The Last Green Valley: A Novel

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In Bucharest, Sullivan arranged for a local guide to help him and Martel meet up with as many survivors and witnesses to the events lined out in the book. Beneath a Scarlet Sky is in my top 5 for WWII historical fiction so it only figures that while The Last Green Valley was one of my most anticipated reads when it was released, I waited until now to read it. 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- a review by Amy The Last Green Valley- a review by Amy

However, with a tentative title in place and the story of child soldiers in Uganda, Sullivan assures me that it will ultimately be a story of dark turning to light, and characters coming out with their humanity intact. Flashbacks show Adeline and Emil’s lives under Stalin’s regime, including the famine of 1932-1933, as well as their first meeting.Over the following years they endure numerous setbacks and hardships in a tale that is grounded in truth and utterly mesmerising as they try to make their way ‘west’. I have read several books in this genre, but I thought this was a unique and spiritual account of a family escaping the Soviet and Stalin regime.

The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan - Fantastic Fiction The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan - Fantastic Fiction

It also uses offensive terms for Jewish people, some of which appear in this guide in direct quotes from the source text.An avid skier and adventurer, he lives with his wife in Bozeman, Montana, where he remains grateful for the miracle of every moment. Despite the emotional difficulty in reading this I would really recommend it and I am now determined to read more of Sullivan’s work. The Last Green Valley is based on the real-life Martel family’s escape from the Soviet Union during World War II.

Bozeman Author Sets the Stage with Absolutely Riveting Story

Twenty-eight-year-old Adeline Martel struggled out the back door of her kitchen in heavy winter clothes, carrying a crate full of cooking utensils toward a covered wagon harnessed to two dray horses in front of her modest home in the remote, tiny farming village of Friedenstal. It opened my eyes to some aspects of the war I never knew about, and told them in a way that never strayed from raw human experience. A river of suburban wattage from Boston to Washington, visible from planes and satellites, flowing more or less ceaselessly. However, under threat of death, Emil agreed to commit the crime to ensure that his family would be safe.Stroking her son’s face, Adeline gazed into Will’s eyes, smiled, and said, “We’re going to a beautiful green valley surrounded by mountains and forests. Terrific historical fiction novel ……lots of emotional baggage schlepping during this journey to happier greener days…. A few days later, Mark put Bill Martel’s address into the navigator and realized the two lived less than two miles apart. They are taken by train to Budapest, where they camp until a train is ready to take them north to Poland.

Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor - Wikipedia Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor - Wikipedia

I also couldn’t help but think about Will and Walt the whole time, how this journey, and traumatizing experience must have impacted them in the rest of their lives. What I appreciated was how this family banded together and did anything to survive and find their way back to each other. What began with a series of interviews with the family quickly launched itself into a full-blown adventure for the author. Na, bet pats autorius pabaigos žodyje rašo, kad tai amerikietiška istorija, pasakojanti apie stebuklingą gyvenimą, tad šioks toks holivudinis šios knygos atspalvis ir neturėtų stebinti.Martel tells Sullivan that his father was not necessarily a man of faith, but the experience of his family’s trek has literally transformed him, and he comes out as a deeply spiritual man. He is tasked with making cement to rebuild the Poltava hospital and has to work alongside Nikolas, who dies due to poor conditions in the camp.