling, fast paced and A Great Book!!!
Hi Michael. Recent events have allowed me the time and space to coop up inside with a good book—and man, was Beneath A Scarlet Sky the greatest blessing. My fiancé has also read the book now, and we were both so moved by your father’s story. The unthinkable atrocities, the terrible inhumane acts he (and his people) witnessed really puts things into perspective, especially at this time. I’m not sure we could ever understand the depth of their suffering. Not to mention his love for Anna—brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. That he always found strength, chose faith, and (at least strove for) happiness through it all, is inspiring. Please thank him for his courage and vulnerability in sharing this incredible story. I feel that I will carry it with me through life. Hoping to make it back to Italy to visit Casa Alpina one day! Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and the rest of Italy at this time.-Michelle
As a nurse working in a hospital during this Coronavirus War, I am so grateful to have found myself Beneath A Scarlet Sky with an amazing man I’ve never met before (but am now kind of in love with) named Pino Lella. Sheltering-in on days off is hard. Finding things to bouy the spirits and inspire hope in these bewildering times has been a challenge. Up until now! This hero who doesn’t see himself as a hero: his smania, his grit, his truth, and, yet another act of bravery, to bare his beautiful scars and share the personal experiences that made them. Gifts to a girl, a nurse, he’ll never meet, who needed his war story to help her keep fighting in hers. Thank you, Pino ❤️Michael, thank you, too, for sharing your papa with all of us. Is there a forum, a blog, a page for those of us who are having a hard time letting go of Pino once we’ve turned the last page of the book?
Theresa wrote: "As a nurse working in a hospital during this Coronavirus War, I am so grateful to have found myself Beneath A Scarlet Sky with an amazing man I’ve never met before (but am now kind of in love with)..."Bless you, Theresa.
Does any one know why Mary is permitted to be on this site and randomly attack people for having an option about this book. She clearly has an issue with this book and so feels like she can run around imply that people are stupid for enjoying it. I don't care one way or another.
I read because it is an escape from the craziness of the world and it allows me to connect with my book club. FULL STOP -
Mary F go away.
Whoa, whoa, Tracey. There was nothing that can be (objectively) described as as an "attack", nor even a vague implication that you are stupid. See:
https://web.archive.org/web/202004250...
Relatedly, by no means are people obligated to care about the book being a literary fraud that miscasts and misuses many real people and most of the subject matter incl. but not limited to the Shoah. They aren't obligated to care. People do, however, have a right to know that their trust and ignorance of the who-what-why-how of the time and place has been respectively violated and taken advantage of, esp. when it is quite clear enjoyment of the sad, distressing story is all too often based on the belief that it is what the author (and others to include Mike) claims it is.What surprises me is when folks tend to fail to recognize how often their anger is misdirected.
Also: Prefer that the (in lieu of better words) 'informative' and 'lively' discussion-debate** take place on the thread that is Mike's answer to "Is Pino still living? ..."
https://www.goodreads.com/community_a...
** - as, it's worth noting, allowed and supported by community guidelines, etc. (except on occasions when selectively disregarded by misguided, biased folks) -
Tracey wrote: "Does any one know why Mary is permitted to be on this site and randomly attack people for having an option about this book. She clearly has an issue with this book and so feels like she can run ar..."
Tracey, I blocked that particular user and can no longer see her stuff. For me personally, that has made my life better.
Happy reading! Cheers.
Michael, not sure if this topic is still open, but just wanted to share that this is one of the most amazing and inspiring stories that I've ever heard in my life. I've had this title in my Audible library for a few years now, but have only just gotten around to listening (coronavirus quarantine and all) and was blown away. I hope that your dad, Pino, and the whole family are healthy post-coronavirus. Any reader of this book is given a gift because the experiences that your dad has shared, and that Mark Sullivan researched and put together, can help to reframe and put in perspective any current challenge. For the rest of my life when I think of something that seems too challenging or that cannot be overcome, I can now think of and be inspired by, what Pino Lella, and those that he knew and loved, endured in the 1940s. Most importantly, I am comforted knowing that he did find many loves in his life.
Amanda wrote: "I blocked that particular user and can no longer see her stuff. For me personally, that has made my life better."I may well not be alone in finding the final remark in particular a tad incredible in light of past comments, and only you (and members of GR staff) would know to what extent they reflect reality.
