Beneath a Scarlet Sky

One sentence synopsis... An Italian teenager finds himself become the personal driver for one of the Third Reich's most powerful commanders - while spying for the Allies in Milan.

Read it if you like... really wild semi-true stories (the book is a fictionalized account of a true and truly crazy life story of Pino Lella) at the expense of good writing. Would have been better as a non-fiction but from the rumblings of book twitter there's some controversy over how much is fictionalized (think ‘A Million Little Pieces').

Dream casting... Tom Holland was cast as the lead in the adaptation of this book that never happened... perhaps due to the controversy...

Only life writes stories like these...

I rarely give 5-star ratings. This story deserves one. It's a gem. For Polish readers out there - it should be out in June 2018, so consider giving it a try.

And here's a passage that still resonates in me:

“After several moments of quiet, Pino said, “You know, my young friend, I will be ninety 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...””

This was a fantastic book. Based on a true story, set in WWII Italy. Tells the story of a young man who does incredibly brave things. Definitely includes some sadness and heaviness, but it's an amazing book. Well-written and engaging. I really didn't know a lot about Italy during the war, so I learned a ton too.