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The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan


In The Last Green Valley, Mark Sullivan brings us the story of the Martel family and their long, arduous escape from the evils of the end of World War II. The ethnic German family, including parents Emil and Adeline and their two young sons, Walt and Will, make the decision to leave behind the life they’ve built for themselves in Ukraine to escape the inevitability of once again living under Stalin’s barbaric control. 
Their journey towards freedom in Adeline’s dream of a lush green valley where their family can settle once and for all is a constant life or death struggle. 

We follow the Martel’s and their extended family’s travels through several European countries in a search for a better life. This extraordinary tale is told from multiple points of view and through alternating timelines. Sullivan’s descriptions of the people, places, and events really brought the story to life for this reader, and I found myself skimming ahead at certain points, feeling dread over what was potentially to come and needing to brace myself for the possibilities.

While the book is historical fiction, it is based on the stories shared with the author by the Martel sons, Will and Walt, and other friends and family members of the family. There are several historically accurate accounts of atrocities and hardships faced by many ethnic Germans, Jews, Russians, and others living under the brutality of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler’s regimes. I was riveted and stopped here and there throughout the book to read the true accounts of some of the people and places detailed therein. In a sea of recent World War II era tales, Mark Sullivan’s work stands out for me as one of the best in the genre.



Final rating: ★★★★★



This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.



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Location: Maine, USA

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