User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
NOT YOUR AVERAGE WWII FICTIONUsually WWII fiction follows a very typical form - we either follow soldiers are prisoners in KZ camps. Sure, this book did have a prisoner in a KZ camp (Sachsenhausen) but that was far from the focal point of the story. Because this book goes beyond the war and that was refreshing and new.
👍 WHAT I LIKED 👍Beyond WWII: Usually, in WWII fiction, the ending (whether happy or not) arrives with the end of the war. This book, however, went beyond the war and examined the fates of the people who suffered through it in the years afterwards. Because no, the problems didn't end with the war. People were still suffering and fighting to get back to normal. So in a way, this book was more realistic.
Ending: I will not be spoiling the ending, only say that it did not end the way I thought it would. It both made me mad - because I wanted my ending - but it also made me happy because I liked that it didn't end in a predictable way.
The female, German POV: Again, WWII fiction tends to take a certain road - in many cases it is male and/or Jewish. And yes, that view was represented here with Felix. However, we also got the female, German point of view with Inge and that was refreshing. Very few authors have examined the trials of being German during the war. Inge's story shows that being a German woman married to a Nazi fanatic was no walk in the park either.
👎 WHAT I DISLIKED 👎Insta-love: Inge and Felix fall in love after only meeting twice. That has never been to my liking. However, I do see that there is a reason for their love to evolve in the way it did (yes, I am being purposely vague here), but I still don't like insta-love...
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Rating: really liked it
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an egalley in exchange for an honest review. If all the books I have read about World War II, the Holocaust, and the home front were in one bookshelf, I would probably have to bind it to the wall from the sheer weight of the books. One would gather I would feel oversaturated with content. Yes, there is a sameness that can set in but I enjoy reading each character's unique perspectives.
In "The Fortunate Ones," Catherine Hokin begins her narrative in Berlin during the war years and beyond to the war crime trials and the hunt to find the "ones that got away." The two main characters are Felix, a German of mixed blood who along with his parents tries to not be noticed. And Inge, a young German woman who is soon to marry a high ranking SS officer much older than herself. One night at a dance, Felix and a young woman named Hannah will meet and that one meeting will fuel a passion that will help fuel Felix's desire to survive.
Let me be frank, the insta-love in this one drove me up the wall and one particular scene in the concentration camp had me raising an eyebrow. However, the novel certainly offered unique perspectives but I think the best storylines for both characters were their lives after the war. Catherine Hokin explores the anger, the search for justice, and the guilt that followed after the war but also the staunch loyalty to Nazism that still remained. That is why I crown this one with a 3 star.
Goodreads review published 30/01/20
Publication Date 20/01/20
Rating: really liked it
It's the outbreak of World War II in Berlin. Felix Thalberg goes to the local dance hall. He meets a woman who says her name is Hannah. But her real name is Inga Ackermann and she's engaged to a prominent Nazi doctor. Felix come from Jewish origins, but hes not a practicing Jew.Felix and Inga met a couple of times and they were falling for each other. Felix and his father are deported to a work camp. Felix sees Inga in the camp. He thinks she's a prisoner trying to get away from the Needle. But Inga is married to him. The Needle is the camp doctor who runs crazy experiments on the prisoners.
It was quite heartbreaking to read about the lengths Jewish people would go to to hide their identity. The story is told from Felix and Inga's point of view. Its told in great detail of what it must have been like for people in the concentration camps. We learn of Felix's struggles in the prison camp and his life after the war is over. It covers the period 1941 - 1956. This is a must read for fans of historical fiction who don't mind a it of romance thrown in.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Catherine Hokin for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Germany, 1941. Felix Thalberg lives with his mother Kerstin and father Arno in Berlin. He’s a printer’s apprentice, his mother works as a midwife and his father isn’t working due to his metal state. Arno has three Jewish grandparents and he’s classed as a Jew, he’s forced to wear a yellow star and Felix is classed as a Mischling. They have to leave their apartment, move to a cheaper one in Wedding, and life for the Thalberg’s is getting harder.
Felix tries to stay hopeful, but it’s hard and he’s very worried about his father's health. One night he goes out to the Ballhaus, to dance and he meets a beautiful young woman called Hannah Huber. He’s totally infatuated by her, later he tries to find her and she’s disappeared. Felix assumes the worst, so many Jewish people are being arrested and maybe Hannah is one of them?
Felix’s luck runs out, he’s arrested and sent to a concentration camp called Sachsenhausen. Here, he’s working in barrack 18, he and other engravers are creating fake passports, identity papers and money for the German officers and doctors. When Felix becomes ill, he’s sent to the hospital, a dangerous place to be, Dr. Max Eichel's in charge and he has a reputation of killing his patients and not curing them.
