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The Fortunate Ones

Ed Tarkington (Goodreads Author)

4.08 · Rating details · 174 ratings · 84 reviews

“The Fortunate Ones feels like a fresh and remarkably sure-footed take on The Great Gatsby, examining the complex costs of attempting to transcend or exchange your given class for a more gilded one. Tarkington’s understanding of the human heart and mind is deep, wise, and uncommonly empathetic. As a novelist, he is the real deal. I can’t wait to see this story reach a wide ...more

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Hardcover, 320 pages

Published January 5th 2021 by Algonquin Books

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The Fortunate Ones

Ed Tarkington (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Jan 05, 2021

"Tarkington knows how to let his finely developed characters do the heavy lifting... An impressive literary balancing act that entertains as it enrich ...more

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Nov 28, 2020 Cheri rated it it was amazing

Shelves: north-carolina, louisiana, new-orleans, edelweiss, 2020, arc, publisher-algonquin-books, coming-of-age

4.5 Stars

”And what we students of history always learn is that the human being is a very complicated contraption and that they are not good or bad but are good and bad and the good comes out of the bad and the bad out of the good, and the devil take the hindmost.”
-- Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men

This story begins with two men pulling up in front of a house, the third time in a month they were sent out on an errand to deliver unwanted news. By the time they stopped in front of this house ...more

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Jan 02, 2021 Larry H rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, blog-tour

4.5 stars.

Ed Tarkington's new book, The Fortunate Ones , was a great book to start off 2021 with!

Charlie was growing up in a poor neighborhood in East Nashville with his single mother, and didn’t really think about what more life could offer. But when his mother gets him a scholarship to The Yeatman School, an exclusive private school, his life changes tremendously. Suddenly he realizes the ease by which people of privilege move through the world, seemingly impervious to problems and rules an ...more

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Dec 08, 2020 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-tour, direct-from-publisher, dec-2020-reads

I picked this book up to read the first few pages because I wasn't into my current read. What began as a few pages, turned into the prologue, then the first couple chapters and when I looked up 40ish minutes later, I was on page 60. I couldn't get enough of this story. I read the whole book in two days and it was a marvelous story. This was on its way to being a 5 star read and while the writing was superb, I think there was a missed opportunity. (I will explain that in a moment.)

Charlie Boykin I picked this book up to read the first few pages because I wasn't into my current read. What began as a few pages, turned into the prologue, then the first couple chapters and when I looked up 40ish minutes later, I was on page 60. I couldn't get enough of this story. I read the whole book in two days and it was a marvelous story. This was on its way to being a 5 star read and while the writing was superb, I think there was a missed opportunity. (I will explain that in a moment.)

Charlie Boykin grew up in pretty meager beginnings. He never met his father, and his mother ran away from home for getting pregnant before she was married. She moved into an apartment with her cousin and raised Charlie with the help of neighbors. He went to a mostly Black school and was picked on, but found protection in Terrence. Charlie had a good life and then one day, the course of everything he had ever known changed with his acceptance into one of the most prestigious schools in the state. It is the relationships he forms here that underscore the theme of this book.

So before I get into what I want to say regarding my "criticism", I want to make it known that I loved this book. I really, really did. I was absolutely riveted and couldn't wait to get back to this story every time I had to set it down. If you love coming of age stories, there is no doubt that you should read this. I also think this would also make a fantastic book club book because there is a lot of discussion worthy topics. As Charlie got older, I grew increasingly frustrated with him and the last third of the book is where I wanted more. In my opinion, the author missed an opportunity with Charlie's silence in standing by almost everything his best friend, Archer did. While I don't disagree that the "fortunate ones" in life suffer, I don't know what other term to use but the book being a little 'tone deaf'? I feel like that sounds unnecessarily harsh because I did really love this book, but with all the suffering of minority communities (which has more of a spotlight this year I was less receptive to a story about the plight of rich, white people. I'm struggling with how to explain it, but I wanted Charlie to dig in a little harder and maybe I'm projecting on to him what I hope I would have done in his place? Maybe Charlie wasn't that person after all. But I felt his conscience was and I wanted that awareness spoken out loud and I wanted Terrance more a part of the story than he was.

I think many will enjoy (as I surely did), but I would be interested to see if anyone who reads this book (and then my review) share the same feelings. Were you left wanting more?

