The Last Green Valley: A Novel

Product Information

The raw wind gusted. A curled brown leaf from the previous autumn lifted from the dead grass to Adeline’s left, spun, looped, and danced across the stubble and around her and the boys in a curious, stuttering pattern before the gust sighed and the leaf tumbled softly to earth. It reminded her of a night long before when she’d seen money appear on the wind, a single crumpled bill that had danced before her in the same curious manner as this leaf, as if in response to some desperate and primal prayer. This is a very good historical fiction, and the second book I have read by the author. I did find “Under a Scarlet Sky”, a bit more engaging to me.

Review: The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan | Authorlink Review: The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan | Authorlink

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.

Round-ups and Reviews

Sullivan tells me, “There was a significant amount of research for both novels. With the entirety of World War II, the stories offered such rich terrain, just these stories of regular and ordinary people up against astronomical stakes. You really don’t want to screw that story up.” Thank you to NetGalley, Author Mark T. Sullivan and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced copy to read and review. Having loved the Historical Fiction book “Beneath the Scarlet Sky”….by Mark Sullivan ….(as many others have too)….I had planned to read this sooner — then it slipped away from me. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Green Valley Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary

Adeline’s concern left her husband and lifted when she spotted her mother at the reins of two old ponies pulling her wagon at a steady clip through the loose and shifting caravan of refugees and defeated soldiers all heading west. Emil and Adeline Martel are faced with an impossible choice, to stay and live under a Soviet regime or head west in a convoy protected by the Nazis. Overhead and to the south several kilometers, a German fighter plane roared past them, belching smoke from its engines. The Last Green Valley" focuses on the Martel family, who are trying to escape Stalin by fleeing with the Nazis who claim to protect "pure-blood" Germans. The Martel family has been in the farming industry in Ukraine for many years, but they ultimately decide they need to seek freedom. El ultimo valle verde es una de esas novelas, que aunque son largas se hacen cortas y no quieres que acaben, una novela de 600 paginas contada en tercera persona, que cuando empece, sabia que me iba a gustar, ya que la novela anterior del autor para mi fue de lo mejor que leí..

The Last Green Valley in northeastern CT (and MA): An oasis of peace old-time nostalgia. Trails to hike, places to stay, meals to eat, gifts to buy, and what to do with the kids.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky is one of the best historical fictions I’ve ever read, so I couldn’t wait to see what Mark Sullivan would produce next. The Last Green Valley is also based on real people, again the history of a family now living in Montana.

The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan – Karen K is reading The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan – Karen K is reading

I have heard great things about Mark Sullivan’s previous novel Beneath a scarlet sky so, I couldn’t wait to delve into his latest offering The Last Green Valley. Emil had not shared this story with Adeline and attempts to keep his head down so Haussmann doesn’t remember him. That cover is nearly blown in an incredibly intense moment. Emil knows that he will not be able to escape Haussmann’s memory for much longer, and their trek West is fraught with terror. Another harrowing incident occurs when Emil’s sister falls from the train that the caravan had switched to once they could no longer continue by wagon. In minutes her life is radically changed, and the family has a new burden to carry.

The Last Green Valley details, in no small feat, the harrowing journey of the Martel family who – during the waning days of World War II – had been living in Ukraine. Young Adeline and Emil Martel are as ordinary a couple as history would think. Being raised in a totalitarian society, Emil makes it a point to not be noticed by the authorities. This is a method of camouflage and survival that has allowed his family to farm in Ukraine for generations. I admired the courage and fortitude of Emil and Adeline, especially when they were separated, and it was moving to read how their faith and love for each other kept them going. The instant Bill began to speak, Mark was captivated. Within a couple of hours, Mark knew he had to write the story of Bill’s parents and their remarkable quest for freedom. Not only was their story inherently moving and inspiring, but he found the characters of Emil and Adeline Martel to be complex and surprising. At the end of their first discussion, Mark sensed that the story of the Martels’ could be both healing and potentially transformational for readers.