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Fortunate
Another good read from award-winning author Andrew JH Sharp.
The Oxygen of Escape
Beth Jenkins - semi-bereaved wife, rootless doctor - runs away from home at the age of twenty-eight and a half and becomes a heroine of a revolution.
Locked into a lonely future by a cruel twist of fate, Beth reaches breaking point, abandons her husband, and flees to faraway Zimbabwe. Her attempts to create a new life falter when she finds herself at the center of a deadly struggle for the ownership of a farm. From a guest of honor at the President’s table to a disastrous decision that betrays a good man, her new start threatens to end in catastrophe.
But the land and its painted rocks hold clues to a path to atonement and re-found love if she has the courage to search.
The Oxygen of Escape
Beth Jenkins - semi-bereaved wife, rootless doctor - runs away from home at the age of twenty-eight and a half and becomes a heroine of a revolution.
Locked into a lonely future by a cruel twist of fate, Beth reaches breaking point, abandons her husband, and flees to faraway Zimbabwe. Her attempts to create a new life falter when she finds herself at the center of a deadly struggle for the ownership of a farm. From a guest of honor at the President’s table to a disastrous decision that betrays a good man, her new start threatens to end in catastrophe.
But the land and its painted rocks hold clues to a path to atonement and re-found love if she has the courage to search.
368 pages, Paperback
First published June 17, 2013
686 people want to read
About the author
Andrew J.H. Sharp
3 books5 followersAndrew Sharp's first novel, The Ghosts of Eden, won the 2010 Waverton Good Read Award and was shortlisted for the 2011 International Rubery Book Award.
Andrew was brought up in East Africa and has worked in Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He is based in the East Midlands in the UK where he combines his medical work with writing.
"There are not enough novels set in sub-Saharan Africa, yet so many stories to tell."
Andrew was brought up in East Africa and has worked in Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He is based in the East Midlands in the UK where he combines his medical work with writing.
"There are not enough novels set in sub-Saharan Africa, yet so many stories to tell."
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 21, 2014
Finding your way home, can sometimes become so difficult, in fact you didn't even think just for once that all the while you were actually finding your way home. Fortunate by Andrew JH Sharp takes you on a young woman's journey from posh England to the dark and gritty Zimbabwe. It's not a journey to find oneself; it's a journey to learn where do you belong and of course, about second chances too. This book will surprise you in every possible way; it surprised me in the end, that it’s a true story. The whole book is informative and compelling from the very beginning.
Thanks to the author, Andrew JH Sharp, for sending me over a copy of his book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Beth, locum doctor in England, is young and feels trapped in her one-year old marriage to the man of her dreams, trapped because, her husband has a mental illness, due to which, he has lost almost all his past memories, as result making him dependent on Beth and without her demanding mother-in-law's support, her marriage has become a hell for her. It is then when she meets an old man from Zimbabwe in the hospital, asking her to deliver the deed of his land to his son in Zimbabwe. Beth agrees to the request and soon finds herself set on a journey which is going to change her life forever. And this is where she meets a whole lot of different kinds of people, some were helpful in her, some were deadly and in some she can see new opportunities. She never expected that delivering a simple letter can cost too much, especially when tough and dark politics and laws come in her way. Can she find her way back home? All I can say is that it has got a happy-ever-after ending.
What draws the reader for this book is that the plot being set in Zimbabwe. The culture, flora-and-fauna and lifestyle of Zimbabwe is shown more vividly through the pages of this book. The story telling of the author is not at all fabricated, which makes the whole plot more believable and sensible. As we see the journey through the eyes of this young protagonist, Beth, we can feel her pain and joy equally. The characters were also very true and solid, thus making the whole plot more thrilling and interesting. Even though it’s real life incident, the author has done full justice by making this incident more thrilling and intriguing to his readers.
So if you want to read something memorable, then this is the perfect book for you, as the story remains etched in our minds for a very long time.