Thank you to Algonquin Books and Ed Tarkington for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review Date: 12/30/2020
Publication Date: 01/05/2021 ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Amy Imogene Reads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2021, adult-fiction, arcs-reviewed, historical-fiction

4.5 stars

A Southern exposé in a certain way, with grace and pain wrapped between frankly beautiful written pages. I was not expecting to love this story of a white man in the South, but there are some kernels here and no one was more surprised to find them than me.

Characters: ★★★★ 1/2
Writing: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★★★★

For those who know me here on Goodreads and in the book community, you might be thinking this really isn't my type of read. (You're totally right) A book written by a white dude, about a w ...more

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Jan 01, 2021 Suzanne Leopold (Suzy Approved Book Reviews) rated it really liked it

Charlie Botkin is having a tough time adjusting to ninth grade at an elite prep school. His transition is awkward because he is on scholarship and from a working-class family. All that changes when Archer is assigned as his big brother. Charlie is drawn to Archer’s charm and kindness and also gets access to his privileged background. Charlie finds himself spending time in the upscale town of Belle Meade, Tennessee where he indulges in private parties, country clubs, and luxury vacations.

Charlie’ ...more

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Dec 28, 2020 Denise rated it really liked it

This is one of those books that I thought after reading the prologue that it was going to be another not-so-subtle political diatribe and not my type of book - I was wrong.

This book echoes the classic platitude of be careful what you wish for, as money does not buy happiness. In the 1960s, a teenage mom living in the South becomes pregnant by a boy drafted to Vietnam and never to be seen again. Her father is unrelenting about her raising a child out of wedlock in his house, so she chooses to be ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Nursebookie rated it really liked it

Shelves: blogtour, historicalmystery, blog-ig-feature, historical-fiction, algonquinbooks

This was an exceptional story that really grabbed me from the beginning. The writing is superb, and a great character driven story I really enjoyed. The story is centered on Charlie Boykin, a son of a pregnant runaway, who was given an opportunity of a lifetime by being accepted into one of Nashvilles’s elite and most prestigious schools. In this story, Ed Tarkington writes about a great coming-of-age story that highlights wealth and privilege, friendships and loyalties, morality and corruption, ...more

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Jan 03, 2021 Ann rated it really liked it

Shelves: advance-reader-copy, giveaways, own-book, paperback

This was a compelling story about wealth, power, privilege, and entitlement; and the story of a young man not born to those things who is pulled into that world. I have spent a lot of the last 4 years questioning what has happened to people’s moral compass. This book explores blurry lines and how they are crossed, each time a little more easily than the last, until it’s forgotten that a line was even there. Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Algonquin Books for a copy of the ARC.

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Jan 05, 2021 Crystal Zavala rated it really liked it

The Fortunate Ones is a coming of age novel that follows Charlie Boykin from his entry into a private high school through adulthood.
Honestly, I wasn't sure how much I would be interested in reading about privileged white boys in Nashville, but I was immediately intrigued by the prologue.
When Charlie is unexpectedly accepted on scholarship to an elite private school, it triggers a confluence of events that change the trajectory of his life.
The Fortunate Ones is a solid 4⭐ read. I did find the end ...more

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Jan 01, 2021 Liz Hein rated it liked it

The Fortunate Ones is the story of average Charlie, and what happens when is he suddenly thrust into high society Nashville and is taken underneath the wing of Arch, a wealthy upperclassmen. Obviously, the shine doesn’t last long. It’s the story of pride, family, and trying to rise above one’s station.

I’m guessing a lot of people will love this, but for me it was too polite at best a look at privilege. I didn’t realize this going in, but it’s a loose Gatsby retelling and still misses that mark ...more

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Oct 10, 2020 Carolynn rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-netgalley

Charlie Boykin is raised by a single mother who had to run away from home when she got pregnant. Eventually his mother's connections get him into an elite boarding school, where Charlie befriends a group of wealthy, privileged students. This is the story of those friendships and how they affect Charlie's life.

This book is a character study; don't read it if you are looking for an active plot. It is the story of Charlie. How he and his mother's relationship grows and then changes when surrounded ...more

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Oct 15, 2020 Reid rated it liked it

Charlie Boykin lives on the wrong side of the tracks or, at least, in the wrong part of Nashville. His mother fled her affluent life at 15 because she was pregnant with Charlie and defiantly unwilling to part with him. For over a decade she lived a hand-to-mouth life, raising Charlie, working as a waitress, living with her cousin, an aspiring singer who never moves beyond the local bar scene.

