Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 14 reviews on
Amid the chaos of World War II, and in defiance of restrictive U.S. immigration policies, Fry must procure false passports, secure visas, seek out escape routes through the Pyrenees and by sea, and make impossible decisions about who should be saved, all while under profound pressure--and in a state of irrevocable personal change.
In this dazzling work of historical fiction--one that illuminates previously unexplored elements of Fry's story, and has, since its publication, brought us new insight into his life.
Author of the book #YouAreSoNotInvitedtoMyBatMitzvah | ✍️ How to Live | https://t.co/PJilkzlNLU |📚Little Panic | https://t.co/aKOnqaXaft
So excited and proud of my friend @jorringer whose book Netflix’s ‘Transatlantic’ is based upon. Everyone must watch, and buy the book, which is called The Flight Portfolio. https://t.co/wSEp3hzkPU
#DAMANmagazine—Indonesia’s #1 men’s fashion magazine in print since 2007 || Make Your Own Style
New Netflix series “Transatlantic” is inspired by the events described in Julie Orringer’s 2019 novel “The Flight Portfolio” as well as the true story of the Emergency Rescue Committee Four New Series To Add To Your Watch List here https://t.co/ycSQbR2QEh https://t.co/vYoy5oxCeZ
Promoting the reading, writing, and publishing of books of Jewish interest https://t.co/Iy1gDKTgjb
Have you seen #transatlantic on @netflix yet? It's based on Julie Orringer's captivating #historicalfiction novel THE FLIGHT PORTFOLIO, which explores resistance efforts in WWII France. Read more on the #book here! https://t.co/0P145yg7AC @AAKnopf
"Magnificent . . . a deeply researched, almost unbearably tense, bruised-knuckle hybrid. Part real history and part love story, it's also a deeply moral work, asking tough questions about what matters most to us personally--and to the world." --The Boston Globe
"Sympathetic and prodigiously ambitious. . . . [Orringer's] Marseille breathes as a city breathes." --Cynthia Ozick, The New York Times Book Review
"Gorgeous. . . . Classic storytelling through a transgressive lens. The Flight Portfolio offers a testament to . . . the enduring transformative power of art, and love, in any form." --Entertainment Weekly
"Extraordinary. . . . Orringer has delivered a story with a splendid cast of characters and an intoxicating portrait of a time and place. . . . There's suspense and tragedy, unexpected twists and deliverance." --The Seattle Times
"Passionate and thoroughgoing. . . . [The Flight Portfolio] brings to light a truly inspiring episode in history." --The Wall Street Journal
"Varian Fry lit a small, bright lamp in a world of darkness, and in the deft hands of Julie Orringer--under the spell of her masterful prose, her feeling portraiture, her classic spy-thriller plotting, and her vivid re-creation of that beautiful and terrible world--I found the radiance of Fry's courage, flawed humanity, and steadfast resistance shedding an inexhaustible light on our own ever-darkening time." --Michael Chabon, author of Moonglow
"The novel seeks a kind of redress: restoring, to history's vast panorama, a granular sense of how life on the borderlines of fascism feels . . . Orringer's true subject, the moral peril of being alive, is a grandly timeless--and timely--one." --T Magazine
"Magnificent. . . . Brilliantly conceived, impeccably crafted, and showcasing Orringer's extraordinary gifts, this is destined to become a classic." --Publishers Weekly(starred review)
"The novel exudes atmosphere. . . . Through cinematically detailed descriptions [and] multilayered, nuanced characters both real and imagined, Orringer has breathed life into 1940 France. . . . The Flight Portfoliocompellingly juxtaposes the conflicts and tragedies of a world at war with the equally compelling inner wars of the human soul." --Pittsburg Post-Gazette
"Meticulous, bighearted, gorgeous, historical, suspenseful, everything you want a novel to be." --Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less
"Altogether satisfying. . . . An accomplished storyteller at work." --Kirkus Reviews(starred review)
"Thoughtful and absorbing. . . . Orringer is a meticulous researcher, and the novel's cloak-and-dagger thrills keep the pace lively." --BookPage
"Superb. . . . [The Flight Portfolio] will both warm and break your heart." --Business Insider