One day Dr. Eichel brings his young wife Inge to tour the camp, in the hospital window, Felix is sure he sees Hannah and her arm is being held by Dr. Max Eichel. Felix has no idea, Inge was forced by her parents to marry Dr. Max Eichel, the evening he met her at the dance, her friend Liesl Huber convinced her to enjoy one last night of freedom and Inge didn’t tell him her real name.
Felix is transferred to another camp, the conditions are much worse, he’s freezing, starving, and keeping him alive are his thoughts of Hannah and the letters he writes to her. Inge’s a prisoner in her marriage, her husband's controlling, threatens her, locks her in a room and physically harms her.
The Fortunate Ones takes you on a journey, from the inhumane concentration camps, to the ruins of Berlin, to Argentina where many who commited the crimes lived, and to the court rooms for the war crimes trials. It's a story that will stay with you, a well written by Catherine Hokin and a very powerful one. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and five stars from me.
Rating: really liked it
The Fortunate Ones was a spellbinding tale of political strife during Hitler’s reign, and it what it meant to survive in the harsh conditions where food was scarce, medicine was a joke, and war was looming on the horizon or already at their front door.
Felix is just a normal young man attempting to survive, in a place that doesn’t seem to care overmuch how he might fare. Being a prisoner in a camp, his future appears bleak until he meets Inge…a woman who tells him that her name is Hannah. He believes her a prisoner, and in a way she is one, having been forced through an arranged marriage to a monster who does horrific experiments on the prisoners within the camp. Yet she’s unaware of such, kept safe at home where her husband’s abuse speaks volumes.
Inge is a brave woman, though I preferred Felix’s side of the story in all honesty. While both perspectives were of interest, there were points in the story that seemed to drag. I liked how the ending wrapped up, and I rather enjoyed the author’s writing style overall, despite where parts of the story balked. I’ll definitely be checking out more by this author in the future, and I’m awarding 4.5 out of 5 stars for a wonderful trip through WWII. Though several moments were bleak and grim, the story itself was a good one, and recommended for fans of that time period.
Rating: really liked it
Wow! This book was thrilling and sad at the same time. It was extremely difficult to put down, I enjoyed it that much!
Felix is a mischling or back the the days of WWII, a person that is half Jewish. His Aryan mother does everything possible to keep her son from danger, even if it meant attend Hitler youth activities and wear a Reich pin on his lapel. For a while, it work but eventually his luck would run out.
Inge is a young woman thrown into an arranged marriage with a wealthy doctor who ranks high in the Nazi regime. She is expected to be a “perfect” Nazi wife, pretty much an ornament. She’s never to ask questions, simply fall in line with everything that her husband does...except...she can’t. She knows something isn’t right and that her husband is up to something.
A chance meeting shortly before her wedding, Inge and Felix steal a few kisses and he falls head over heels. Knowing what’s in store for her future, Inge lies and tells him her name is Hannah. It would be the first of many lies for several years to come.
Once he is deported to a camp, Felix is assigned to an officer where his job his to make counterfeit money. What he doesn’t know is that Inge was there the day he arrived and helped save his life. Felix uses Hannah as his source of hope and strength as he does everything he can to survive just one more day.
Inge’s marriage is an abusive one. It was all arranged and it turns violent when she asks questions she shouldn’t or when she speaks out of turn. She has no idea if Felix is alive or not. When she begins to realize that her husband is a monster, she secretly begins to collect evidence, hoping to one day make him pay for his evil.
Bouncing back and forth between the characters is awesome. Things get intense and just when you think you need to take a break...it switches gears and you want to keep going. Your heartstrings pull for each of these characters and all that they’ve lost and soldier through.
Highly recommend!!!
Rating: really liked it
Well... this book wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought there was going to be a little more romance in it judging by the cover. Instead you get only 3 meetings between the main characters.... then nothing for most of the book.
Two of those meeting weren’t even that long. The last meeting was just them seeing each other. Then you go on a journey of both of their lives. Felix trying to stay alive and Inge trying to be the perfect wife to a high ranking officer.
The chance meeting between Felix and Inge Should’ve never happened. Inge was letting loose before her big wedding and Felix just happened to be there to get away for a bit. That one moment on the dance door had them yearning for each other for years.
AND I MEAN YEARS!!!!!!
I knew going into this book it’s was going to be heavily about the war. But I was expecting a little more romance to balance it out.