Then Charlie lucks out. His mother dresses them both in their Sunday best and takes her son to an intervi Charlie Boykin lives on the wrong side of the tracks or, at least, in the wrong part of Nashville. His mother fled her affluent life at 15 because she was pregnant with Charlie and defiantly unwilling to part with him. For over a decade she lived a hand-to-mouth life, raising Charlie, working as a waitress, living with her cousin, an aspiring singer who never moves beyond the local bar scene.

Then Charlie lucks out. His mother dresses them both in their Sunday best and takes her son to an interview at the exclusive private boys' school, Yeatman. Much to his surprise, he is admitted to the school on full scholarship. Better yet, he is paired with Archer Creigh, a cultured young man with the pedigree of Nashville royalty. Arch is kind and benevolent, and takes Charlie under his wing. He also introduces him into the Haltom family, a nouveau riche addition to the Belle Meade community. Jim Haltom is his benefactor, for reasons that Charlie does not interrogate too closely, nor discover until many years later. But Charlie thinks mostly and with great pleasure of the reprieve he has been given. With great relief he falls under the spell of all this genteel wealth. Of course, all of it's too good to be true (it wouldn't be much of a novel if it were otherwise, would it?) Soon Charlie begins to see the ugly underside of all this plenty and gets caught up in the emotional maelstrom of involvement with this crowd.

I suppose I am damning this book with faint praise when I say it is perfectly competently written, but that seems to me the most accurate description of what this book is: a competent story, efficiently if ploddingly written, with only a few implausibilities (the Army? Really?). But in the final analysis it really doesn't seem to have much to say. We come to care only mildly for these folks and what they are going through; without emotional investment in their plight, though the book never really flags, it never excites, either, never challenges or thrills us.

I have also tired of the trials and tribulations of rich, white people. Yes, there are nods here and there in this book to the plight of those who aren't either of these things, but they are just that: nods rather than an actual exploration of what it means to be black or poor or (God help you) both in the Nashville of the late 20th and early 21st century. Perhaps I am just unfeeling (rich people, after all, grieve and fail and die, just like the rest of us), but probably not. Particularly in this moment of our country's history, it seems singularly tone deaf to publish a book about white privilege and expect us to sympathize with the privileged white people. Don't get me wrong, that's not the only reason I couldn't really relate to this book; it's just not that richly plotted and the conflicts raised are fairly pedestrian. But it certainly doesn't help that we have to climb that racial and class hill in order to care. ...more

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Jan 05, 2021 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: modern-mrs-darcy

“Most of us imagine that, were we to be as fortunate...to have millions in the bank, to live in a sprawling manse...to have servants at our beck and call, to fly around in a private jet and buy whatever we liked without even looking at the price tags, to have a social calendar filled with grand events in opulence settings--most of us imagine this would be more than enough to make us happy, or, at least, content. But what if we were to have all of these things and discover that they weren’t enoug “Most of us imagine that, were we to be as fortunate...to have millions in the bank, to live in a sprawling manse...to have servants at our beck and call, to fly around in a private jet and buy whatever we liked without even looking at the price tags, to have a social calendar filled with grand events in opulence settings--most of us imagine this would be more than enough to make us happy, or, at least, content. But what if we were to have all of these things and discover that they weren’t enough?”

This is the question with which Charlie wrestles until “Arch appeared before me and extended his hand and lifted me up, out of a drab, colorless, meaningless life and into the bright and beautiful world over which he seemed destined to preside.” Arch mentors Charlie through prep school, marries the woman of Charlie’s dreams, and becomes a politician.

“How did a guy...born into wealth, educated privately from pre-K through graduate school, married to the daughter of a billionaire, as handsome as a film star, with family ties going back almost to Jamestown--become a Man of the People? After all, the People were the ones who shopped at Walmart, who spent their lives traveling back-and-forth between backbreaking jobs and weary inertia at home, who ended up being forced to live off disability and Medicaid benefits.”

“They would go on church mission trips to poor countries and come home swollen with pride for having touched the lives of the less fortunate. They would volunteer at soup kitchens and homeless shelters, tutor at public elementary schools, make a black friend and form a genuine respect for the challenges he faced. They would ‘give back,’ as the saying goes, in the form of generous contributions about money and time to church and charity.”