Thanks to the author, Andrew JH Sharp, for sending me over a copy of his book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Beth, locum doctor in England, is young and feels trapped in her one-year old marriage to the man of her dreams, trapped because, her husband has a mental illness, due to which, he has lost almost all his past memories, as result making him dependent on Beth and without her demanding mother-in-law's support, her marriage has become a hell for her. It is then when she meets an old man from Zimbabwe in the hospital, asking her to deliver the deed of his land to his son in Zimbabwe. Beth agrees to the request and soon finds herself set on a journey which is going to change her life forever. And this is where she meets a whole lot of different kinds of people, some were helpful in her, some were deadly and in some she can see new opportunities. She never expected that delivering a simple letter can cost too much, especially when tough and dark politics and laws come in her way. Can she find her way back home? All I can say is that it has got a happy-ever-after ending.
What draws the reader for this book is that the plot being set in Zimbabwe. The culture, flora-and-fauna and lifestyle of Zimbabwe is shown more vividly through the pages of this book. The story telling of the author is not at all fabricated, which makes the whole plot more believable and sensible. As we see the journey through the eyes of this young protagonist, Beth, we can feel her pain and joy equally. The characters were also very true and solid, thus making the whole plot more thrilling and interesting. Even though it’s real life incident, the author has done full justice by making this incident more thrilling and intriguing to his readers.
So if you want to read something memorable, then this is the perfect book for you, as the story remains etched in our minds for a very long time.
November 14, 2013
A true story embedded in fiction. From this angle the reader can expect that drama will be limited and characters cotton-wrapped. In a sense it is true.
Yet, Beth Jenkins, a locum doctor, young and somewhat lost in a one-year old marriage to the love of her life - who lost his mind, has enough on her plate, and enough inexperience to make a royal mess of things. Especially when she gets entangled with her patients such as Mr. de Villier. He needs a favor, and Beth has enough challenges, with her demanding mother-in-law, a new mysterious friend, Fortunate, and circumstances pressuring her, to evacuate her poshy life in England for the more intimidating African bush.
Zimbabwe has just been liberated. What promised to be heaven soon proved to be hell-on-steroids for the inhabitants and a little bit better for tourists with pockets full of spending money. For illegal tourists it gets even more tougher and thrilling! The adventures are more intense, the ambiance volatile. That is where Beth's break from her own reality leads her to. She would make enough mistakes to last her a lifetime, but would gain enough new insight into a world her husband, as an archaeologist, discovered and loved. Her voyage will ultimately lead her home - a place she was unable to find before. Home. It is not what she thought it was.
It is a great story. A relaxing, informative, adventure. A soft-landing for anyone interested in reading more about the African lifestyle behind the glitz and glamour of an African Safari, but with the same intensity and feeling of being-there. Really being there. Nothing in the book is outrageously extravagant or overly exaggerated. On the contrary! ...
This is a really enjoyable book. It is multidimensional - covering the life of a young woman finding her path in life, meeting warm-hearted, sincere Africans, introducing tragicomedian politicians acting out their mafia-style looting of a continent's resources, and addressing loves lost and found. These elements serve a smorgasbord of different interests, which makes it an informative, great read.
It is the second book of Andrew J. H. Sharp that I read. I am looking forward to the third, for sure.
Yet, Beth Jenkins, a locum doctor, young and somewhat lost in a one-year old marriage to the love of her life - who lost his mind, has enough on her plate, and enough inexperience to make a royal mess of things. Especially when she gets entangled with her patients such as Mr. de Villier. He needs a favor, and Beth has enough challenges, with her demanding mother-in-law, a new mysterious friend, Fortunate, and circumstances pressuring her, to evacuate her poshy life in England for the more intimidating African bush.
