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The Fortunate Ones
- Beautiful and Heartbreaking World War 2 Historical Fiction
- Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
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The Fortunate Ones
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Summary
Every day, he stood exactly where he was directed. He listened for his number, shouted his answer in the freezing cold. He was ragged, and he was starving, but he was alive. He was one of the fortunate ones whom fate had left standing. And he needed to stay that way. For Hannah.
Berlin, 1941. Felix Thalberg, a printer’s apprentice, has the weight of the world on his shoulders. His beloved city is changing under Nazi rule, and at home things are no better - Felix’s father hasn’t left the house since he was forced to wear a yellow star, and his mother grows thinner every day.
Then one night, Felix meets a mysterious young woman in a crowded dance hall, and his life is changed forever. Hannah is like a rush of fresh air into his gloomy, stagnant life, and Felix finds himself instantly, powerfully infatuated with her. But when he tries to find her again, she’s vanished without a trace.
Was Hannah taken away by the Gestapo and held prisoner...or worse? When Felix himself is imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, his thoughts are only for her safety. And when a life-threatening injury lands him on the ward of Dr. Max Eichel - a Nazi medical officer with a sadistic reputation - his love for his lost Hannah sees him through the pain.
Until one day, Dr. Eichel brings his pretty, young wife to tour the camp, and Felix’s world is thrown off-kilter. Framed in the hospital window, he sees - impossibly - the same girl he met that fateful night...her wrist in the vice-like grip of the deathly calm SS Officer. And it’s clear Hannah recognizes him at once - there is no mistaking her expression, she has been dreaming of him too....
A gripping and beautiful wartime love story about two people facing impossible odds - heartbreaking, moving, and unforgettable. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, We Were the Lucky Ones, and The Alice Network.
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What listeners say about The Fortunate Ones
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bluebird
- 02-01-22
Could not stop listening
An amazing story it kept me engrossed from the beginning. A very good read, enthralling.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-06-20
Fabulous reading.
Fabulous reading. Story line keeps you wanting more. Really didn't see the outcome. So life like.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 14-07-21
Frustrating ending
Such a good story that was easy to listen to despite some of the topics. What’s sad is the ending! We don’t see if justice is done or not. We don’t know what happens to Wolf!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Emma Griffin
- 01-04-20
Fantastic!
Highly recommended, I love when a book goes beyond the war and deals with the aftermath too. Two stories woven together brilliantly.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maureen McGeoch
- 26-01-20
Great story!
I really enjoyed this listen,a different take on a love story.We got to see a terrible event from more than one view point. I would recommend this book to anyone who does not like fluffy romance,it’s more of an emotional love story that gives hope.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 03-05-20
What a drag
I struggled on for so long but in the end I could not be bothered to finish it.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Christineb
- 12-05-20
Corny and Romantic
A single glance and they are madly in love An entire war takes place but a young Jew and a SS guard's wife So predictable and boring
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Eala
- 06-03-24
ZERO star award!!
This has to go down as one of the worst books I've ever come across. It's hard to know where to begin, so I'll start with the narration. The narrator was absolutely appalling. Bearing in mind this is a novel based almost entirely around Berlin to begin with, I cannot fathom the array of dreadfully inappropriate accents this narrator came up with! These included German soldiers giving orders in broad East London accents and, very bizarrely, a German Kapo with an Irish accent! A wide variety of regional UK accents were given to many other characters. Unfortunately, instead of transporting me to the grim surroundings of a wartime German concentration camp, the weird accents completely threw me and ultimately meant I gave up with the book. I did persevere for a good few chapters, but the story itself is such utter rubbish that I could not finish. The main characters are weak, bland and colourless. It's hard to imagine how the author wrote an entire novel around a main character who was so totally and utterly stupid. It's actually hard to imagine someone being so incredibly blind, stupid and shallow. The entire story is supposedly about two characters who met once by chance and very briefly a second time, but spent the whole war in between dreaming of one another. Felix devoting so much time and effort to writing little notes to "Hannah". It's equally hard to imagine someone in a concentration camp being as stupid as Felix. Honestly the two of them deserved everything they got, although I didn't finish the book, so I don't know what happened. Even the title is inappropriate - The Fortunate Ones, with the cover picture of a man in uniform, clinging to his girl - who in this novel is fortunate? Who is the cover picture of? Felix was not in the Forces. This certainly cannot be classed as historical fiction in any way, shape or form. I'd say pure fantasy would be more appropriate.
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