Felix was 21 when he met Inge. And Inge was 16- 17. The first 2 times they met in person was the first day they met. And A coffee date the next day.
Then she see him again in passing when she was 19-20. So 2 or 3 years later! I’m 80% into this book and now she’s 33 and they still haven’t seen each other. I’m not feeling Inge character at all. This book is really slow for me. The love story is unbelievable to me. She’s still married to her horrible husband. I’m not feeling her little son either. He doesn’t seem to like her. I hated reading about Felix getting married.
I mean... I just wanted more Felix and Inge. That doesn’t happen until 93% in! And it isn’t all sunshine and roses. Inge wasn’t telling Felix the whole truth about herself. And who she was married to. Felix found out by accident.
The ending was not satisfying either. After everything they both went through. Felix ends up going back to his wife. And the wife knows he had an affair with Inge. And Inge doesn’t get her son back. He’s still with her husband in some mountain in Argentina.
This book was seriously disappointing. The only thing I liked about this book was the cover.
*ARC provided by Bookouture via Netgalley*
Rating: really liked it
The Fortunate Ones by Catherine Hokin is a World War II story set in Berlin in 1941. It is an extraordinary story that encompasses bravery, heartache, love and the power to keep going even when faced with adversity.
Felix Thalberg is a Mischling. He is neither fully German nor fully Jewish. While still being able to hold a job as a printer’s apprentice, Felix is not really sure where he fits in under the Nazi regime. His father has been stripped of his lecturing position and forced to wear a yellow star and is fearful of leaving their home. Felix’s mother, an aryan, refuses to leave her husband and finds herself shunned in the community. While at a dance, Felix meets Hannah and falls in love, but soon after finds himself arrested by the regime and sent to Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp. While in the camp, Felix sees a glimpse of Hannah through a window pane, with an SS officer, Max Eichel, a sadistic medical officer and loyal to the regime, standing right behind her. While fearful of Hannah’s fate, she also gives him hope in a world that has changed.
Catherine Hokin really emmerses you into life in a concentration camp and all of the atrocities done to other people the regime labeled as undesirables. She shows how Jews were dehumanized and treated like nothing more than cattle. People were stripped of their dignity, murdered, and tested on like lab rats. Names no longer mattered. You were nothing more than a number, you were no one. There was no humanity in a concentration camp. Just reading the text was so disheartening and gave me the chills. Not only is this a story of what it was like in a camp, but it also takes it a step further until after the war had ended. I find it to be refreshing to see what happens after the war, which not many authors tend to write about.
What is most apparent is all of the research Hokin delved into while creating this story. Names and places have historic merit and I found it quite refreshing to read. From Berlin to Argentina, Hokin takes us on a journey of the SS from concentration camps in Berlin in 1941 all the way up till the end of the war when many SS Nazi’s escaped to Bariloche, Argentina’s Lake District.
Felix is such a strong well written character. I could feel his pain and suffering, but I could also feel his strength even when he felt like giving up. The only thought holding him together was his love for Hannah. I know many might not understand the symbolism of the romance in this story, or may feel it was short shafted among the bigger picture, but I feel it was a necessary plot point that kept Felix going and one that gave him the strength he needed to survive through the atrocities thrown his way.
Hannah is a well written character as well and I could see how she felt trapped in a marriage she did not want to be in while she carried around a love for a boy she briefly met. I found her to be very naive in the beginning, but yet I can understand why she wore rose colored glasses. In the beginning of 1941, I don’t think she could have truly handled all that was going on at the time. Hannah does grow in character and you can see how she changes for the better as time goes on.
I would really like to mention the ending of this story, while I didn’t get the ending I wanted, I think it still ended perfectly and kept with the entire theme of the story. I think one really needs to encompass all that is going on to truly understand why the ending is the way it is.
The Fortunate ones is a beautifully moving, gut-wrenching World War II story that will pull on your heartstrings. I highly recommend this book if you are a historical fiction fan. A definite five star read for me and I am really looking forward to more from Catherine Hokin.
Rating: really liked it
If you are looking for something that little bit different from your World War Two fiction then Catherine Hokin's The Fortunate Ones is the book for you. Taking the reader deep inside Germany during the destructive years which changed the world forever, the author brings her readers on an incredible, emotional, beautiful and moving story with the power of love at its centre. To be honest, I was expecting another book based simply around the events of the war of which I have read so many and its certainly a genre I enjoy reading but here Catherine Hokin took things to another level and the book just went from strength to strength the further I delved into the story. It had such fantastic and emotive writing with each word so carefully chosen as to make the reader stop, think, take stock and to absorb everything they were learning and feeling.