Ouch! Ed Tarkington’s The Fortunate Ones held up the mirror of my own white privilege, and I was repulsed. But the genuine faith of Terrence, Norman, and Mike gave me hope. Norman “was a kind man. He talked a lot about Jesus. He’d become a born-again Christian.” So many of whom respond to suffering like a “naive priest try[ing] to pin a happy ending on the tail end of a tragedy.” But Mike explains, “When Christ jung in agony on the cross, he cried out, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ I think hell happened in those five words...Not the physical agony, but the death of the spirit. But he overcame death. Body and soul. He showed us the way out of hell.” Terrence asks, “You saved, Charlie?...When you’re ready, he’ll be waiting.”

“There is nothing in this world to which people connect more willingly in uncertain times than the appearance of genuine certainty.” But “Truth is hidden, but nothing is more beautiful than the truth.” El Broncense’s proverb could serve as the epigraph for this novel. A compelling, contemporary retelling of the classic Great Gatsby.
...more

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Dec 31, 2020 Paige Green rated it liked it

Disclaimer: I received this book and earc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Fortunate Ones

Author: Ed Tarkington

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For...: Historical fiction fans

Publication Date: January 5, 2021

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Pages: 320

Recommended Age: 16+ (sexual content, romance, law breaking behavior)

Synopsis: When Charlie Boykin was young, he thought his life with his single mother on the working-class side of Nashville was perfectly fine. B ...more

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Nov 15, 2020 Nancy rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

"Charismatic Southern Republican Senator commits suicide."

Charlie Boykin thought he had escaped the past when Arch Creigh was the center of his world, when he had carried a torch for Arch's girlfriend, the beautiful Vanessa.

The news sends Charlie reeling back in time to when he was the fortunate recipient of a scholarship to an elite private school where met Arch and was invited into the homes of the wealthy and privileged. It was a world built on tradition, the personal quashed for the sake of "Charismatic Southern Republican Senator commits suicide."

Charlie Boykin thought he had escaped the past when Arch Creigh was the center of his world, when he had carried a torch for Arch's girlfriend, the beautiful Vanessa.

The news sends Charlie reeling back in time to when he was the fortunate recipient of a scholarship to an elite private school where met Arch and was invited into the homes of the wealthy and privileged. It was a world built on tradition, the personal quashed for the sake of appearance, a world of secret pain and forbidden love.

Charlie had left to forge his own way as an artist. But when his mother was dying, he returned. It was time to forgive, to accept human vulnerability and frailty. It was time to face his past.
...I knew what was gripping me was just nostalgia, but I needed to feel it and see it through to the end so I could go back without regrets.~from The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington
Arch was forging a political career. He embraced conservative values--but his private life would scandalize his supporters.

Charlie wonders how the exceptional, wealthy, beautiful, Charlie with his billionaire wife Vanessa became the champion of the 'people.' "There is nothing in this world to which people connect more willingly in uncertain times than the appearance of genuine certainty," and Arch projected that surety. People were clamoring to "get behind a charismatic businessman with a smart, beautiful wife and a fortune in the bank."

Vanessa accepts the life she is expected to have, sharing her secret guilt and doubts only with Charlie.

This is the story of a young man growing up, a nostalgic remembrance of lost innocence and the revelation that our heroes have feet of clay. It is about ambition and masks, how privilege corrupts, and choosing to turning away from corruption. It is about the fickleness of the public and misguided devotion.

Who are the 'fortunate ones'? The heirs of wealth? Or, those accepted into their charmed circle? Or, is it those who, drawn by the golden siren lure, glimpse behind the facade, and escape?

The novel reminded me of Brideshead Revisited and The Great Gatsby, while also reflecting today's political climate.

I read this novel in two days, barely able to set it down.

