Release Date: June 4, 2015
How did a girl born in the Ukraine find love and purpose in South Africa? Miss Fortune is the autobiography by Albina Hume in which she discusses her fears, love and life’s work.
I received a copy of this autobiography from the author in exchange for my review.
Miss Fortune is the beautifully written autobiography of a woman that loves life. Instead of starting at birth, Hume starts with a personal high before going back to catalog her childhood insecurities and fear. As her story unfolds, Hume shows us a woman that is beaten but never down. Hume’s compassion, humility and perseverance in the face of incredible odds will inspire readers.
At times when a work is translated, the language becomes stilted. There are a few linguistic hiccups in Miss Fortune, but most readers would not guess that English isn’t the author’s first language. The smooth elegance of the story of Hume’s life is either a credit to the translator or Hume’s own ability to translate the language. There are some errors with the diary, like the stops and starts of the autobiography. Hume’s own wonder at the paths that her life has taken and despair that she had no one to advise her is expressed perfectly in a legitimately persona-sounding voice. Hume is the trailblazer in her family. Born behind the Iron Curtain, those that came before didn’t dream and didn’t venture out of their own space. Hume is the first to see the world and the first to make many of the mistakes she does. Hume suffers cruelty and hardship and finds herself at crossroads, and readers are with her for every awful low and giddy high.
As is the hallmark of the genre, Hume tells her story to the reader and, in the process, does a lot of after-the-fact analysis. She is in love when we meet her; many of her early motivations are about love and finding that perfect person with whom to spend her life. I understand that this is the life motivation of many women, but as a reader of the work, I can’t help but get the idea that she’s just living day to day and hoping to come out alive. Horrible things happen to her, but she keeps on looking for that life she dreamed of as a girl. When she finds that love, it’s in the person of John Hume, a rhino advocate and man 36 years her senior. I expected when starting Miss Fortune to read more about the rhino advocacy, but the way the autobiography is wrapped lead this reader to wonder if a book specifically about that subject will follow.
If you’re looking for a good read about someone who was able to beat the odds, buy Miss Fortune today. It’s a solid read with a likeable subject.
Read an excerpt and pick up Miss Fortune by Albina Hume today on:
Amazon U.S. • Amazon U.K. • Amazon Canada
For more information about Albina Hume, visit her website. You can connect with her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter @AlbinaHume.