Zimbabwe has just been liberated. What promised to be heaven soon proved to be hell-on-steroids for the inhabitants and a little bit better for tourists with pockets full of spending money. For illegal tourists it gets even more tougher and thrilling! The adventures are more intense, the ambiance volatile. That is where Beth's break from her own reality leads her to. She would make enough mistakes to last her a lifetime, but would gain enough new insight into a world her husband, as an archaeologist, discovered and loved. Her voyage will ultimately lead her home - a place she was unable to find before. Home. It is not what she thought it was.
It is a great story. A relaxing, informative, adventure. A soft-landing for anyone interested in reading more about the African lifestyle behind the glitz and glamour of an African Safari, but with the same intensity and feeling of being-there. Really being there. Nothing in the book is outrageously extravagant or overly exaggerated. On the contrary! ...
This is a really enjoyable book. It is multidimensional - covering the life of a young woman finding her path in life, meeting warm-hearted, sincere Africans, introducing tragicomedian politicians acting out their mafia-style looting of a continent's resources, and addressing loves lost and found. These elements serve a smorgasbord of different interests, which makes it an informative, great read.
It is the second book of Andrew J. H. Sharp that I read. I am looking forward to the third, for sure.
April 6, 2014
First of all, many thanks to the lovely people at Troubador Publishing for this ARC which I requested from NetGalley. The synopsis of the story was intriguing to me as I have quite a lot of interest in the history of Zimbabwe so I was looking forward to a contemporary view and what looked like an interesting plot-line for a novel. Our protagonist is a woman called Beth Jenkins who is currently working as a locum GP but is becoming increasingly disillusioned by her work and longs to be able to give a little more time to each of her patients and perhaps explore fresh avenues career-wise. This is hampered by her personal life however as her husband has had a devastating brain haemorrhage which has left him requiring constant care while erasing most of his previous memories and leaving him quite dependent on her. Her demanding mother-in-law does not provide much support for Beth, emotionally or otherwise and she begins to feel trapped in a life that she had not anticipated.
On a routine visit to a cranky and resilient elderly patient in a care home Beth’s life takes a dramatic turn when he entrusts her with a deed for some land which he is the owner of in Zimbabwe. Mr de. Villier is dying of lung cancer and insists that he wishes the deed to be placed in the hands of his son only, which leads to Beth taking up the adventure and travelling to Africa. Zimbabwe at this time has just been liberated and Beth meets a host of different characters, some a bit frightening, others warm and incredibly helpful to her with her task which has become more mammoth than she expected. She finds out that delivering a piece of paper is a lot harder than it looks, especially when politics and African laws get in the way, facing dangers and new challenges which opens her eyes to the beauty of life and the possibilities of love.
This book left me with mixed up feelings I have to say. I hadn’t realised that it was based on a true story until I reached the end and I don’t know if I would have felt differently about the book if I had known this from the beginning. I did think that the book was a good read overall but something prevented it from being a brilliant read for me personally. The plot is intriguing and I was sympathetic to Beth’s plight of looking after her disabled husband, but when Beth’s friends came over to “save” her in Zimbabwe it became slightly sensationalist. Saying that though I thought the ending was quite beautiful, and I didn’t expect what happened, so there is a possibility that Beth may get the happily-ever-after that she longs for.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
On a routine visit to a cranky and resilient elderly patient in a care home Beth’s life takes a dramatic turn when he entrusts her with a deed for some land which he is the owner of in Zimbabwe. Mr de. Villier is dying of lung cancer and insists that he wishes the deed to be placed in the hands of his son only, which leads to Beth taking up the adventure and travelling to Africa. Zimbabwe at this time has just been liberated and Beth meets a host of different characters, some a bit frightening, others warm and incredibly helpful to her with her task which has become more mammoth than she expected. She finds out that delivering a piece of paper is a lot harder than it looks, especially when politics and African laws get in the way, facing dangers and new challenges which opens her eyes to the beauty of life and the possibilities of love.