I was given an ARC by the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. ...more

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Dec 23, 2020 Addie BookCrazyBlogger rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-s

Charlie Boykin is a Casualty Notification officer in the Army meaning he’s the one who informs the loved ones of fallen service members, that they have completed their service with honor. He is at such a notification, when he notices on TV, that the charismatic Republican senator, Arch Creigh, has shot and killed himself. Charlie is shocked like the rest of the country, although for an entirely different reason: Charlie and Arch were classmates at an exclusive private school in Nashville, althou ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Dini - dinipandareads rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, netgalley, literary-fiction, blog-tour, contemporary-fiction, 2021-releases

I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by Algonquin Books. Thanks to Algonquin for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m quite conflicted with how I feel about this book because overall it was very enjoyable. Tarkington’s writing makes for easy reading and I sped through the story in a little less than two days because my mind wouldn’t stop coming back to it. I was captivated in the first half of the book and I was invested in Charlie’s coming-of-age story; however, my ...more

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Jan 02, 2021 Phoebe E rated it it was amazing

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began this book, but I was so pleased to end up really enjoying it. 'The Fortunate Ones' is a thoughtful musing on privilege and politics, and on the people we become. I loved the chance to follow Charlie's friendships and loves from the beginning and watch the ways in which each character spiraled into their own stories, all eventually reaching back to find each other again. The whole book feels very Gatsby-esque in the ways that grief and longing hang over t ...more

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Dec 08, 2020 A.L. Goulden rated it it was amazing

I couldn't put this novel down. I loved it! It has a nostalgic quality that yearns like a classic "lost generation" novel in the vein of The Sun Also Rises while also reflecting on wealth and privilege like a Fitzgerald classic. A tale of unrequited love and our common search for a meaning to this life. This is more than a story of lost innocence, it's that realization that comes too late in life that many of one's heroes are flimsy and trite. The themes of ambition and corruption and a confused ...more

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Oct 16, 2020 Sean Kinch rated it it was amazing

A novel of education, politics, love, family, secrets—and every combination of those ingredients.

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Dec 28, 2020 Lori L (She Treads Softly) rated it it was amazing

The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington is a very highly recommended literary coming-of-age story that also mixes in class differences with a political drama.

Charlie Boykin lived with his single mother and aunt on the working-class side of Nashville and relies on his friend to protect him until his mother arranges for him to be admitted as a scholarship student to the elite Yeatman school in the wealthy neighboring town of Belle Meade in the 1980's. Once there, Charlie is paired up with upperclassma The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington is a very highly recommended literary coming-of-age story that also mixes in class differences with a political drama.

Charlie Boykin lived with his single mother and aunt on the working-class side of Nashville and relies on his friend to protect him until his mother arranges for him to be admitted as a scholarship student to the elite Yeatman school in the wealthy neighboring town of Belle Meade in the 1980's. Once there, Charlie is paired up with upperclassman, Archer Creigh, as his big brother. Arch embraces this role and introduces him to the world of privilege and wealth surrounding Yeatman and the students who attend the school. Charlie admires Arch's ease and causal acceptance of everything wealth entitles him too and falls in love with Arch's girlfriend, Vanessa. Charlie quickly adapts to life among the wealthy, although he never quit feels he is an equal. Yeatman does provide a safe place for his love of art to flourish. Charlie considers them friends, but does face several harsh truths and does end up distancing himself from everyone for a period of time.

In the opening of the novel, we know that Charlie is currently a Casualty Notification Officer for the Army. He learns that Arch committed suicide while visiting a family. This foreshadowing of what is to come looms over the whole story, which then goes back in time to follow the events leading up to the present.

The writing is absolutely superb in The Fortunate Ones. While it does resemble The Great Gatsby in some of the themes presented, it is definitely its own novel. Charlie is the narrator who feels a sense of loyalty, but also knows that his trust is misplaced. The stark contrast between Charlie's family with that of the wealthy, prestigious society families is clearly depicted and even as he feels acceptance, he also knows that he is not a part of them. He notices the acceptance of their privileged place in society, notes the deceit present, and sees details that they don't seem to recognize. Tarkington handles all his characters and the details surrounding their actions with a great deal of empathy and understanding even when they are exhibiting their worst behavior.

The character development is positively perfect. Tarkington allows the characters to tell the story in the narrative and the plot unfolds naturally from this. The result is characters who have a depth and complexity that resemble real life. Charlie's growing unease and questions about Arch develop naturally through the action in the plot. This is a coming-of-age story but it also covers a loss of innocence and begs the question how far does loyalty demand you go and does it require compromising your principles?

