The Fortunate Ones audiobook

The Fortunate Ones was a very different book than I thought I was going to be reading. I love art and art mysteries so I was geared up to read that type of book. Instead, The Fortunate Ones is more a tale of loss, family bonds, and betrayal with a side story about a painting. While it was not what I was initially hoping for, I did like the book and felt that it was both entertaining and well-written. The story takes place in two time periods, Europe in the 1930’s and 1940’s and Los Angeles in the 2000’s. I much preferred the story involving Rose Zimmer in the 1930’s and 1940’s. As her story begins, Rose and her brother Gerhard are living in Austria with her parents. They are Jewish, and Hitler is preparing to annex Austria. Her forward-thinking parents secure passage for their children to England on a kindertransport to save them from Hitler’s reign. After the war is over, Rose spends years trying to determine what happened to her parents and their belongings, particularly her mother’s favorite painting, The Bellhop. The second story takes place in Los Angeles in the 2000’s. Lizzie Goldstein has returned home for her father’s funeral. At the funeral, she meets Rose who now lives in L.A. Years previously, The Bellhop was purchased by Lizzie’s dad and subsequently stolen on Lizzie’s watch. Lizzie and Rose develop a friendship that leads Lizzie to discover devastating secrets about her family. Lizzie is a tough character to like; she is very needy and insecure. As her friendship with Rose blossoms, Lizzie becomes somewhat more likeable, but I felt generally like she detracted from the second story line.Ellen Umansky’s portrayal of Rose’s experience after the war and finally learning what terrible ends so many European Jews including her parents met was very powerful. While any reader today already knows the horrific things that happened to so many Jewish people at the hands of Hitler and his thugs, the author very effectively conveyed how it would have unfolded for Rose and many others as they slowly and painfully learned what happened to their family members and friends. This part of the story has stayed with me – I am still thinking about how truly unbelievable it must have been to learn that about the unthinkable and tragic treatment and abuse of relatives and friends.I enjoyed reading The Fortunate Ones. Thanks to LibraryThing for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of the Zimmer family, a Jewish family living in Vienna in the late 1930’s, and the parents’ decision to send little Rose and her brother to England on a kinder transport to keep them safe from the oncoming war. The children are devastated to be sent off to different households in England. They are told that it will only be for six months but of course the horrendous war lasts much longer.The Zimmer family possess a valuable painting by Chaim Soutere of a bellhop, which the mother has a particular love of. After the war when Rose is trying to deal with the grievous losses she has endured, she fixates on trying to find the painting and other family belongings that were lost or stolen by the Nazis.The missing painting finds its way to the Goldstein family in America. However, the painting is subsequently stolen during a party thrown by teenager Lizzie. Lizzie carries the guilt of that theft and likewise is searching for the painting. The loss and search for this painting forge a friendship between Lizzie and Rose and reveal painful family secrets.This is a haunting and unforgettable story of loss, love and forgiveness and the “fortunate ones” who survived the war but bear the scars. Recommended.This book was given to me by the publisher through Edelweiss in return for an honest review.

The Fortunate Ones by Ellen Umansky is an historical novel weaving past and present through the lives of two women and a shared passion for locating a portrait painted by Chaim Soutine. Rose Zimmer and her brother Gerhard are the children in an affluent Jewish family growing up in Vienna when the Nazis invade Austria. After their parents fail to obtain visas for leaving they, like many other desperate parents, secure passage for their children on the Kindertransport to England. Their parting gifts to the children are a scarf (for Rose) and a diary (for Gerhard), along with promises that they will be together soon. Of course, the longed for reunion never materializes and the children grow up and forge lives for themselves in England. Somehow, as Rose grows up and learns that she will never see her parents again, she becomes fixated on the much loved Soutine painting, The Bellhop, which was her mother's source of love and comfort, especially during difficult times. When it becomes known that the Nazis had stolen many works of art, Rose becomes obsessed with finding the elusive painting, a quest that marks the rest of her life, even when she marries and moves to the United States. Fast forward to the life of Lizzie Goldstein, in 2005. Her father has just been killed in a car accident and Lizzie finds herself reliving her difficult childhood, especially the years after her mother's death when she and her sister were uprooted to live with her dad in California. Somehow, the Soustine painting had been part of her father's home but circumstances surrounding Lizzie's unsupervised teenage party led to its disappearance. Knowing how important the painting had been to her father, Lizzie blamed herself for many years, especially when she met and came to know Rose Downes. Soon she also became concerned with finding the portrait, and her search leads her through difficult twists and discoveries about people and family members.This was an interesting book with a different type of slant regarding history. I have to admit I was more engrossed with Rose's story and it was easier to understand how she developed a protective shell which hindered her ability to overcome her challenges and fully embrace happiness with her husband and family. I had a more difficult time empathizing with Lizzie even though she too faced many challenges along the way. However the final chapters were quite enthralling and wrapped all the unanswered questions very neatly. A very good read for fans of Holocaust literature and also some mystery.

