Four young siblings visit a fortune teller who provides them with the exact dates of their deaths. How does this information affect their futures and the ways they choose to live their lives? Chloe Benjamin's profound novel provides intriguing insights into the power of knowledge, and whether too much knowledge provides control or instability. These real, deeply flawed siblings are dropped into four distinct and incredibly descriptive settings, backgrounds, and writing styles, resulting in a beautifully woven tale about life, love, guilt, and the power of knowledge.

This book can be divided into four sections which makes sense since this is about four siblings who are told the date they are going to die and therefore each section explores each one. The first and fourth ones are the strongest while the second and the third are just okay. The difference between these sections' strength depends on how obsessed the character is with the fated death day approaching. The ones that are obsessed are the weaker stories. I loved how the last one ended with SPOILER Varya not dying as opposed to her other siblings' sections always ending on their death.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this book in return for an honest review .

This book caught my interest immediately & I was eager to get to reading. It is true what they "Not every book is for everyone ." While this book was not bad, by ANY means at all, it was just not my cup of tea.
I do feel that there is a big group of readers that will enjoy this book.

On a lark, four young siblings visit a psychic to find out the date of their death. One by one, Benjamin traces how their lives play out in response to that knowledge. Some are more interesting than others (I'd be happy to read an entire book about just Klara's life) but the concept and family dynamics drew me in. I couldn't put it down.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We've all thought about what we'd do if we were told we'd die at the end of the day, or tomorrow, or the end of the week. But what if someone told you your exact date of death 20 years from now? 30 years? 50 years? 70 years? How would you consciously or subconsciously lead your life knowing that your death date has been set in stone?

The Immortalists is about 4 young siblings and their trip to a fortune teller who ends up telling them each of their dates of death. Some get to lead long lives, while others were foretold that they'd die young. We then follow each of them to see how this one stranger's predictions ended up impacting their lives.

This book has an interesting structure where we follow different characters until they die and it picks up with the next person to die up until the last one. I think Simon's story and Daniel's story utilized the decades they were in well, whereas Klara and Varya's seem like they could have existed in any decade. The first 2.5 stories did a good job capturing my attention, but the last 1.5 seemed to have petered off, particularly in the middle of the 3rd story. While the last story wraps the book up well, I think that the book didn't end as strongly as it started.

It's hard to say how much of their lives ended up being a self fulfilling prophecy, or if the fortune teller was actually omniscient. But it's clear to the reader how much the characters allowed the fortune to dictate their lives.

4.499/5 rounds to 4. 4.5s round to 5 and I couldn't do that based on how weak the third sibling's story ended up being.

This book was so excellent. I couldn’t put it down. It is a story of four siblings who encounter a fortune teller who predicts the day of each of their deaths as the consequences they face after hearing that. This book is heart breaking, moving and beautifully written. I love how it is told from four points of view and each character has a distinctive sound and character. Very well done.

This was an incredible ride of a family drama... I don't know quite what I expected, but it wasn't what I got - but not in a bad way. The story starts out with four siblings headed to a "fortune teller" in New York City - a woman rumored to be able to tell anyone who visits her the exact date of their death. That fateful trip sets their lives on individual courses that are intense, insane, and incredible - with the never-answered question being whether the prophesy drove their lives or their lives drove the prophecy...

After the opening chapter, the book divides into timeline narratives chronicling each sibling's life and experiences as they live under the knowledge of their prophesied death date. The stories can be rough - particularly the first two, for the youngest siblings. This is raw, gritty life - and death. The four sections are all well written, and the characters' voices are distinct and strong (even when the characters themselves are not), exploring the particular personality quirks and foibles that make each sibling unique and eminently human. Some of the stories resonated more strongly with me than others; this is not a particularly astute observation, I suppose, since the life that each story relates is so different, but it surprised me nevertheless to find myself skimming chunks of some stories and poring over each line in others. Benjamin's writing is lovely and poignant and delicately difficult to bear at times; she has a marvelous talent for highlighting human weakness in a way that resonates like a raw nerve. It's rough going at times, but you can't help but learn something about yourself in the process - kind of like living life...

I don't know that I could re-read this one; knowing the heartbreak facing this family (particularly their poor mother, eek...) I don't think I could keep turning pages again - but the initial read was a devastating trip I am extremely glad I took.

Four siblings in 1969 go to a witch to hear the day of their death. Some of them take their day and run towards it by doing everything recklessly. Others try and pretend it won't happen. You follow each sibling leading up to their death. Once the first sibling dies you move on to the sibling who dies next. Generations span in an instant and everything moves very quickly even though 50 years pass. I liked all the characters a lot and I definitely liked hearing each point of view. I didn't care for the ending so much, and the last sibling wasn't my favorite, but the plot was interesting and kept my attention. Definitely recommended!

What would you do if you knew when you were going to die? Would you change everything, trying to change fate? Or would those changes simply be what they were supposed to be, carrying you to the end of your days, exactly how it was predicted?

The Immortalists is a thought provoking read, pulling you into the lives of 4 siblings who learn when they will die from a local gypsy. Each part of the book focuses on each sibling, where each story is equal parts predictable and surprising. You devour this book, needing to know how it all ends. Was the prediction true? How did it shape their lives? And most importantly, when do they die?