Tracey would be well aware that she may delete our interaction in the space set aside to store her review and any subsequent discussion, so I'm sure she is well aware of the ability to selectively conceal from view what she'd prefer not to read here.
Like you, Tracey had one or more reasons and intentions when choosing to express certain thoughts here instead of her review space or a direct message, and it's reasonable to assume her approach is a fair reflection of or at least a snapshot on how she values civil discourse, contrary views, and acts of public service.
It’s really disappointing that there are people out there who do not know Pino Lella at all but go out of their way to say his story isn’t true. I listened to Beneath a Scarlet Sky on Audible and absolutely loved it. I found it SO incredibly sad and I find it so heartbreaking that Pino continues to live with the weight of Anna’s death even after doing so much to save others. It seems unfair but all I can believe is that only God knows why things happened the way they did for him and Anna. But it is still so sad! I just cannot imagine the weight of it for Pino.The people who want to discredit his story have probably never done anything remotely courageous or selfless and do not know what it is to take risk. Pino LIVED and he had many talents he used to help so many. I really admire that. And why would he admit to the events surrounding Anna’s death If they weren’t true. I think we are fortunate that he shared Anna with the author actually. I’m very sorry that there are people out there that don’t want to believe the story even when the author did so much research and Pino’s son is so involved.This attitude is dangerous to history. I think the author did plenty of research and it is clear that his son Michael is very passionate about having his father’s story told. So let him.
[corrected reference at bottom]Christine wrote: "It’s really disappointing that there are people out there who do not know Pino Lella at all but go out of their way to say his story isn’t true. I listened to Beneath a Scarlet Sky on Audible and absolutely loved it. I found it SO incredibly sad and I find it so heartbreaking that Pino continues to live with the weight of Anna’s death even after doing so much to save others. [...]
The people who want to discredit his story have probably never done anything remotely courageous or selfless and do not know what it is to take risk. ... And why would he admit to the events surrounding Anna’s death If they weren’t true. I think we are fortunate that he shared Anna with the author actually. I’m very sorry that there are people out there that don’t want to believe the story even when the author did so much research and Pino’s son is so involved. This attitude is dangerous to history. I think the author did plenty of research and it is clear that his son Michael is very passionate about having his father’s story told. So let him."
Christine, I'm not merely SAYing it isn't true; it's been established as untrue. Folks are free to refuse to do the requisite reading. It's fine if you're ok with what is in reality a literary fraud being peddled as 90% true story when it's far closer to the exact opposite. And Mike is free to be a passionate promoter of it - as he would be. And those who know better are free to promote the truth and authentic history, which is very much contrary to the fiction in the novel.
"The people who want to discredit his story have probably never done anything remotely courageous or selfless and do not know what it is to take risk. "
I'll forgive you for this because I know from whence it springs. That being said, if you don't think it's risky to take action to expose a literary fraud, that's another thing about which you haven't (and do not want to have) a clue.
"And why would he admit to the events surrounding Anna’s death If they weren’t true. "
This is based on the falsely implanted impression that (a) Anna is a real person vs. a fictitious character that Sullivan created because there had to be a love interest in the novel; and (b) that Lella "admit[ted]" any such thing/created her for Sullivan's benefit. All the evidence suggests that Anna, like most things, were not Lella's embellishments. (Of course, he's a co-conspirator because he kept his mouth shut about what the book is.)
Trust me, a 1985 interview of Lella - the one concealed from readers (p. 501 is where Sullivan couldn't resist mentioning it and falsely describing it) - bears next to zero resemblance to the book. As for "love interest", the closest to that during the almost four-hour interview was this exchange when referring to maids in the Lella household:
"Q - And the maids, do you know how old they were?
A - Ah, the maids were, ah, old. There … we had Maria and Elvira, and then we had Mary … Mary, she was a young beautiful girl and that I remember exactly how old she was because I was [unintelligible] thinking about her being 25…24.
Q - And you were probably in love with her.
A - … I’m [read: 'I was'] almost in love with her. "
"This attitude is dangerous to history."
