"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 wealthy classmates', changing him forever. Arch is the charismatic popular kid who adopts Charlie as his little brother, Jamie is the fuck up who Charlie takes care of and Vanessa, Jamie's twin sister and Arch's girlfriend, is the one Charlie wishes was his. They are the titular "fortunate ones" but as they all come to learn, buried bodies always find a way to reveal themselves.

I could not put this book down. Like one of the classics from Fitzgerald or Hemingway, it's a story of wealth and privilege, of friendship and love, of the fall of heroes and the loss of innocence. Tarkington has created a brilliant cast of flawed and believable characters and his examination of Southern tradition, society and politics provides a juicy look at how the old boys network gets things done. The Fortunate Ones is truly a character study - there's not a lot of action - but Charlie and his friends are well worth your time.

4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Algonquin Books and the author for an advanced copy to review.

Charlie, the main character, is so completely self absorbed that it ruins this book. Not that he is the only unlikeable character, by any means, but since this novel is focused on his life, from childhood through adulthood, there is no way to avoid his immaturity and selfishness. The novel was very well written but I was also pretty disgusted by the Mysognostic , racist and classist beliefs and traditions embodied by many of the characters.

THE FORTUNATE ONES is a sweeping and charismatic novel that follows Charlie Boykin over the course of several decades. Both a campus novel and an outsider story reminiscent of THE GREAT GATSBY, this is a sure winner for fans of literary and book club fiction.

The pacing is strong and the characters are well-drawn. You'll be swept up in the story of working class Nashville and its clashes with the privileged elite. Along the way, Charlie learns valuable life lessons.

An entertaining and ultimately satisfying read.

I honestly wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. But I really did. Its a southern story that spans over 20 years. Ed Tarkington writes in a way that just sucks you in and leaves you wanting more.
I don't want to give too much away until its released!

The Fortunate Ones is an engrossing story that grabs you right from the first page and doesn't let go. It is a story about the working class and the elite and how decisions made can change a person. The want and seduction of what a person might think are the "finer" things in life doesn't always have a good outcome, especially when politics and corruption are at play.

This was a very thought provoking book that makes for a good discussion.

I read this book because I live in Nashville and am a sucker for feeling like I know the details of a story's setting. I LOVE this book because Ed Tarkington captured an entire lifetime with rich detail, empathetic heart, and sparingly few words. Set largely in the 60s-80s, skirting - then later centering - politics, readers are also reminded that it's always been a seedy game, and our past has informed our present. Heart searing family relationships and an honest depiction of class differences will have me recommending this to everyone - regardless of home town.

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.

The Fortunate Ones
by Ed Tarkington
Algonquin Books
You Like Them
General Fiction (Adult)
Pub Date 05 Jan 2021 | Archive Date 02 Feb 2021

I really liked this book. I haven't read Ed Tarkington before and found the writing very satisfying. Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

3 stars

I always love it when I put a book down I've just finished and think, "Wow". This is a very well written story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We follow the life of Charlie, beginning with his high school years when he is invited on scholarship to an exclusive private school in Nashville. He befriends Arch and the Haltom family and learns what life looks like on the inside for the wealthy and privileged. His relationships with Arch and Vanessa Haltom in particular define his life and change his trajectory several times as he learns what loyalty truly means and when one should stand up for themselves. I just never wanted to put this book down. If I had one complaint, it would be that I felt it too short - there were definitely places I felt could have benefitted from further fleshing out. Definitely recommended. 4.5 stars.

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 public harken so deeply to our current climate that it brought chills. Blind devotion is a dangerous tonic and this book swirls it around like whiskey in a sniffer.

This book asks the reader who the fortunate ones are... the heirs of wealth or the people accepted in their circles? Or is the people who are pulled into that ring that see the ugliness behind it and escape?

This book is about a boy learning what it means to move been socio-economic classes. Set in Nashville, there is a Southern twist on the coming of age story and you see racial tension at play as well. It paints a picture of the darkness that can linger behind a well-off facade. Overall, I thought it was an interesting story from a different perspective (i.e. not set in Connecticut) but mostly a story I've seen before.