We have all read descriptions of what went on during the war in labour and concentration camps, and also as to what people went through living in fear in the towns and cities, but it felt like I was reading about everything for the first time. Simply because the author opened my eyes and grabbed my attention through such detailed and rich descriptive words and paragraphs. She seemed to have this unique ability to make things I had read about before fresh and never once did she shy away from saying exactly how things were despite how gruesome and appalling some of the images that sprang to mind while reading. At the same time, she was always able to capture such a real and intensive love that burned from first sight which then took the characters through many difficult and challenging times.
There are two distinct voices throughout the story which alternate every few chapters or so, these being Felix and Inge. In turn the book is split into four parts which begin in Berlin in late 1941 and take us through the war and beyond to 1956. I am glad that the story didn't solely focus on the war years but instead brought us passed this to see how the characters were coping with the impact of all their traumatic experiences and what they had witnessed. It showed that the effects of both war and love didn't end with the conclusion of fighting in 1945. Instead the influences and impressions had long term consequences. The story opens with a very prologue as a man is being interviewed post war about his imprisonment and what he had been made to do. These brief pages made me keen to read on and discover more. We then return to Berlin.
It is 1941 and Felix, aged 18, is struggling through the tough times where food shortages are rife and people are being taken because of their faith. There are strict rules and regulations for Jews and Felix thinks he is lucky as so far he is only categorised as a middling - mixed blood - whereas his father is full Jewish. His father Arno has retreated into himself, never leaving the apartment and barely speaking following the label put upon him and the loss of his job from the university. Felix and his mother Kirsten are the sole providers for the family but times prove even more desperate the longer the war rages on. He struggles to fit in but does whatever his mother requires of him when it comes to joining organisations and obeying rules. He is an apprentice printer which in the long term will stand him in good stead. One night as he is out dancing in a club he encounters Inge and as soon as he lays eyes on her he is smitten and this initial feeling of lust will develop into much more and sustain him through his times of incarnation, punishment and terror.
Inge tells him that her name is Hannah, a name which he will cling to for many years. They know nothing about each other, not even the fact that they come from very different backgrounds, but a second meeting in a park cements his feelings for her. Yes it may seem strange that such a deep and lasting love develops despite only meeting twice and then endures separation and the unknown for so long but the way the story was written everything felt very realistic as if this love could truly happen and that it was strong enough to fortify Felix through the times of cruelty and acts of inhumanity.
We journey with Felix as his life is turned upside down and capture and imprisonment becomes a reality but throughout it all he clings to the memory of Hannah and even when at his lowest ebb the memories of her sustain him and give him strength even though he has only met her twice. The descriptions of what Felix experiences were very hard to read as they were so vivid and haunting. You think you have read it all when it comes to what punishments were meted out and then out of nowhere the author surprises and horrifies you even further. But as the years pass Felix wants to know what happened to Hannah? Was she too taken prisoner? Will the letters he write to her remain unsent? This dogged determination and passion will keep Felix striving forward even when the war ends but will he be happy with what he eventually uncovers? Is he really only clinging to an image that he has carefully constructed in his head when in real life the reality is very much different and stark?
I was slightly apprehensive having so much of the story told from a male perspective as I am used to and comfortable with hearing more from a woman's point of view when it comes to the war. But in The Fortunate Ones, this genuinely did work and it's all thanks to the carefully constructed images and characteristics of each character and scene that Catherine Hokin creates. We get such a sense of the real inner feelings of both Felix and Inge and I felt I plunged with them to the depths of terror, fear and anger but yet there were very brief moments of love and relief. The further I read on, and the more difficult it became to leave the book out of my hands, the more raw, powerful, fascinating and intriguing the story became.
Inge otherwise known as Hannah was a character who I felt compassion for but at the same time I felt a slight resentment towards her in that she couldn't seem to break free from the chains around her even though she knew what was going on was unlawful and horrific. I wondered was Felix's love for Inge stronger as I thought there were numerous times where Inge didn't mention Felix or even think about him. I knew she was miles away from him in another world completely, having been forced into an arranged marriage with a much older man. A man who in turn will throw up many surprises as to his true characteristics and the actual nature of his job the further you move through the story. There were moments, flashes as such, which showed Inge's daring side and how she attempted to break free from the upper echelons of Germany's society that she found herself in. But they came few and far between.
Was she just a bit too biddable instead of striking out on her own? But yet one particular scene at the labour camp shows her making the ultimate sacrifice which then turned my initial thoughts and opinions on their head and demonstrated maybe she was cleverer than I gave her credit for and maybe her two meetings with Felix meant just as much to her as they did to him. The world where Felix and Inge meet is very different to the one post war, they cannot be the same people given all they have witnessed. Can their love help them persevere through the unbearable times?