This book left me with mixed up feelings I have to say. I hadn’t realised that it was based on a true story until I reached the end and I don’t know if I would have felt differently about the book if I had known this from the beginning. I did think that the book was a good read overall but something prevented it from being a brilliant read for me personally. The plot is intriguing and I was sympathetic to Beth’s plight of looking after her disabled husband, but when Beth’s friends came over to “save” her in Zimbabwe it became slightly sensationalist. Saying that though I thought the ending was quite beautiful, and I didn’t expect what happened, so there is a possibility that Beth may get the happily-ever-after that she longs for.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
September 7, 2013
Fortunate, isn't about a woman trying to find herself, rather its about her trying to get back home. Beth Jenkins, a doctor in the UK, has had a tough year. She was just newly married when her husband Matt suffered an aneurysm, leaving him with no memory of the past and an almost child like demeanor truly dependent on her. She plods her way thru her day, trying to not remember that the dreams she and Matt wanted to build can never come to be. She meets interesting people thru her practice, mostly immigrants from Zimbabwe. She finds out her husband has kept the fact that he had spent time in Zimbabwe as well. And then one day, when she felt really hopeless, she just decided to up and leave. Her destination, Zimbabwe. Fortunate is not just Beth's story, its about all the people around her that seems to have a connection to one event and one land. We are introduced to a whole gamut of individuals, conspiracies, mystery and even past murders. There are dangerous adventures for Beth all for the sake of trying to deliver a letter. She finds out that in the end you can't outrun your past and live like it never existed. This was a well written novel, with great imagery and historical details about the land that holds a certain magic for the characters in the book. The character of Beth, however, was in someway hard to relate to. You can feel sympathy for her plight but it was so hard to grasp her motivation for her actions initially. The ending, was fitting and in a way was a happily ever after.
July 15, 2013
Fortunate brings adventure, intrigue and to life. It is a story following a locum GP who is stuck in her current life, not knowing what her future brings. The description of Beth’s thoughts is excellent, making the reader want to know more. The storyline allows the reader to follow the adventure to Zimbabwe, away from her current life as a locum GP with a family life, of which in her opinion, fate has given her little hope. The idea of running away to get away from it all brings danger tied within a deed of land.
The book is well written and has a lot packed into it, however the continuous introduction of new characters took me away from the plot more than I would have liked and sometimes became a distraction from the main storyline. However, this is not a reason to not give this book a read. It is not a simple read to keep up with, but I did enjoy the book. The more I read, the more I didn’t want to put it down.
www.reviewedbyfran.wordpress.com
The book is well written and has a lot packed into it, however the continuous introduction of new characters took me away from the plot more than I would have liked and sometimes became a distraction from the main storyline. However, this is not a reason to not give this book a read. It is not a simple read to keep up with, but I did enjoy the book. The more I read, the more I didn’t want to put it down.
www.reviewedbyfran.wordpress.com
July 7, 2016
I really did enjoy this book. The fact that it took me almost three years to read it had nothing to do with the book. I didn't read any books during that time actually. At least not all the way through.
I took it with me on a two week vacation and finished it! I love Andrew's writing style. The words flow and it is almost poetic the way he describes Zimbabwe almost made me want to go there myself.
I was expecting the suspense but was glad for it. The book is interesting and I do recommend it.
****Spoiler****
There was a part of the book that made me a bit squeamish. I don't really understand why her best friend had to sleep with her mentally disabled husband? She had enough drama that I don't think it added anything to the novel. And then to make it even worse the friend is pregnant by him.
Overall this is a great book, beautiful and exciting.
I took it with me on a two week vacation and finished it! I love Andrew's writing style. The words flow and it is almost poetic the way he describes Zimbabwe almost made me want to go there myself.
I was expecting the suspense but was glad for it. The book is interesting and I do recommend it.
****Spoiler****
There was a part of the book that made me a bit squeamish. I don't really understand why her best friend had to sleep with her mentally disabled husband? She had enough drama that I don't think it added anything to the novel. And then to make it even worse the friend is pregnant by him.
