BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS: Beneath A Scarlet Sky

 

 FEBRUARY 2022

 

 Welcome to our book club questions for Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

 

1.     Music used to avoid reality: violins played while the Titanic sank and as bombs were dropped on Italy. What song takes you away from everything?

2.     Italians were often called cowards for joining the side they thought would win to save their lives. Has this story made you see Italians in a different light?

3.     How does this story challenge, if at all, what you already knew about Mussolini and Italy’s involvement in WWII?

4.     As the story unfolded, did you trust Anna?

5.     Pino appears to have had very little agency over his life, yet he exceeded expectations every time. What are your thoughts on him, and did your view of him change during the story?

6.     “People are essentially good.” How much do you agree with this statement?

7.     Pino asked Anna, ‘How do you find happiness?’ What three things make you happy?

8.     What are your thoughts on Leyers? Why did he keep the fact that he knew of Pino’s spy codename to himself? Why did the Americans allow him to leave?

9.     In the book’s afterword, Sullivan briefly describes what became of Pino. Did anything surprise you?

10.  This was our book of the month in February 2022, the month Russia invaded Ukraine. When we chose this book, we had no idea what was in store for the world.

        Do you think the impact of this new war in Europe affected your enjoyment of the story?

 

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