The Last Green Valley: A Novel

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love-connecting. (with our daughter and her husband who live in Calgrey)…..staying in a cabin on the lake …. 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. 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.

The Last Green Valley by Mark T. Sullivan | Goodreads The Last Green Valley by Mark T. Sullivan | Goodreads

The Martel family - down home folks, farmers, were resilient to say the least. They were good, kind loving people: characters any reader would enjoy spending time with. The corridor consists mostly of the Eastern New England Upland, transitioning to the coastal forests to the south and east. The rolling hills in the southern part of the Corridor become more rugged in the northern part of the corridor. The highest elevation is 1,315ft (401m) Burley Hill in Union, CT. [1] This is a WWII historical fiction that is very hard hitting. This WWII historical fiction follows a family of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for a long time before the war started. I think all the other WWII historical fiction books I have read in the past follows a Jewish family, so I feel this book is like no other WWII historical fiction book I have read in the past. I have to say this book is incredibly hard to read at times because the author goes into details about the very bad things that is happening to this family we are following. There is way to many trigger warnings to go though all of them in this review, but if you are a person that gets upset by what you read please look into the trigger warnings before reading this book. While reading this book I felt I was right there with these characters. This book was well written. The author notes at the end when into how the author came to write this book, and you find out that this book is written basic on a true story someone told the author. This was a very moving story, and it is sad that people were treated the way these characters were. This is just one of those moving heart touching book you read, and it stays with you for a long time. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Lake Union Publishing) or author (Mark T. Sullivan) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. The story is told from Emil’s and Adeline’s perspectives - both in the “present day” of 1944 forward and the past, starting in 1922. Time and again, we see the contrast of doing what’s needed to survive and doing what’s right. One of the main themes of the book is faith- keeping it and losing it. The book also provides constant reminders about finding small joys in each day. One of my favorite characters was Corporal Gheorghe and I was thrilled to discover in the Author’s Notes that he was based on a real person. Early 1944, the young Martel family of four, have to make a heavy decision. The Martel family lives in Ukraine and must decide if they wait for Stalin's invasion and possibly sent to Siberia or follow the Germans who have promised to protect pure-blood Germans. Emil, Adeline and their two small boys ultimately get caught in the conflict between the two armies.

Given the hardships the Martels had already endured, what emotional reserves do you feel they had to call upon to remain hopeful and stay on their trek to freedom? As Sullivan continues to enthrall me with the story of, as he says, “insane hardships and failure,” I am reminded that The Last Green Valley does indeed represent a philosophy of life, the ability to be resilient and relentless. It is a story that can change the lives of others not just in the substance but also in the telling. There is a very tangible idea of being able to overcome the obstacle in front of you and achieving the dream of what could be. Sullivan’s accolades can hardly be distilled down into a single narrative as each novel that he has worked on presented its own unique adventure. Whether it has been research on his last two novels or writing with acclaimed author James Patterson, there is certainly no room for anything to be done part way. As our time in the coffee shop draws to a close, I can sense a raw magnetism and hunger about the man that belies the casual hiking clothes he sports. There is an aspect of a hunter stalking his prey that I gather about the man. this is an inspiring true story — during the dark days at end of World War II …….with diligent research.

The Last Green Valley - Sharon Virts | Author The Last Green Valley - Sharon Virts | Author

