Latest news with #OneGoodThing
Los Angeles Times
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘We Were the Lucky Ones' author revisits WWII Europe with less satisfying results
Georgia Hunter's 2017 debut novel, 'We Were the Lucky Ones,' recounted the seemingly miraculous survival of a Polish Jewish family during the Holocaust. Faithfully adapted into an excellent Hulu limited series, the panoramic tale hewed closely to the details of Hunter's own improbable family history, highlighting instances of fortitude, resourcefulness and luck. Despite occasionally pedestrian prose, the novel was a swift read that, like a memoir, drew power from its authenticity. In that respect, it was a hard act to follow. Hunter's second novel, 'One Good Thing,' shares similar settings and themes, along with a propulsive narrative. But it is a more conventional work of historical fiction, and less satisfying as a result. Its central story, about a young woman and toddler in flight through war-ravaged Italy, is an invention. Ancillary characters, such as Italian cycling champion and Resistance hero Gino Bartali, have real-life counterparts. In an author's note, Hunter suggests that Lili, her fictional protagonist,was partly inspired by her mother as well as the author herself, and that Lili's (too-good-to-be-true) love interest incorporates characteristics of Hunter's father and husband, 'two of the kindest, most loving men I know.' But the story's many twists and hair's-breadth escapes — its devolution into a Holocaust picaresque — lack the foundation of historical truth that undergirded the writer's debut effort. 'One Good Thing' arguably has one advantage over its predecessor: 'We Were the Lucky Ones' juxtaposed alternating narratives involving two parents, five siblings and various spouses and partners. The plethora of characters made for some confusion. In this new novel, the author focuses mainly on the challenges of one woman trying to find refuge in World War II Italy. The book begins as a testament to various forms of love, but especially to the bond between two Jewish best friends living in Italy: Lili and her more assertive Greek pal from university, Esti. It's December 1940, and Europe is already at war; Mussolini's government has enacted anti-Jewish racial laws, and Esti is giving birth. With her husband Niko away, only Lili is there to get her to a hospital. Theo is born at an inopportune time for Jews, whose rights are increasingly circumscribed in the country. A planned beach getaway by Lili and Esti implodes when a hotel clerk refuses to honor their reservation, a foreshadowing of far worse indignities to come. Both Niko and Esti connect with the Italian underground. Niko returns to Salonica, Greece, in an effort to help his parents, while Esti becomes a champion document forger, providing her family, Lili and others with false 'Aryan' papers that will prove crucial to their survival. In Niko's absence, she and Theo move in with Lili, and together they relocate to the town of Nonantola to help refugee children. They confront Allied bombs, German persecution, Italian collaboration and hunger. Priests and nuns are mostly helpful, but not always. Italy's allegiances — first to the Axis powers, then to the Allies — shift and fragment with the tides of war and politics. As one character notes, it's hard to keep up. As Italian Jews are being rounded up and deported by the Germans (with an assist from local fascists), the two friends find their way to Florence. Esti's skills are in demand. But when thugs invade the convent where they are hiding, Esti, trying to help another woman, suffers a near-fatal beating. Fearing another raid, she begs Lili to leave the convent — with Theo in tow. She promises to meet them in Assisi when she recovers. What is a best friend to do? A reluctant Lili assents. From the convent, she and Theo travel — by train, truck and bike, and too often on foot — from one hiding place to another, where they are helped by a series of good Samaritans, Resistance sympathizers and partisan fighters. The underground network holds. For a toddler, Theo behaves surprisingly well, and Lili eases nicely into the maternal role. After Lili and Theo reach Assisi, she receives bad news: the thugs have returned to the convent and taken her friend away. Each hardship and adventure that Lili faces bleeds into the next, with moments of respite and, occasionally, better food. Over time, she grows stronger, physically and psychologically. After a stint in the forest with partisans, Lili and Theo arrive in Rome, settling into a safe house apartment. There, Hunter, clearly a romantic at heart, provides her heroine with a potential partner: an American soldier, Thomas, whom Lili meets on the city's streets. Separated from his regiment in the fighting, Thomas was captured by the enemy but has tunneled his way out of prison. Now it is Lili's turn to provide a hiding place. The attraction simmers. 'She's never met anyone so helpful or so honest — with himself or with her,' Hunter writes. 'Someone so comfortable in his skin.' The three of them become an impromptu family. And family, as her readers know, is everything to Hunter. Even as the war tips in the Allies' favor and Rome is liberated, Lili and Theo's peregrinations aren't over. There are more reunions, including with Lili's long-absent father. There is also loss, or at least the likelihood of loss. And, finally, as for many in Hunter's own family, a rose-tinged American future. Klein is a cultural reporter and critic in Philadelphia.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Yahoo
Man arrested in 2012 killing of trans performer in New York City
A New York man was arrested Friday in the cold case killing of a trans performer 15 years after her apartment was set on fire, the Brooklyn District Attorney announced in a news statement. Henry Pacheco, 44, of Brooklyn was arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with second-degree murder, arson and other charges for the alleged killing of Lorelise Escalera Ferrer. Ferrer, 25, who went by her stage name Lorena Xtravaganza was found dead in her bed after her apartment in Brooklyn burned down, the statement said. She moved to New York City to pursue her dreams of becoming a performer and lived on the third floor of a building in the neighborhood of Bushwick. She performed with the House of Xtravaganza, which bills itself as one of the most well-known group of performances in New York City's ballroom scene. "She was a powerful force within the House of Xtravaganza, leaving an indelible impact that will be felt forever. Her light continues to shine through all who were touched by her life," House of Xtravaganza said in a statement posted to social media. Investigators said they pieced together what happened Ferrer during the pre-dawn hours of May 12, 2012, using surveillance footage and phone records. Surveillance video footage allegedly showed Pacheco entering Ferrer's building around 2:20 a.m. and leaving the building over an hour later. Minutes after he left, a camera captured what appeared to be smoke coming from the third-floor apartment, the statement said. Ferrer was found dead in her bed, although other residents escaped the fire. The Medical Examiner determined she was killed before the fire started and the fire was set on purpose, according to authorities. Phone records showed Pacheco made numerous calls to the victim before the fire, investigators found. The records show that her phone was answered after the time of death determined by the New York City Medical Examiner, indicating someone else had used the phone. Pacheco is being held without bail, the statement said, until his next appearance. "The horrific murder of Lorena Escalera, a beloved trans performer, devastated her Brooklyn neighbors and chosen LGBTQIA+ family, who continue to face the ongoing threat of hatred and violence," NYPD Commissioner Tisch said in a statement. "Let this indictment send a clear message to those living in fear for who they are: public safety does not discriminate, and every New Yorker deserves to feel safe at home." New York State police charged five people with second-degree murder Friday for allegedly abusing and killing a trans person. President Trump wants to dismantle the Department of Education. Here's what would be impacted. Doctor calls Trump's vaccine order "theater" because no schools have COVID vaccine mandates Saturday Sessions: Aloe Blacc performs "One Good Thing"
