171
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #200,101 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★☆☆☆
Wooden Prose Telling a Very Hard to Believe Story
I simply don't understand all the 4- and 5-star ratings for this book. The overall arc of the story is compelling. Pino definitely seems courageous. Leading Jewish refugees from Italy to Switzerland through the mountains is impressive and brave. But too much of his story seems highly dubious. Consider:
1. A very high ranking German general in a war zone uses an Italian boy (sorry... 18 YO makes you a boy) as a personal chauffeur without ongoing checks of his background and activities? What kind of OPSEC is that?
2. An 18 YO who's never left Milan knows French and English well enough that he can serve as a translator for high level wartime and diplomatic discussions?
3. An 18 YO who's had a few driving lessons and he's somehow able to dodge a strafing Spitfire in a Daimler G4?
4. An 18 YO who hasn't played the drums in a year and he's able to play like Gene Krupa at a GI party?
Aside from the mostly compelling story line, the writing is terrible. The whole book comes across as a cartoon or comic book. I found the relationship between Anna and Pino to be described at a chaste, high-school level. I give the book 2-stars because it held my interest to the end and it did give me a good sense of what wartime Italy must have been like. But the wooden prose and "Forrest Gump" coincidences significantly detracted from my enjoyment. Recommended with a lot of reservations. (For poor writing and unbelievable exploits by an 18 YO boy.)