I have seen some people with some complaints regarding the ending of The Fortunate Ones but I loved it and I thought it was very apt and I wouldn't have changed a thing. This book was truly a phenomenal read so expertly crafted and the fact the idea for the basis of the book sprung from a short story where a man and woman met in a Berlin cafe and whose paths briefly crossed just shows what an imagination and talent the author has to turn such a simple idea into an honest, intense and heartbreaking story. Catherine Hokin has written a very accomplished novel that blends to perfection imagination with historical fact. It should be read in as few sittings as possible as trust me you will be completely lost in the world that Felix and Inge inhabit. I have no hesitation in recommending this incredible story and the author has certainly become one I will look forward to reading more from in the future.
Rating: really liked it
3.5/4
I’m torn. I really liked the story and plot...... until the end.
Review to come.
Rating: really liked it
Let me say that Hokin is an absolutely amazing story teller. There was not one moment of this book that felt contrived, rushed, or fake to me. She told an amazingly beautiful story of two people who met, fell in love, and had the most difficult time getting back to each other.
Felix is a half-Jewish young man who is watching his family and those around him suffer in his home of Berlin, due to the Nazis. Hannah, well, she’s a German. I won’t get into what that means for them too much; but, beware… these two have a rough road.
I’m absolutely in love with how Hokin chose to explore these two very-opposite characters. And she portrayed their individual pain–due to very polarizing circumstances–brilliantly.
The only issue I do take, is the ending. And, I won’t get into why. It was appropriate…Even almost expected. And probably the wiser choice for Ms. Hokin. And, I’ll probably never forget it.
In the genre of WW II novels, this one definitely stood out to me as special and unique.
Rating: really liked it
Without giving anything away, I loved the ending. Thank you for an ending a a story about WWII that is exquisitely human and real. The story is nothing like I expected. Inge's story is heart wrenching and relatable. Sure we all would like to think we would not be complicit, but the reality is likely very different. For that reason Inge's story is worthy even if Inge in the book is a work of fiction.
Rating: really liked it
In 1941, Hitler was cracking down and while Felix is still doing okay, his life is about to change even more than it has already had. One night he meets Inge and his life is changed, only, she tells him her name is Hannah and as things start to spiral out of control for both of them, he never gives up hope that he will find her one day.
And then they do see each other. Only Inge is married to a monster and Felix thinks she too is being held in the camp. But kept apart from the women, he can only hope that she can survive all this. But Inge is married to the Needle, the monster of the camp who runs crazy experiments on the prisoners. She is ignorant of what he does, but at home, his abuse to her speaks volumes. But this was a forced marriage, and she sees no way out.
So I loved that Felix held out hope for such a long time. I loved that he survived, that he made so much of himself, and that he fought to right the wrongs of the past. I was glad when Inge finally found her courage because as an abused woman, it was hard for her to find a way out. When she tried to demand answers, it never went well for her. The ending didn't go the way I thought it would, but I think it went the best way for this duo. I did find Inge's portion of the story a bit tedious and repetitive at times, with detail that felt like filler that slowed down the reading, and that's the only reason I'm giving this 4-stars instead of 5. I didn't notice the title tagline you see on Amazon til after I requested this, and honestly, whenever I've ended up with review books with a tagline, they've ended up a bit disappointing in one area or another. But overall, this is a good read.
Rating: really liked it
Very good but not at all what I was expecting when I read the back of the book. Most of the book takes place during the aftermath of WW2, with the two characters in different countries. The ending was also not at all what I thought would happen. I would still recommend it.
Rating: really liked it
I was provided an ARC by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
Set in Germany during the Second World War, we navigate through the lives of two young Germans as they witness the control of the Nazi Party and the collection of those deemed detrimental to their country. A chance encounter one night helps them hold onto hope and love once they are separated; and maybe, just maybe, they could survive this.
Catherine Hokin creates heartbreaking parallels between her two characters and the struggles they face, while showing how their personalities develop because of their struggles. I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. I cried many many times, as Hokin so clearly describes the horrors and pain that so many people faced. This story showed just how important hope can be, and that it could save your life. I loved how the story moves through the years of the war, and tells how Felix and Hannah are differently impacted. All the characters are extremely well written, complex, and interesting. I never felt like the story was dragging, and was quite content with the ending. The historical detail Hokin poured into this book through her research was simply phenomenal. The Fortunate Ones is a must read for those who enjoy romance, as well as history.