Overall this is a great book, beautiful and exciting.
October 6, 2013
There is a spoiler in here. I don't know how to flag that.
This book had parts of it that were fun to read, but once I hit about the last third to quarter I started skipping things. It got a bit wordy without saying much.
Then it just got plain unrealistic- with Bethan's friends all coming to visit Zimbabwe on a boat to save her. And the truly revolting relationship of her best friend and disabled husband. Also, the unbelievable mother-in-law.
Other readers who praised it must be focusing on the political and history side of the story, which was interesting, assuming it was told factually.
But for me, there were too many unbelievable events and weak characters thrown in but not developed or their part in the story given a point.
This book had parts of it that were fun to read, but once I hit about the last third to quarter I started skipping things. It got a bit wordy without saying much.
Then it just got plain unrealistic- with Bethan's friends all coming to visit Zimbabwe on a boat to save her. And the truly revolting relationship of her best friend and disabled husband. Also, the unbelievable mother-in-law.
Other readers who praised it must be focusing on the political and history side of the story, which was interesting, assuming it was told factually.
But for me, there were too many unbelievable events and weak characters thrown in but not developed or their part in the story given a point.
July 29, 2013
I loved this book! I received a copy of Fortunate from Goodreads Firstreads and was very happy that I did after I'd finished reading it. I felt as if I was accompanying Beth(an) on her gratifying journey to Zimbabwe. Sharp does such an excellent job at constructing a vivid setting that I found myself Googling images of the inn and the majestic Angel Falls as she encountered them. Makes me want to go there! As a nurse, it became evident that this author has a rich medical background due to the jargon. Very, very nice book!!
July 19, 2013
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
I not sure whether this is actually based on truths or whether the author wants you to think it is. Regardless, this book is confusing. I'm left wondering whether Bethan is just REALLY stupid or naive. Maybe a bit of both? She's too trusting for someone who has seen so much and I find it hard to believe (story wise). The writing is jumpy and disconnected. The events happen too quickly with not enough time for situation development.
I not sure whether this is actually based on truths or whether the author wants you to think it is. Regardless, this book is confusing. I'm left wondering whether Bethan is just REALLY stupid or naive. Maybe a bit of both? She's too trusting for someone who has seen so much and I find it hard to believe (story wise). The writing is jumpy and disconnected. The events happen too quickly with not enough time for situation development.
February 20, 2015
This is a stunning novel—interesting, beautifully written and hard to put down. Not only is it a great story, it also deals with deeper issues of dealing with a recently brain damaged partner and survival under a corrupt regime. Mr Sharpe offers the best of independent fiction – something truly unique. You’ll find entertainment and food for thought in this volume.
I received the book free in return for a review for the Awesome Indies.
I received the book free in return for a review for the Awesome Indies.
July 17, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. The story follows Beth through her adventures of running away from her current life, which she feels has left her trapped and alone. She ends up escaping to Zimbabwe wrapped up in a complex web of tales pulling her every-which way.
This is a page turner that will keep you hooked!
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This is a page turner that will keep you hooked!
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
March 30, 2015
The cover and blurb suggests a formulaic romance which might explain the range of opinion in the reviews but I found this an intelligent, thought provoking and interesting read that also pulled on the emotions. The plot perhaps takes a twist too far about half way through but by that time I was so engrossed in the story I didn't mind.
September 5, 2013
I'm never sure how successful writing from a woman's perspective as a male author is, but this is a good effort. The Zimbabwe background was what drew me in, but I did find myself trapped in Beth's emotional dilemma too. I would read more of this author.
August 1, 2015
Zimbabwe’s landscape beautifully woven into this tale of love and loss.
August 20, 2021
Awesome Indies Book Awards is pleased to include FORTUNATE by ANDREW JH SHARP in the library of Awesome Indies'
Seal of Excellence
recipients.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews