The Fortress, Jonathan Hillinger
The Fortress, Jonathan Hillinger
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Fortress

Author: Jonathan Hillinger

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 5 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/13/2019


Synopsis

Romania, World War II. Nelu escapes from his home and finds shelter with other homeless children in the caves beneath Bucharest's spectacular concert hall. They call it "The Fortress".

Daniel is the son of a well-to-do Jewish family living in the heart of Bucharest. On the eve of WWII, Daniel and his family are forced to flee and take refuge in those caves with the help of the children.

Daniel, Nelu, and the other homeless children, find themselves united when facing the Nazi threat. For Daniel and his family, some of the children were nothing but a concept prior to the war, but now—no race or socioeconomic differences are relevant. In this reality they are all equal, bound by the need to survive. They must deal with hunger, poverty, and the imminent threat of death.

The Nazi threat gets closer every day. Daniel and his family realize they need to flee if they want to stay alive. They all decide to escape, breaking up the group; embarking on a journey that will change so many lives.

Years later, long after the end of WWII, Lonel—a young child, finds himself alone in Bucharest. He is completely unaware that the fate of the entire group lies in his hands.


About Jonathan Hillinger

Jonathan Hillinger is the author of award-winning short stories, internationally published articles, and The Fortress. He is also known for writing historical novels in the magical realism genre. Jonathan finished his bachelor's and master's degree in biochemistry while living in Cordoba, Argentina.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jeff on April 20, 2019

The premise and blurb for the story has one thinking the story will occur in and around Bucharest during World War Two. Since I’ve read a few good stories concerning the topic, I was looking forward to an enjoyable read. Not the case. The book covers not only Bucharest before the war, but during an......more

Goodreads review by Mick on May 17, 2019

A story of friendship A heartbreaking story about a group of people, Jewish and others, that hide in a concert building in Bucharest during the second world war. Not all of them survive. Only criticism is that there's little said about hardships of the ordinary people during the war and under communis......more

Goodreads review by Johana on April 28, 2019

Love, trust and hope create a family A beautifully written book with perspicacity, insightfulness, sensitivity and beautiful imagery. Each character shines through with its inner and external challenges. It takes you from the beautiful Bucharest before WII all the way through the Ceucescu regime and h......more

Goodreads review by Carolyn on December 27, 2021

This time the story is about Romania Jews. The title is called “The Fortress” by Jonathan Hillingers. He wrote this book based on his mother’s childhood memories story. His father’s side family all were murdered in Auschwitz expect his grandfather and great grandfather have survived Auschwitz, then......more

Goodreads review by Diane on April 09, 2019

Romania/Isreal This is a wonderful story about growing up in Romania prior to and during WW11 and a subsequent escape to Israel. Daniel goes from being a rich Jew to living in the “Fortress “ (underground caves) to escaping to the countryside with the street kids who lived in the caves. He befriends......more