The Last Green Valley

5/5

Another amazing book by Mark Sullivan. It had it all. Happy, sad, disappointment, bitterness, but with all the trials, there were faith and renewed belief in God. It was a story that will stay with you just like Beneath A Scarlet Sky.

Let me start of by saying his style of writing is one of the things I love about his books. You feel as if you are in the story and every tear, every heartbreak, every triumph is felt. I waited anxiously for his second book and it was worth it. It was different, Pino will always be one of my all time favorites and as much as I liked him, he was an apple compared to the oranges in The Last Green Valley.

As with his last novel, I learned some history I did not know. I knew Stalin was a bad guy and an oppressor but I never realized just how bad. When I questioned what was written, I looked it up and found it all to be true. One of which is how Stalin starved his own people. This was based on a true story. In Beneath we learned about Italy and Mussolini, In this novel we learn about Russia and Stalin, starting with the Ukraine during World War II. As before I question how can people be so cruel to other people. Reading the author's notes is always a good idea when it comes to historical fiction especially Mark Sullivan. I think they add to the story and light up some interesting facts.

The characters were strong and gentle in a way that was truly amazing. We knew something happened to Emil on a night that changed his belief in God. He kept his family as safe as he could. Adiline was strong and kept her faith. We meet many different characters along the way. I would have loved to find out what happened to the Romanian soldier, Corporal Gheorghe,(my favorite character)who, was like an angel and gave Emil his belief in God back and his renewed faith. Caught between two horrible dictators this family survived and showed us how resilient life is.

So much was over came by this family. I find this amazing and something people should read about history so it does not repeat itself. The feel of this book was a little different then Beneath A Scarlet Sky. I loved this book but it was a story that was different as well as the feeling. I am sure it's because of the two different stories have very different backgrounds and personalities. No two people are alike. I am happy with this second book of Mark Sullivan. I was not disappointed. I could not put it down. Highly recommend.