The Fortunate Ones is a riveting debut novel by Ellen Umansky. The story moves from World War II Vienna to contemporary Los Angeles. The core of Umansky’s plot is a beautiful painting that is looted during the war. Eleven-year-old Rose Zimmer is forced to leave her parents behind in 1939 Vienna when they put her on a kindertransport to live with strangers in England. Her life is saved, but her parents do not survive the war. Rose is filled with grief and guilt. As she tries to build a life for herself in London Rose is desperate to find a missing piece of her childhood. She diligently searches for the Chaim Soutine painting, The Bellhop, that her mother owned and loved. Rose marries and moves to Los Angeles, but she never gives up hope of being reunited with The Bellhop. Lizzie Goldstein is thirteen when she arrives in Los Angeles in 1982 to live with her father following her mother’s death. She sees The Bellhop hanging in her new home and its allure gradually eases her loneliness. Five years later the painting is stolen from the home and never recovered. Lizzie believes she is responsible for the theft and she cannot assuage her guilt. When Rose and Lizzie meet in 2005 they instantly bond. Their friendship forms the key that will unlock long held secrets. The Fortunate Ones is much more then a tale of lost art. It is a remarkable story of perseverance combined with fascinating characters. Umansky’s clear prose and suspenseful plot will definitely make her readers feel that they are

The Fortunate Ones was at first glance about a famed, twice stolen piece of art, and the connections it brings throughout the generations. I can assure you that in reading this book; you’ll be drawn into the past and the present with a story about forgiveness, guilt, secrets, lies, love, survival, family ties and friendship. It’s a multi-layered story in a short 324 pages.The artwork stolen in this novel, by master artist Chaim Soutine, is fictional. Yet this piece of art is the catalyst that brings the cast of characters together. Two women, separated by generations had the image of this piece of art, the fictionalized Bell Hop, as a memory that connects them to their home and most importantly their mothers’. When these two meet, a unique and unlikely friendship emerges. It’s cathartic and warm until secrets begin to undermine their relationship.This book offers us a bit of Vienna and London before, during and after the war. This is not a full on Holocaust novel but there is a crucial storyline that surrounds it that becomes the backbone of the book. I’ve seen a few negative reviews citing that this novel really isn’t about WW2 and/or the Holocaust. I’d counter that these reviewers are right; it's about so much more than that. The Holocaust is just one part of the book.As I read more and more books that uncover secrets after someone has died, it just unnerves me. I believe this happens in real life as much as it does in fiction so why oh why do people leave things unsettled or unfinished? What a burden that leaves on the surviving family- albeit it makes for good fiction as it did in this novel. I look forward to reading more from this author.For more like this visit www.goodbookfairy.com

Reading about WWII delights me. This story is not your usual book about WWII, but from the prospective of the children that were growing up during this time. Rose and Gerhard were put on a train and ended up in England living with two different families in order to survive this wartime era. Rose married and then moved to California and lived for many year. It really doesn't focus on the war, but on the materialistic things that survived the war, particularly a painting called The Bellhop.

Ellen Umansky is an excellent writer. It is evident that she has studied and worked hard at perfecting her style. This is an impressive first novel. Ms. Umansky did a great job of intertwining some WWII history as well as some art history. She also wove the two stories very well. The character development was written extremely well. I would recommend this book.

Just a good book!One of my accidental finds that has been sitting in my to read shelf for some time being pushed aside for others. Thoroughly enjoyable story of two women who connect over a lost painting by Soutine and the symbolism of that painting to their emotions, relationships, and life experiences....one beginning pre WWII and the other present day.

Interesting historical art world saga from delicate, harsh beginnings aboard the *kindertransport crossing into an otherworldly lifetime. How Rose & Lizzie intertwine over The Chaim Soutine…

I won this as a Goodreads Giveaway. You never really know what you're going to get with giveaways, but the synopsis intrigued me. The book was very well written with an enjoyable story that kept me interested, and I'm very happy that I discovered it!

Ellen Umansky has written a wonderful first novel. It is 1939 in Vienna, and war darkens Europe. Rose Zimmer's parents are desperate. They try getting out through Austria and manage to secure passage for their young daughter on a kindeertransport and send her to live with strangers in England. When the war finally ends, Rose attempts to make a life alone in London. There is one thing that she longs for: a painting by Chaim Soutine that had belonged to her mother and lost during the war. Many years pass and the painting turns up in America. In modern day Los Angles, Lizzie Goldstein's father had purchased the painting for fourteen thousand dollars from a man who had brought it back from the war. He prized it above his other art works. One night, his daughter Lizzie gave a party and afterwards the print was missing. Now, she lives with the guilt. The characterization is so real that I felt I knew them personally. Rose and Lizzie share an apartment in London and become friends. Rose teaches classes in college and Lizzie is a lawyer. Great details are given about the war and the arts. The Soutine will bring Lizzie and Rose together and ignite an unexpected revealing of long-held secrets and unfolding in beautiful prose. It is a haunting novel that delves into the intimate lives of its characters.