Charlie and his mom live on the other side of the tracks but with his mom's connections he is accepted into a posh private school and given a mentor family to boot. Charlie is befriended by a charismatic boy, Archer, who is sort of an adopted son to the mentor family and also includes a boy Charlie's age and a girl he falls hard for who is already dating Arch. It is safe to say that Charlie gets a lot out of being included in this privileged existence but certain events happen to make them less attractive. He runs away from his mom and the old money family to pursue his art out of the country. When he returns home much later he looks at his friend Arch, who has now been given everything Charlie thought he wanted and he comes to a decision about how much of his own life, friendship and soul he is willing to risk.
A classic southern coming of age and angst among the classes story. Ed Tarkington picks up the baton of what has been Pat Conroy's domain without missing a beat. Readers of deep rooted family secrets, class struggle and friendship stories will enjoy this new addition. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

"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.

I don't have an explanation for our fascination with how the rich are different and why we enjoy reading about them, but I did like this book and the characters. It's no Great Gatsby, but there is a superficial resemblance. It is engaging and fun to think about when I drive through Belle Meade and wonder about the people living in those houses.

Nashville's explosive growth and gentrification is also part of the story, and I personally found the characters on the wrong side of the tracks to be just as well-written and even more interesting. Because this story has a basis in the reality of Nashville as I know it, I find it believable and honest. There are race and class issues, but it is not an angry story. Good beach or quarantine read.

I wanted to read The Fortunate Ones because A. I love southern authors and B. I lived in Nashville for many years. Overall I thought the book was good, the writing excellent, the setting, of course, great, the plot...not the most original.
But I had a hard time with two things. A. Charlie’s reactions to two major events in his life and the extremely over the top way he chose to handle both, and why weren’t we given a more detailed reason behind what Arch did? The way it’s written is very ambiguous. I can’t be more specific without giving away plot details.

Charlie lives with his mother and aunt in a poorer section of Nashville. When his mother says she can get him into a prestigious private school he leaps at the chance. From the first day he is befriended by golden boy Arch and his friends, twins Jamie and Vanessa. Charlie is soon ensconced in their lives, totally immersing himself in the culture of Belle Meade and the ultra rich. Her mom soon becomes the PA to Jamie and Vanessa’s mom and they completely forget about their old lives. But as Charlie soon discovers having everything does. not mean not having problems.

This seemed like a story that has been told too many times: poor boy, through no effort of his own, finds himself in the world of the rich and privileged. Their lives carry on, and he lives on the outside looking in. The story tries to take unexpected turns, but it fell flat. The observations made by the main character as he basically lived others' lives just did not hold any real truths. This story has been told often and better.

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 by privilege. How his friendships change over time. How our perceptions change as we get older. How the rich are regarded as "better", though they are just better at covering "flaws".

I liked this book. The story was not all that original, but the characters are well-written and worm their way into your consciousness. I kept reading because I was interested in what happened to them. The City of Nashville is also a prominent character in the book. I enjoyed getting to know the city through this novel. I recommend this book to book clubs, because I think it will lead to an interesting discussion about the characters and the choices they make. I liked the author's writing style very much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Reminiscent of Pat Conroy’s writing, Tarkington captures the inherent tension between those who live in wealth and those who are touched by those people. Fast-moving and very real story of a young man who is “taken on” by Tennesseans beginning in his teen years. The tensions of love and loyalty are played out perfectly. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

I really enjoyed this story of Nashville and her Golden Sons. Affluent Belle Meade meets hard scramble East Nashville. Can friendship overcome these differences.
Wonderful campus novel. Highly recommend

I read the preview review of this book describing the writing as similar to a young Pat Conroy. Intrigued as I have read all of Pat's books., I immediately requested it. A book of privileged families, relationships and the times of the 60's to the present. How consequences lead to actions that are not always the wise ones. Will recommend especially to my friends who like southern fiction.