The Fortunate Ones

Beautiful and Heartbreaking World War 2 Historical Fiction

By: Catherine Hokin

Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow

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.

©2020 Catherine Hokin (P)2020 Bookouture

Always almost…

I enjoyed the just of the story and learned another aspect of the Holocaust. This book started great and then went a little “south” from there. It seemed like neither Felix nor Inge (Hanna) just never caught a break. Seems as though the ultimate winner would be Max???? We all know that many nazis were found and extradited back to a Germany to face their accusers. However, some were not, Max? Maybe I would like to have seen some resolution in one of the conflicts (Felix and Hanna, Max and his atrocities, Inge’s relationship with Wolf). Many un finished conflicts. I will listen to another book by the author and hope it has less uncertainty.

Couldn’t put this one down!

One of the best written and narrated books I’ve ever read. I didn’t want it to end. Would strongly recommend this book!

Tearjerker

One of the best WW11 Fiction Books ! Don’t pass on this one !! The narrator does a wonderful job also !

Wonderful story

Narration was wonderful. story was moving. Ending left me wondering what happened to her and him.

So so so good.

Almost listened to it in one swoop. I narration was amazing, thought I would have loved these Germans to have German accents. It didn't matter in the end, the story extremely was compelling.