The Last Green Valley: A Novel

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The Last Green Valley is my first by Mark Sullivan, and it won’t be my last. Based on the factual life of the Martel family, of their journey to freedom, the heartache and devastating trials they encountered along the way, the author’s writing is sublime. His descriptions of their journey; of the prison camp Emil was incarcerated in for so long; of Adeline and the small church one Christmas Eve; of the many people the Martels encountered along the way – I could picture it all with ease. I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Green Valley and it is one I highly recommend. This is the first book I’ve read by Mark Sullivan and I’m looking forward to reading more of his books in the future. I’ve read many historical fiction books over the past few years and this is one of the best, based on a true story about a family fleeing Stalin and heading West towards the end of World War 2.

The Last Green Valley - Discovering the National Heritage The Last Green Valley - Discovering the National Heritage

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the early digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I have read many books about war, and this horrific time in history, and still find it eye opening and alarming. There is so also much useless dialogue in this book. I swear there is a solid 5 minute part where the parents are discussing on whether or not their child should pee out of the wagon. And I had the speed at 1.3 so it probably was even longer. We had a great, but soggy, time on The Legends of Bailey’s Ravine Sunday morning! The rain can’t always stop Walktober! There’s one more week to get out and explore The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor as part of Walktober! That’s why we’re leaving,” Emil said as he loaded the burlap bags into the big wagon, then looked at Adeline in irritation. “We should have been up and gone with my parents.”La novela nos narra como un matrimonio con dos hijos que viven en Ucrania, tienen que huir de su país porque las tropas soviéticas se adentran y si continuan allí serán enviados a un campo de concentración en Siberia, asique es eso, o escapar con los nazis los cuales les ofrecen protección para ser trasladados a Alemania, y allí poder buscar la libertad. Will still seemed upset. He climbed into his mother’s lap, snuggled against her chest, and said, “Tell me what it will look like, Mama.” Other reviewers have called the book “well-researched” but there are no notes or a bibliography and the author admittedly refers to the work as “historical fiction” rather than “narrative non-fiction”. It’s “researched” in that he interviewed the family and the strategic historical facts are accurate (i.e. what Stalin did to his own people, the westerly trek of the Volksdeutche) but I wouldn’t considered it “researched” and certainly not “well researched”. Overhead and to the south several kilometers, a German fighter plane roared past them, belching smoke from its engines. This is not an easy read, given the subject matter, but there are some lovely moments. I particularly liked the character of Colonel Gheorghe and was pleased to learn he had been based on a real person.

The Last Green Valley Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary

After his triumphant novel Beneath a Scarlet Sky, Mark Sullivan delivers another stunning tour de force. Based on interviews and careful research, The Last Green Valley is the novelization of an inspirational true story featuring human strength, faith, and endurance against all odds.” — Authorlink Have you or your family members lived through World War II? Have you or your family immigrated to the US? How do your memories or family stories reflect the emotions in this book? From Romania, they traveled by train to Budapest, and then to Ukraine. It was in the city of Poltava, Ukraine, where Martel was able to confront a stark reality of his family while touring a museum with Sullivan. It also becomes kismet when Martel learns that there is a connection between himself and the museum director by way of their respective parents. It was the very basement of that museum that became a focal point of the journey and as Sullivan recounts, “A pivotal moment of emotional power,” for the Martel family. In the 1940s, just as Stalin pushes into Ukraine, Emil and Adeline have a choice to make. Do they stay in their home and possibly get sent to Siberia, or do they follow the Nazis who have promised to protect Germans abroad in Ukraine. They decide to leave their beloved home and go with the Nazis, but it’s not that simple. They continue to be caught between horrific dictators. He thought life would be better for them under the Germans rather than the Russians, but was it true? Adeline was ethnic German and spoke both languages, but had no ties to either country. She detested both Stalin and Hitler.Una novela que está escrita con el mas mínimo detalle, una historia que el mismo autor nos cuenta que estuvo investigando durante mas de un año, ya que los hechos históricos son los que son, y la historia de la familia es real salvo ciertas cosas que el autor ha ficcionado (debido a que la propia familia no lo recordaba) Interesting note to myself — this is the second recent book I’ve read with visions- destinations in *Montana*…. Mark Sullivan tells me that he came out of college determined that he was not going to have a typical corporate job. Perhaps this was what drew him to the Peace Corps, ultimately to him being posted to Africa. Sullivan confirms that it was this experience that opened his eyes to a larger world around him. Perhaps that was how the stories evolved for both Beneath a Scarlet Sky and The Last Green Valley, that there was a world vastly greater than what we are oftentimes acutely aware of. Bozeman Author Sets the Stage with Absolutely Riveting Story MOVING. INSPIRING. HEALING. TRANSFORMING. In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: Do they wait for the Soviet bear’s intrusion and risk being sent to Siberia? Or do they reluctantly follow the wolves—murderous Nazi officers who have pledged to protect “pure-blood��� Germans?