This is an excellent novel. I loved Tarkington's debut novel, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, and with The Fortunate Ones I am now decidedly a fan of his writing.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill .
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/1... ...more

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Jan 02, 2021 Vivian rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, review-copy, edelweiss

The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington has been called a contemporary The Great Gatsby, and I can definitely see the similarities. Charlie Boykin is definitely from the "have nots" and the wrong-side of town according to those in the know in Nashville society. His life changes, possibly for the better and then again maybe not, when he is provided a scholarship to an elite all-boys school and is befriended by Archer Creigh. Over the course of Charlie's high school career, he eventually moves away fr The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington has been called a contemporary The Great Gatsby, and I can definitely see the similarities. Charlie Boykin is definitely from the "have nots" and the wrong-side of town according to those in the know in Nashville society. His life changes, possibly for the better and then again maybe not, when he is provided a scholarship to an elite all-boys school and is befriended by Archer Creigh. Over the course of Charlie's high school career, he eventually moves away from the wrong-side of town when his mother is offered a job as a personal assistant to a wealthy society matron. That move changes Charlie's life forever. It isn't just the disparity between the haves and the have-nots that shakes Charlie up, it's the "affluenza" and, for lack of a better phrase, "white privilege" that he bears witness to that finally pushes him away from his family and friends permanently.

I'm going to go out a limb here and say that I didn't really like The Great Gatsby, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Fortunate Ones. I liked the way Mr. Tarkington told the story, in almost a flashback mode, by taking us from Charlie's present life to his past and then brought us back to the present. Although Charlie is the focal point of the story, the reader gets to know all of the secondary characters through Charlie's eyes. I enjoyed reading about his friendships in high school, his return to Nashville in his late 20s, and his final departure from the life he knew but grew to despise. There's a lot to take in with this story, including:, class, racism, closeted homosexuality, mental illness, suicide, marital infidelity, affluenza/white privilege, love, the psychological toll of trying to be something and someone you're not, loyalty, and more. Mr. Tarkington has crafted a coming-of-age story that pulled this reader in from the first chapter until the very end. For those of you that actually enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby and are interested in a modern retelling, then I highly recommend The Fortunate Ones. For those that are like me and didn't exactly care for The Great Gatsby or didn't read it, I still encourage you to grab a copy of The Fortunate Ones to read. This is my first #mustread recommendation for the year, folks. Now, go grab yourself a copy!

Happy Reading, y'all!

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. This review posted on 01/05/2021 at http://thebookdivasreads.com ...more

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Dec 12, 2020 Liz rated it it was amazing

The Fortunate Ones was one of those books I plowed through in just a few says. Author Ed Tarkington immerses the readers into the world of central character Charlie Boykin, a young man who lives with his single, cocktail-waitress mother ( a former debutante that fled her wealthy upbringing when she got pregnant with Charlie and her family was forcing her to give him up) in a lower income area in east Nashville. Charlie is perfectly happy with his life, and their African American neighbors who ta The Fortunate Ones was one of those books I plowed through in just a few says. Author Ed Tarkington immerses the readers into the world of central character Charlie Boykin, a young man who lives with his single, cocktail-waitress mother ( a former debutante that fled her wealthy upbringing when she got pregnant with Charlie and her family was forcing her to give him up) in a lower income area in east Nashville. Charlie is perfectly happy with his life, and their African American neighbors who take him in as one of their own. Everything changes when Charlie's Mom secures him a scholarship to a prestige prep school,

The prestigious school is the kind where old money Southerners go, a school that produces future senators and CEOs. Charlie the scholarship kid is a fish out of water until he's taken under the wing of Arch Creigh, a charismatic and also fatherless popular kid who pulls him into the rarified world of privilege and rich kids who run semi wild with absent or distracted parents. Charlie and Arch form a brotherly bond until a secret is exposed that rocks the tight knit group of friends and sends Charlie running away from the rich crowd he never really felt at home with any way.

The book reflects the disparity between rich/poor, black/white and uncovers the seedy side of politics; it also reveals how no matter how rich you are it doesn't protect you from addiction, illness (both physical and mental) and feeling isolated.

Portions of the book are set in the magical Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende - which full disclosure is one of my favorite places on Earth. My in laws retired there about 5 years ago, and I especially enjoyed the passages that really captured the beauty of this special place. Ed Tarkington must have spent some time there for sure... it made me long for the day we can return there.

This book is part coming-of-age, part family dysfunction, part love story... but it is ALL gorgeously written and it's a story that stayed with me long after I finished the last word. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Thank you #NetGalley for inviting me to read this book. ...more

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Jan 05, 2021 Ellen rated it really liked it

(My shift key isn’t working consistently so please forgive the capitalization errors!)
I’ve been a Californian for more than 20 years now, but i grew up and went to college in Virginia, where I studied Southern writers as part of my English major. Ed Tarkington’s The Fortunate Ones was like putting on a comfortable pair of old shoes, ones I hadn’t worn in a very long time but had definitely walked some miles in long ago.

