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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this book. It's a coming of age, rich people behaving badly, family drama. When Charlie is accepted as a scholarship student to Yeatman, an elite boys school in Nashville, his life dramatically changes. He becomes best friends with Arch and this book follows their lives and friendship through adulthood. A great story that addresses the complexities of wealth and privilege and how that affects relationships.
Definitely character driven, though there is enough action to keep you reading. I did get to the end though and think “huh...that’s it?” But that’s probably more reflective of my being in the habit of reading books with big twists and not a reflection on the quality or content of this book.
The writing was easy and enjoyable, the setting (Nashville) was very much a character, which I love. But something about this held the characters at arms length for me. I did care, but...not enough. Also, if I’m being totally honest, I read for pleasure and distraction and in the current state of the world the tropes of “rich people behaving badly” and “lying politicians with no morals” are just kind of...not doing it for me. Again, more my mood than a reflection of this book. This was a solid 3 star read.
The writing was easy and enjoyable, the setting (Nashville) was very much a character, which I love. But something about this held the characters at arms length for me. I did care, but...not enough. Also, if I’m being totally honest, I read for pleasure and distraction and in the current state of the world the tropes of “rich people behaving badly” and “lying politicians with no morals” are just kind of...not doing it for me. Again, more my mood than a reflection of this book. This was a solid 3 star read.
First 5 ⭐️ Book of 2020!
This opens up with the end- a conservative Republican senator has ended his life, and a soldier begins to cry when he hears the news.
The story flashes back to the soldier’s school days at an elite boys school in Nashville. Charlie Boykin is from the “wrong side of the tracks” and manages to get into the school on scholarship. He’s quickly drawn into an intense friendship with Archer Creigh- a charismatic upperclassman who’s all too happy to show him the ropes. He quickly gets enmeshed in the lives of his classmates when a scandal threatens to upend it all. The novel fast forwards to 10 years later, where we pick up with the characters and see how their lives turned out.
This was surprisingly emotional! I loved Charlie and could really relate to his desire to go along with the crowd to fit in. I haven’t cared about a character this much since Cyril Avery from The Hearts Invisible Furies. This is deeper than “rich people behaving badly”, there’s commentary on class, wealth, privilege, toxic masculinity, politics, and corruption. I would have loved to see more depth from the female characters, but they weren’t the focus in this one. All told, I really loved this lush and layered coming-of-age story.
[TW: suicide, loss of pregnancy, death of a parent]
This opens up with the end- a conservative Republican senator has ended his life, and a soldier begins to cry when he hears the news.
The story flashes back to the soldier’s school days at an elite boys school in Nashville. Charlie Boykin is from the “wrong side of the tracks” and manages to get into the school on scholarship. He’s quickly drawn into an intense friendship with Archer Creigh- a charismatic upperclassman who’s all too happy to show him the ropes. He quickly gets enmeshed in the lives of his classmates when a scandal threatens to upend it all. The novel fast forwards to 10 years later, where we pick up with the characters and see how their lives turned out.
This was surprisingly emotional! I loved Charlie and could really relate to his desire to go along with the crowd to fit in. I haven’t cared about a character this much since Cyril Avery from The Hearts Invisible Furies. This is deeper than “rich people behaving badly”, there’s commentary on class, wealth, privilege, toxic masculinity, politics, and corruption. I would have loved to see more depth from the female characters, but they weren’t the focus in this one. All told, I really loved this lush and layered coming-of-age story.
[TW: suicide, loss of pregnancy, death of a parent]
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rating 3.5 stars.
What is the cost of doing the right thing? Can you really know someone else’s motives and heart? How many of us love “being loved” more than loving another? These and many other questions are at the heart of The Fortunate Ones, a story about Arch and Charlie. The novel starts out strong and propels you to the last page.
Ed Tarkington writes his characters - men and women - beautifully. I was rooting for them even when I despised their choices. Each is complex and their choices are logical based on their background and experiences. The relationships between them are also complex. Several scenes had me in tears.
I read this book quickly, caught up in the story. It is weird to say I enjoyed the experience because my feelings are complicated. The writing is stunning and the characters are real to me. Also real is my disgust with evil motives, manipulative behaviors, and unprincipled people. I closed the book feeling burdened by the state of the world and I like hopeful endings hence my rating. Well worth the read.
From the book:
“Abandoning my old life took no effort whatsoever.”
“If not for that day, I would never have left East Nashville for Belle Meade, nor would I have understood how much the conditions of life in one world depend on the whims of those who live in another.“
“Few childhood friendships begin through any kind of sincere linking of souls; people mostly cling to whatever they can grasp.”
“But no one, however exceptional, transcends the bitter fact of his humanity.”
What is the cost of doing the right thing? Can you really know someone else’s motives and heart? How many of us love “being loved” more than loving another? These and many other questions are at the heart of The Fortunate Ones, a story about Arch and Charlie. The novel starts out strong and propels you to the last page.
Ed Tarkington writes his characters - men and women - beautifully. I was rooting for them even when I despised their choices. Each is complex and their choices are logical based on their background and experiences. The relationships between them are also complex. Several scenes had me in tears.
I read this book quickly, caught up in the story. It is weird to say I enjoyed the experience because my feelings are complicated. The writing is stunning and the characters are real to me. Also real is my disgust with evil motives, manipulative behaviors, and unprincipled people. I closed the book feeling burdened by the state of the world and I like hopeful endings hence my rating. Well worth the read.
From the book:
“Abandoning my old life took no effort whatsoever.”
“If not for that day, I would never have left East Nashville for Belle Meade, nor would I have understood how much the conditions of life in one world depend on the whims of those who live in another.“
“Few childhood friendships begin through any kind of sincere linking of souls; people mostly cling to whatever they can grasp.”
“But no one, however exceptional, transcends the bitter fact of his humanity.”
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A coming-of-age story, rife with the complicated intricacies of friendship, that could also be called an exposition on race and class, privilege and politics. A good choice for fans of The Great Gatsby and A Separate Peace.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When Charlie Boykin gets a scholarship to the all-boys school, Yeatman, it is a tremendous relief for his single mom who works as a cocktail waitress. At Yeatman, Boykin's world is greatly expanded as he learns about class, privilege, and a new set of friends. This is a quiet novel that explores Charlie's world as an outsider in a very prestigious world. Tarkington nails the coming-of-age trope and I found myself taking my time with this one. There was nothing exceptional that happened - in the writing or the story - but I still found myself wrapped up in this world, curious to see the ways the world opened up and changed for Charlie.