“An unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates
The essence of art is transcendent in nature. A single piece of art can mean many things. In Ellen Umansky’s debut novel, The Fortunate Ones, art embodies love, loss, and friendship. The story centers around a missing painting and how it has brought two women, Rose Zimmer and Lizzie Goldstein, together.
As the story moves from Nazi-occupied Vienna to modern-day Los Angeles, we find both Rose and Lizzie struggling with events from their past. Thinking that the painting will reconcile their past with their present lives, they desperately try to locate it. In the end, both Rose and Lizzie discover that inner peace requires acceptance.
Umansky’s The Fortunate Ones is a multi-faceted and beautifully crafted story of how experiences don’t necessarily define a life, rather life’s beauty is found within ones self.
Rating 3.5/4