It’s hard to beat a good coming-of-age tale, and this, a southern great gatsb

(My shift key isn’t working consistently so please forgive the capitalization errors!)
I’ve been a Californian for more than 20 years now, but i grew up and went to college in Virginia, where I studied Southern writers as part of my English major. Ed Tarkington’s The Fortunate Ones was like putting on a comfortable pair of old shoes, ones I hadn’t worn in a very long time but had definitely walked some miles in long ago.

It’s hard to beat a good coming-of-age tale, and this, a southern great gatsby which also gave me some pat conroy, william faulkner and walker percy vibes, is also a political drama. set in Nashville, the fortunate ones tackles many themes: loyalty, class, the subversion of principles under the influence of power and money. Along the way we get some scandal, an intimate look at southern high society through the eyes of an outsider, and the ripening of friendship, love and desire. I was literally unable to put this book down, and stayed up far too late to finish it.; a page turner, but not in the sense an intricately plotted thriller or mystery is. Yes, I wanted to know what happened in mostly charlie, arch and vanessa’s compelling story, but more i wanted to spend time with these people. the characters are so finely sketched out, with in all their perfect imperfection and with such deep empathy, and it soon became clear to me why tarkington chose the quote from robert penn warren’s all the king’s men—one of the greatest political novels of all time—for his epigraph:

“And what we students of history always learn is that the human being is a very complicated contraption and that they are not good or bad but good and bad and the good comes out of the bad and the bbad out of the good and the devil take the hindmost.”

when i saw that Kevin Wilson author of one of my top reads of 2020, Nothing to See Here
had written that the book is “an amazing, thought-provoking novel by one of our most generous writers,’ i suspected i was in for a treat, and i was not wrong. the fortunate ones did not disappoint—highly recommend this one, and i definitely will be reading tarkington’s debut, only love can break your heart. my deep thanks to @algonquin and @edtarkington for my ARC of the book. it released yesterday, so go get yourself a copy! ...more

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Dec 13, 2020 Leandra rated it it was ok

*The Fortunate Ones is most certainly a book for those who, rather than shy away from discussions of privilege and political power in today’s America, want to shine a smarting, blistering light on it.*

In the opening pages of Ed Tarkington’s forthcoming novel, The Fortunate Ones (pub. date: 5 January 2021), we meet Casualty Notification Officer Charlie Boykin as he informs a family of their lost son and soldier. We learn that Charlie’s own father died while serving in Vietnam before Charlie was b ...more

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Dec 28, 2020 Denice Barker rated it it was amazing

Much is said and written about class structure and the rightness of giving the less fortunate their chance at the good life and giving people the opportunity to make a choice. And all of that is absolutely true. But what happens when someone who was born to a single mother, goes to a school whose student body is from the same unrealized class background you are a part of, whose mother works more than one job to make a life for you and yet you don’t feel any less loved? And what happens when your ...more

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Jan 02, 2021 Betty rated it it was amazing

I was completely captivated by this book. The prologue grabbed me when Charlie Boykin, an Army soldier, is stunned to learn of the suicide of a prominent Southern senator, a senator he knew well. I immediately wondered what the connection was between the two men.

We tend to be envious of “the fortunate ones”, the ones “born with a silver spoon in their mouths”. This is a strong character study told from the perspective of an outsider who has been granted access to the elitist insiders. Thus, we ...more

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Jan 01, 2021 Andrea rated it really liked it

The Fortunate Ones was a delight to read with its dark fairytale feel, and I felt myself diving into a complex world. In the story we are provided with Tarkington’s acute understanding and keen observational insights of what it is to be human, the complex nature of family and the dysfunctional dynamics of a broken home.

This story is a character driven plot and very much a character study. The reader will follow Charlie’s life and how he grows and changes based on his new life among the wealthy a The Fortunate Ones was a delight to read with its dark fairytale feel, and I felt myself diving into a complex world. In the story we are provided with Tarkington’s acute understanding and keen observational insights of what it is to be human, the complex nature of family and the dysfunctional dynamics of a broken home.