Among many other real life implications and the incredible insult to the tens of millions who suffered and died during the war - never mind the insult to actual heroes by the various stolen valor tales (that include misuse of Peter Daloia by the way, by both Sullivan and Daloia's son) - what the Sullivan and others did here is dangerous to (authentic) history. It's also an incredible violation of public trust when there isn't a whole lot of that left in light of the reprehensible way the leisure and entertainment industry has misused the Shoah/Holocaust and the war over the years. That's pretty much the whole damn point of
"I think the author did plenty of research."
You may think it but evidence indicates he did less of it than the average conscientious historical fiction writer would've done. All of Sullivan's false and misleading remarks both declaring and insinuating a particular scope, depth and duration of research in order to create a fake veneer of verisimilitude and authenticity are part of the reason this novel can be categorized as a literary fraud instead of an incredibly flawed hist fic novel. He didn't devote years and years on research. Among numerous other things including a road construction business and other personal pursuits, he was also busy working on TEN (10) other novels.
As for Mike Lella, you have not read or processed all the falsities and falsehoods he's disseminated since this all began, so I also wouldn't be so quick to blindly defend him either. He's a major co-conspirator, and it doesn't matter if by now he's 50% or more bamboozled himself into believing what he's saying-writing. He knows he cannot "show the receipts" as it were; he can only continue to be making what are false assertions about what he "knows" (and only rarely does he use the word "believe").
I think it'd be a really fine idea if people would do some reading before they rushed to the defense of what is reprehensible. Start with the public service advisory comment under the below review if you don't want to visit my review space or read through the visible notes on the book:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
[Unfortunately, in Dec 2020, Amazon ended the review comment feature and also ensured customers can no longer see comments on reviews. However, refer to: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and/or https://www.goodreads.com/notes/37642...]
If you aren't willing to do the work, then you need to consider being quiet and not making pronouncements based on emotional goggles instead of actual evidence.
Christine wrote: "It’s really disappointing that there are people out there who do not know Pino Lella at all but go out of their way to say his story isn’t true. I listened to Beneath a Scarlet Sky on Audible and a..."Christine, I will suggest to you the same thing I suggest to everyone: the block button is amazing. I am no longer notified about posts by certain users, if they respond to my stuff I can't see it and as such don't know they have. I appreciate people passionate about good books and the freedom to express that passion. I also deeply value History as I hold advanced degrees in the field. But I don't have time for nonsense.
I too loved the Audible and took the book for what it is and not holy scripture.
Enjoy and, if necessary, utilize the block button! ;)
Happy reading.
Amanda wrote: "I also deeply value History as I hold advanced degrees in the field. But I don't have time for nonsense. I too loved the Audible and took the book for what it is and not holy scripture...."On the decent chance that you click on the button to reveal comments despite the blocks:
What do you believe the novel is?? Also, apparently the love of history doesn't extend to a defense of *authentic* history and those who'd make it up and distort it, insulting all those who made/lived it.
Your comments ignore what most readers are misled to believe the novel is, and what it is misrepresented to be (esp. outside the book): 90% true and historically accurate. (In light of the mention of "holy scripture" one not so fun fact among the dozens is that the entire theme of religiosity in relation to Lella is just another calculated contrivance by the author if not Lella, who makes it clear in his 1985 interview that he was "not at all" religious despite the customary indoctrination as a child.)
I also trust you to take note that Christine (or "Christine") has not posted here before and apparently opened the account for the purpose of doing so here.
The person who might benefit from the "block" advice is Mike Lella. He's repeatedly declared he has nothing more to say to me (and now Giovanni Ciriani)[1] and yet refuses limit himself to a long-term habit of talking to me through comments to others *about* me.
[1] I suspect Mike will never engage Franco Isman, who lived at Casa Alpina during the time covered in the story and can confirm what Lella did by way of the 1985 interview: that no Lellas lived there from ~Sep 1943 to end of April 1945.
Hi Amanda, thanks for the advice. I guess we will soon see “Mary F” on CNN, Fox and ABC news courageously taking the “RISK” of exposing a “literary fraud” because she has so much proof that Beneath a Scarlet Sky is false. Cannot WAIT for brave “Mary F” to show us all what to believe and think. I’m sure she has saved many people by sitting on her computer coming up with obnoxiously long arguments for her pathetic cause.
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