The Flight Portfolio

By: Julie Orringer

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

The long-awaited new work from the best-selling author of The Invisible Bridge takes us back to occupied Europe in this gripping historical novel based on the true story of Varian Fry's extraordinary attempt to save the work, and the lives, of Jewish artists fleeing the Holocaust

In 1940, Varian Fry - a Harvard-educated American journalist - traveled to Marseille carrying $3,000 and a list of imperiled artists and writers he hoped to rescue within a few weeks. Instead, he ended up staying in France for 13 months, working under the veil of a legitimate relief organization to procure false documents, amass emergency funds, and set up an underground railroad that led over the Pyrenees, into Spain, and finally to Lisbon, where the refugees embarked for safer ports. Among his many clients were Hannah Arendt, Franz Werfel, Andre Breton, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, and Marc Chagall.

The Flight Portfolio opens at the Chagalls' ancient stone house in Gordes, France, as the novel's hero desperately tries to persuade them of the barbarism and tragedy descending on Europe. Masterfully crafted, exquisitely written, impossible to pause, this is historical fiction of the very first order, and resounding confirmation of Orringer's gifts as a novelist.

©2019 Julia Orringer (P)2019 Recorded Books

Somewhat monotonous.

So disappointed - after her wonderful book Invisible Bridge. The relationship between the men too cloying.

A wonderful book

A powerful story on so many levels and written so beautifully! The narrator is superb.

Riveting and Powerful

Wonderful storytelling! Beautifully read. Julie Orringer exquisitely captures this period of history as well as the intricacies and nuances of gay romances in this time period. Very moving.

The Flight Portfolio: Worth Reading

The Flight Portfolio is based on a true story beginning with the main character, Tom Frye , trying unsuccessfully to convince Marc Chagall to leave France as Hitler was already incarcerating Jews. The novel is filled with famous writers along with fictional ones that only enhances the plot. This is both a historical novel as well as a complicated love story. I found the narrator to be excellent which is often the best part of a great Audible book!

Long winded

The story itself (about getting famous artists out of Vichy, France at the beginning of WWII) was interesting and kept me listening—but the author indulged in the cardinal sin of verbosity. It would have benefited from another round of edits. I almost gave up at several points along the way but am mostly glad I stuck with it to find out what happened in the end. Narrator did a good if not perfect job with multiple languages

Wordy and overwrought

I am drawn to stories of WWII and the Nazi and Axis atrocities towards Jews and undesirables. It was a time of incomprehensible inhumanity. The basis of this story is a good one but the extreme focus on Mr. Fry and his homosexual romance took away from the plot, not to mention Mr. Fry’s character whining about his lover. Also too long. I haven’t read any of the author’s prior works and chose it because of the description on Audible of the aforementioned interest I have in Holocaust subject matter but this book’s main attention was given to the romance between Grant and Fry. Not what I wanted.

Fiction that takes license with history

I did not finish the book because I found the diversion to a homosexual relationship between Fry and Grant somewhat offensive. Fry did a lot of work to help the escape of the cream of Jewish intellectuals and artists from the clutch of the Nazis. We should be grateful for that.

I would rate Unabridged version higher

I do recommend the book, if you’re holy committed to WWII stories. I have not researched the book to find out how true it is, only looked at a few headlines. The flight portfolio is indeed a focus of the book, but the main plot is a wrenching love story between two interesting characters. I do pretty much always finish a book, and this one was no exception. Even when it went overly long, I was in it for the prose. Funny thing is that when it was all said and done, I stayed for the characters. The author got me so committed to them, that I simply had to find out what happened. I was rewarded with a plot twist, however it was quite easy to see how that would turn out. If I could give half stars, this would be a 3.5 out of five. I give for when it’s a full throated recommendation, and rarely come across a 4.5 or a five.

A stunning, mesmerizing experience to listen to.

I found Julie Orringer’s story of Varian Fry fascinating, mesmerizing and tragic. Listening on audible allowed me to rewind and absorb the beautiful language and sink into the experience again. Edoardo Ballerini’s voice disappeared into countless people seamlessly. A masterful retelling of Varian Fry’s accomplishments to save lives during the chaos of WWII.

Excellent audible book

This was a superbly done story revolving around pre wwII France & the race to save people from the oncoming events that Hitlers rise brought to power brought to bear.
Narrator is top notch & brings the characters to life.