Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Ate this up! Loved it. If you loved Nothing to See Here, you will likely enjoy this one. (I love Nothing to See Here). This is the story of Charlie, a boy from the other side of the Nashville tracks who gets taken other the wing of Arch and his entourage. It explores and exposes class issues in the South and asks hard questions like why are we so obsessed with the rich and powerful even when their actions are not in line with our values?
Ed Tarkington nails it here; the Southern good ole boy, political crowd is so accurate. I also loved how his characters are likable even though do despicable things at time; it breaks your heart more that way.
Ed Tarkington nails it here; the Southern good ole boy, political crowd is so accurate. I also loved how his characters are likable even though do despicable things at time; it breaks your heart more that way.
slow-paced
reflective
slow-paced
I liked The Fortunate Ones, but it wasn’t as powerful or unique as I had hoped. It is, however, beautifully written and the author completely humanizes his characters, never making them wholly good or bad. While I never found myself disengaged from the narrative, I did seem to enjoy the first half more than the second half.
This is a story that shows how wealth better conceals certain behaviors. The author does well in depicting corruption as universal, not something reserved solely for the rich, but demonstrates how the cloak of money has tremendous power.
It is a thought provoking story, quietly told through the eyes of Charlie Boykin, a boy who came from humble beginnings and, due to a scholarship, found himself amongst the elite. He is well-accepted, which offers ease and comfort, essentially making it easy to turn a blind eye to the most unsavory behaviors he witnesses. As time wears on, however, he gains the maturity and insight to look at things through a different lens.
I really expected this to be a bit more jaw-dropping, but nothing anyone did came as a tremendous surprise. Still, I do appreciate how well-developed these characters were. If nothing more, The Fortunate Ones serves as a firm reminder that no one is ever just one thing and nothing is black and white.
Ed Tarkington’s prose and in depth storytelling are enough to sell me on anything else he writes. I am very interested in checking out his debut novel Only Love Can Break Your Heart. He seems to possess a profound understanding of the cost of being human and I greatly value such intuitiveness in a story. In a world that often forgets there is more than what we see on the surface, we need more writers like this.
This is a story that shows how wealth better conceals certain behaviors. The author does well in depicting corruption as universal, not something reserved solely for the rich, but demonstrates how the cloak of money has tremendous power.
It is a thought provoking story, quietly told through the eyes of Charlie Boykin, a boy who came from humble beginnings and, due to a scholarship, found himself amongst the elite. He is well-accepted, which offers ease and comfort, essentially making it easy to turn a blind eye to the most unsavory behaviors he witnesses. As time wears on, however, he gains the maturity and insight to look at things through a different lens.
I really expected this to be a bit more jaw-dropping, but nothing anyone did came as a tremendous surprise. Still, I do appreciate how well-developed these characters were. If nothing more, The Fortunate Ones serves as a firm reminder that no one is ever just one thing and nothing is black and white.
Ed Tarkington’s prose and in depth storytelling are enough to sell me on anything else he writes. I am very interested in checking out his debut novel Only Love Can Break Your Heart. He seems to possess a profound understanding of the cost of being human and I greatly value such intuitiveness in a story. In a world that often forgets there is more than what we see on the surface, we need more writers like this.
full disclosure: i received an arc through a goodreads giveaway.
torn between a 4/4.5 (rounding up because i think this is going to be one that glows brighter in memory the further i get away from it)
my biggest complaint about this book is that i wish it was longer. like...... 300 pages longer. at least. i adored all of these characters, even the ones i didn't like (somehow?), and i wanted to know them all the way down in my bones rather than just glance against them. i feel robbed of charlie's time in mexico, of his relationships with teddy and mariela and pancho and murray. the way he described it, like a haze, a dream before arch returning to wake him up, is definitely how it felt reading it. inconsequential in the larger story, but i'm greedy for more of everyone and everything in this book. i mean, i could say the same for every stage of charlie's life: more, deeper, longer, yes.
this was more atmosphere and emotion and tugging at you than plot, which i am very much a fan of. the focus really on the way people can catch you and derail you no matter how much you might try to right yourself, and i loved every minute of it (and wish there had been hours and hours more).
torn between a 4/4.5 (rounding up because i think this is going to be one that glows brighter in memory the further i get away from it)
my biggest complaint about this book is that i wish it was longer. like...... 300 pages longer. at least. i adored all of these characters, even the ones i didn't like (somehow?), and i wanted to know them all the way down in my bones rather than just glance against them. i feel robbed of charlie's time in mexico, of his relationships with teddy and mariela and pancho and murray. the way he described it, like a haze, a dream before arch returning to wake him up, is definitely how it felt reading it. inconsequential in the larger story, but i'm greedy for more of everyone and everything in this book. i mean, i could say the same for every stage of charlie's life: more, deeper, longer, yes.
this was more atmosphere and emotion and tugging at you than plot, which i am very much a fan of. the focus really on the way people can catch you and derail you no matter how much you might try to right yourself, and i loved every minute of it (and wish there had been hours and hours more).
Abandoned at 23%. It's not bad, just too banal to be worth the time it would take to finish it.