This story is a character driven plot and very much a character study. The reader will follow Charlie’s life and how he grows and changes based on his new life among the wealthy and privileged in Belle Meade, TN. His new surroundings have seduced him along with his new friends, and as he grows up he begins to see his new world as a world of corruption and his perceptions begin to change.

This story is in so many ways is also about the past, the past that Charlie can’t let go of, and the past that shapes who the characters become as adults. It’s also about love and sacrifice as each character finds themselves sacrificing and giving up parts of their lives for Archer to make sure he finds success. I was so emotionally connected to each character, and I liked their complex relationships. It was at times heartbreaking to see how deep seated these wounds of the past and how chained to the present Charlie, Vanessa and Archer are.

The Fortunate Ones is a compulsive novel of friendship, family, sibling relationships, secrets, memories that can so often turn out to be unreliable, coming to terms with what life can throw at you, grief, loss, love and forgiveness. It is beautifully written, with rich, atmospheric vibrant descriptions and with skillful characterization and development. Tarkington has an uncanny capacity to give the reader pictures of emotional and meaningful depth of Charlie’s interior life. This is a brilliant, thought provoking, multilayered, complicated and well crafted book infused with a wisdom and realism that made it such a memorable read. If you are a fan of The Dutch House or The Great Gatsby than this book is for you!

Thank you Algonquin Books for this gifted advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review. ...more

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Dec 29, 2020 Danielle rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, book-tour, arc

"No one, however exceptional, transcends the bitter fact of his humanity. Like the man says in that old book they made us read back in senior year: 'There's always something.' And no great temple was ever built without a few bodies buried beneath its foundation."

The Fortunate Ones is the story of Charlie Boykin, who was born to a teenage single mother and grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in Nashville. When he ends up at a prestigious prep school, his life becomes intertwined with his weal ...more

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Dec 26, 2020 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars.

The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington is a riveting coming of age novel set in Nashville, TN.

Raised by his single mother, Bonnie, Charlie Boykin's father died in Vietnam before he was born. He and his mom live with his cousin in an impoverished part of Nashville. His mother works as a cocktail waitress and money is extremely tight. But his life drastically changes when Bonnie secures Charlie a scholarship to a private school. He is befriended by Archer "Arch" Creigh and Charlie is sudd 4.5 stars.

The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington is a riveting coming of age novel set in Nashville, TN.

Raised by his single mother, Bonnie, Charlie Boykin's father died in Vietnam before he was born. He and his mom live with his cousin in an impoverished part of Nashville. His mother works as a cocktail waitress and money is extremely tight. But his life drastically changes when Bonnie secures Charlie a scholarship to a private school. He is befriended by Archer "Arch" Creigh and Charlie is suddenly thrust into a world of wealth and privilege. With his future secure, will Charlie continue to enjoy the life to which he has grown accustomed?

Having never known any other life, Charlie is happy living with Bonnie and her cousin Sunny. He is best friends with Terrence Robie, who protects him from bullies. Charlie is a good student who stays out of trouble so he is surprised when Bonnie moves him to the private school. He continues living in the poor section of town while going to a posh school and hanging out with wealthy friends. But when Bonnie begins working for one of his friend's family, they move into her new boss's carriage house. Now living a very comfortable life, Charlie leaves his humble beginnings behind.

After graduation, Charlie's life takes a drastic turn and he starts a new life far away from TN. Making a name for himself as an artist, he is living with friends when Arch suddenly reappears in his life. Afterward, Charlie is drawn back into the wealthy life he ran away from ten years earlier. At first supporting Arch's rise in politics, Charlie again considers walking away once he realizes Arch's political ambition is more important than his principles.

The Fortunate Ones is an engrossing novel with an interesting storyline. Charlie is a complex man who is quite introspective once he is much older. The plot is engaging and readers will find it easy to become entangled in Charlie's world. With some unexpected twists and turns, Ed Tarkington brings this well-written and enthralling novel to a thought-provoking conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this multi-layered novel to fans of the genre. ...more

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About Ed Tarkington

Ed Tarkington

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Ed Tarkington’s debut novel ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK YOUR HEART (2016) was a ABA Indies Introduce selection (top 10 debuts of the publishing season), an Indie Next pick, a Book of the Month Club Main Selection, and a Southern Independent Booksellers Association bestseller. His second novel, THE FORTUNATE ONES, is forthcoming from Algonquin Books. A regular contributor to Chapter16.org, his articles, es ...more