The Martel’s were brought to Ukraine from Germany by Catherine the Great: Empress from Russia - in 1943, to share their agricultural skills with the Russians. By 1945 ….most had lost their farms. The Martel family too, While the story is based on real people, and it’s a compelling one of resilience and survival, the writing unfortunately doesn’t do it justice. Basic writing concepts like showing not telling are ignored and naming everyone’s emotions throughout (she felt angry, he felt sad) takes much away from the book. The dialogue is both corny/clichéd and isn’t used effectively and therefore seems misplaced at times and choppy at others. Characters are hollow as is the reader’s experience. The sections/separations within the chapters seem entirely random and pointless as the storyline is almost always the same before and after these. The Last Green Valley is my first Mark Sullivan book and a long-time-coming foray into the world of WWII fiction, a subgenre I’ve only slightly dipped my toes into over the years. I’m glad I started here though, as this book really got me interested in it. The book is based on a true story and tells the story of the Martel family—ethnic Germans who have lived in Ukraine for a few generations, and their amazing story of attempting to flee west to the Western Allies’ lines as the Red Army rolls over Eastern Europe—the story starts with the Nazis already retreating west. They are essentially fleeing both the Soviets and the Nazis - this was their experience with The Long Trek, and I knew shamefully little of it before reading this book. What I did know, and what is confirmed in this book, is how utterly brutal the warfare was on the Eastern Front of WWII, and anyone who knows anything about it knows that for every horrifying story you hear, there’s bound to be one that’s even worse. 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. Writer’s Digest (co-written with Connor Sullivan): “8 Ways to Add Suspense to your Novel – Writer’s Digest”She watched another tank go by, took a step closer to him, and said quietly, “You’re sure, Emil? Running with the Nazis like this?” Her husband startled and stared at Adeline as if she were part of a nightmare and then a desperately welcome dream. “Nothing.” I think Sullivan is wonderful at researching and writing about low-profile people from history. I really enjoyed his previous story called "Beneath a Scarlet Sky." I didn't think I had an emotional attachment to the characters until something happened to one of them and I almost cried. The Last Green Valley’s storyline is another prime example of why we, as humans, should take the time to understand and learn our world history. I had to research Holodomor as I really had no recollection of learning this growing up in school. I found Mark Sullivan to be engaging and sympathetic in how he conveyed the situations and choices faced by Emil and Adeline. It would have been easy to veer into sentimentality and cliche but the story remained engaging throughout and you were left caring about what happened to the family.

Bozeman Author Sets the Stage with Absolutely Riveting Story

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the early digital copy in exchange for an honest review. When I ask him about the style for these novels versus the style he had used in his previous novels, Sullivan tells me that it was absolutely a turnabout and a complete one-eighty when it came to writing them. He says, “It was definitely a vibe that didn’t come naturally. It is easier to write darker stories. Writing a story of hope, most especially given the times we are currently in, it reminds me that people are more capable than they think they are.” I found The Last Green Valley extremely interesting. I’m not sure I’ve read another book set in Ukraine, especially during a historic time period. I had not learned about The Great Trek made by ethnic Germans during World War II. This book really touched my heart and left a mark there. The atrocities of WWII are never ending, and I’m grateful for those who share these voices and stories with us. This emotional story about the Martel’s will stay with me for a long time, and I’m pleased that Mark Sullivan has shared information about what happened after the war years, and how he travelled to visit some of the places that are important to the story at the end of the book.As the Soviet armies advance, the refugees’ Long Trek westward across Europe becomes a nightmare. Swept up by battle, death, and disease, the Martels plod grimly onward, fueled by the thought that one day they will settle in a fertile green valley surrounded by mountains where they can live their lives in peace. Away from the battlefront, the clan find themselves unwanted and sometimes even a hated burden on the local peoples. As the war grinds to a close the Soviets occupy eastern Germany and begin exacting terrible revenge on the Germans . Adeline and Emil tread carefully, trying to protect and feed their family as best they can, but shifts in fortunes lead to family members becoming separated. The Martels encounter the best and the worst of humanity. Only their enduring faith and belief in each other can see them through.

The Last Green Valley- a review by Amy The Last Green Valley- a review by Amy

This story follows the Martel Family, and begins in late March 1944 as Stalin moves into the Ukraine. Thank you to NetGalley, Author Mark T. Sullivan and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced copy to read and review. The writing was meh, you can't get around that. There's no one out there that's going to tell you the writing was eloquent and amazing because it wasn't. But the story was compelling, and even with the simplistic writing, it conveyed a whole array of emotions from happiness to hatred and everything in between.The Last Green Valley" by Mark T. Sullivan is a WWII story of a dream that leads one family to freedom. This novel is inspired by one family's unimaginable story of courage, survival and triumph. Raw and heartbreaking the Martel family flees Stalin's Russia and Hiltler's Nazi Germany, despite extreme physical and psychological challenges, to ultimately find freedom in the USA. It did take me some time to get invested in the book. As an empath, there is an early scene that involves some animals that was very hard for me to push through. But once I got past that and Sullivan drew me in to the story, I could not stop. He paused to study the house he’d built single-handedly, fighting all thoughts of pity or remorse. A house was a house. There would be others. Emil had learned the hard way to detach from the idea of possessing anything for long in his life. But he stared at the roof for a moment, seeing himself two and a half years before, loading tin roofing sheets and trusses into his wagon in a town called Dubossary, some thirty kilometers to the west. 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.