In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Prussia. Beginning on the very day he leads his triumphant Grande Armee into Berlin through the Brandenburg Gate, Fortune traces the fates of a handful of souls whose lives briefly touch on that momentous day and then diverge across the globe.
Spanning more than a century, the novel moves from the Napoleonic Wars to South America, and from the early penal settlement of Van Diemen's Land to the cannons of the First World War, mapping the reverberations of history on ordinary people. Some lives are willed into action and others are merely endured, but all are subject to the unpredictable whims of chance. Fortune is an historical novel like no other, a perfect jewel of epic and intense brilliance.
'A thrilling tale of adventure told across centuries and continents...It made me laugh and cry and swear with astonishment. It is savage and nihilistic, wise and kind, never less than gripping, and it is over far sooner than you want it to be. And every line is marked with the author's unmistakable stylistic signature: somewhere between Roger Federer at the net and Mick Jagger's rooster strut.' Geordie Williamson, Chief Literary Critic, The Australian
Praise for Infamy:
'In Infamy Lenny Bartulin has written a rip-snorting, swashbuckling Aussie western set in the early part of the nation's history. He evokes the hardness and the grimness of colonial life, taking us through the slums and rum houses, the criminal dens and stinking penal hulks. Bartulin gives a visceral sense of the place, of the heat and isolation that bubbles up through savage drinking binges and dockland murders, whorehouses and massacres. And, via the stories of "Black Betty" and Robert Ringa, Infamy condemns Australia' s appalling history of persecuting indigenous people. Bartulin's prose is muscular and evocative and cinematic cuts between plot lines keep the action moving fast throughout. Infamy is an excellent read. It is a book that gets the blood flowing and the fist pounding, and makes you glad you don't live by a dockyard tavern in 1830s Tasmania.' SMH/Age review
'With vivid characters, deep psychological understanding and symphonic plotting, Infamy drew me in so completely that it was a shock to find out that this is a work of the imagination. Bartulin has made fiction stranger, and more compelling, than truth.' Malcolm Knox
A sweeping historical epic told from a personal perspective
While major historical events unfold, "ordinary" people keep going about their lives, experiencing joys, hardships, fateful meetings and making what will become life-changing decisions. That is the basis for Lenny Bartulin's new US release, Fortune. The novel is a sweeping historical epic, comprised of several intertwined narrative threads told from uniquely personal perspectives.
As Napoleon marches into Berlin in October 1806, we see the event through the eyes of several characters.
Johannes Meyer, aged eighteen, abandons the crowd watching the Grande Armée, to enjoy a brief tryst with a coffee house waitress. They're observed in flagrante delicto through a window by two passers-by, Marie-Henri Beyle, years prior to finding his fame as the philosopher / writer Stendhal, and seventeen-year-old Elizabeth von Hoffman. Johannes and Elizabeth briefly lock eyes, the moment passes and they move in separate directions towards their far-flung destinies.
Later that evening, Prussian Heinrich Krüger is heckled as he philosophises on the cyclical nature of time, life, knowledge and love. On the other side of Berlin, specimen collector Claus von Rolt receives an American, Wesley Lewis Jr. and his Surinamese companion, Mr. Hendrik, who are trying to dispose of a barrel of rare but rapidly deteriorating live electric eels on behalf of their employer, plantation owner Captain van der Velde. After an altercation with the three men, Johannes finds himself forcibly conscripted to the Grande Armée as a drummer. After a chance meeting, Kruger decides to accompany Lewis and Hendrik as they set out on their return journey to Paramaribo, Suriname.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth forms a romantic attachment to Général de Brigade Michel François Fourés of the Grande Armée, who is temporarily billeted at her elderly aunt's residence, and absconds with him, dreaming of a life of adventure.
From there, the characters' paths diverge, occasionally crossing or unwittingly passing by, first through western and northern Europe, then across the Atlantic to northern South America. One character finds himself in remote Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania, Australia), before a twist of fate leads him once again to meet a familiar set of eyes.
A brief final episode set in Tasmania and the trenches of World War 1 in Europe brings the story full circle.
Given that the above is only a brief overview of the cast of characters and unfolding storyline of Fortune, readers will appreciate that it takes some concentration to keep track of the various personalities and timelines, as the short chapters jump between the different perspectives. That concentration, however, is justly rewarded by a rich and complex reading experience, featuring well-developed characters, engrossing plots and exotic locations.
Lenny Bartulin's writing is lyrical and evocative, without ever becoming cumbersome or convoluted. I found myself genuinely engaged in the titular fortunes of the two central characters, Johannes and Elizabeth, as they unfold, buffeted by turns of luck, circumstance and apparently random events. The focus moves seamlessly from seemingly mundane details of day-to-day life to occasional glimpses of famous figures and notable historical events. Bartulin's considerable research into the period(s) in which his book is set is evident throughout. I was particularly delighted to find a cross-over with Adam Courtenay's modern Tasmanian classic, The Ship that Never Was: The Greatest Escape Story Of Australian Colonial History, of which I am very fond.
It has taken me some time to mull over this book before writing my review, such was the effect it had on me. I recommend it highly to all readers who enjoy historical epic, swashbuckling adventures and quality character-driven sagas.
My thanks to the author, fellow Tasmanian Lenny Bartulin, publisher Skyhorse Publishing (Arcade Publishing) and Netgalley, for the opportunity to read and review this excellent title.
Sarah, 13/03/2021