Thank you to the Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team for a galley of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was honestly kind of disappointed with The Immortalists. I was super excited to read a book about how knowledge of death can influence life, because my favorite book of all time ever, Everything Matters! deals with this topic in a way that is so perfect and relatable it's just magic.

Not so much here, unfortunately. While there are definitely good parts to it, overall I felt it was a swing and a miss. I was expecting to read an examination of the consequences of believing in pre-destiny and it's effects on the individual lives of 4 siblings; this was more just a story of their lives and deaths, only some of which had to do with the fact that they knew their destiny. She was more successful in some stories than others. For instance, Varya's story was a direct reflection on the result of the whole "fortune," whereas Klara and Daniel's fell very flat. I didn't get a sense of who either of them were as characters and thus their actions did not make very much sense to me.

I will say that the Simon portion of the book was phenomenal. It was the first one, it was well done, relevant and it really had me excited for the rest of the book. Perhaps the book would have been better if it had been constructed a little differently. I thought the flow was kind of weird that it was completely chronological - I understand why this was done to an extent but it really just made the whole book feel disjointed and choppy. Also, the really good bits were at the end and the beginning.

Overall, I felt that the concept behind the book was interesting and it definitely had the bones of a great novel, but I just didn't feel like it was quite there yet. Concepts like fate and predestination need to be handled with care and quite frankly I didn't feel like the author had the writing chops to pull it off. This coincides with many of the reviews I read about her other book, The Anatomy of Dreams. Maybe I'm being to harsh, but I don't think Benjamin's style is right for me.

You're told that you're going to die on a specific impending date. What would you do with this information? Is it true? Is it nonsense? Do you alter the way you live to "beat" the date? All questions pondered by a group of siblings after a visit to a local seer which uncovers their fates as youngsters. It's a game and they all laugh about it until the visit is over and then they don't.

As time progresses, Simon, the youngest, picks up with Klara, the free spirit, and moves to San Fransisco in the 80s to begin the lives they feel they would be denied within the walls of the Gold family. Daniel and Varya, the more stable, level-headed of the kids, go to college and move through life as expected to proceed into the workforce with jobs of security. As the prophecies begin to evolve, the siblings question the authenticity of the word of the mystic they heard all of those years ago.

When one sibling dies, supposedly due to medical complications, the seer is not even questioned, but as all of the siblings begin to be impacted by her words, not only do they suspect the possibility of truth to her words, but others including law enforcement become skeptical of the mystic's words. The power of suggestion comes into question as each remaining family member comes closer to THE date.

Written in a format that discusses each character separately while weaving in the experiences of life with the family unique to them works well from this talented author. Nicely done.

want a book that will make you think. What wold you do? Honestly now would if you could??? Should you if you could?? Loved this novel

Is it good or bad to know the date of your death. Will it give you time to make the most of your life? Does it give you permission to keep that date? Or is it something that can destroy you? That is the question and perhaps the answer found in this book. Yes it can be a good thing to know, but it can also destroy you.

How would you live your life if you knew when you were going to die? That is the somewhat contrived premise of this book. Even without this premise however, this is a very good book about four Jewish American siblings in New York City, their fraught relationships and the choices that they make. The Gold family is comprised of the parents Saul and Gertie and their four children Varya, Daniel, Klara and Simon. One day in 1969 the children decide to go see a fortuneteller who supposedly can predict the day on which you are going to die. When Gertie finds out about this visit many years later her reaction is similar to mine "How could you believe that junk?" However the children, to one degree or another, are all affected by that prediction.

After this opening setup the book is written in four sections covering a period in the life of each of the siblings. I think that it is hardest to see how the youngest child, Simon, is affected by the prophecy. He moves to San Francisco with Klara when he is a teenager and goes to work as a dancer in a gay club. When it is apparent that he can't dance, he is sent to a ballet school. Young man on his own for the first time, predictably he has a lot of sex, just like all of his friends who were not similarly burdened by a death prophecy. Klara is the closest to Simon and is more affected by knowing the day she is supposed to die. She is a magician and mentalist and perhaps believes in magic too much.

Daniel and Varya are much more closed off and unlikeable characters than the other two. The prophecy either messes with their lives in a major way or they use the prophecy as an excuse. I was pretty much destined to hate Varya once I found out that her studies on the science of aging involved primate research, and there is one particularly painful scene at the research facility. Frankly, I wanted Varya to die at that moment.

This was an involving, well written book regardless of how much you buy into its premise and I would read more by the author.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Absolutely incredible book. I was hooked from the first page, and couldn't stop feverishly reading until the very end. The relationships in this book, not only between the characters but between the characters and the reader, are what makes this book so special. It's impossible not to fall madly, hopelessly in love with all of them, although I must admit, the eldest sister seemed to me the least likable until I read her section. You can see fate careening toward each of them, and you know you can't stop it, but you want to love them and squeeze as much time with them as you can before it comes. [Spoiler included in goodreads review and excluded here.]

A thoughtul family drama beginning with a provocative premise: "How would you live your life if you knew the date of your death."

This book started out the way that I anticipated. I was really looking forward to reading the rest of it. However, the sexually explicitly was too much for me and I did not finish the book. I appreciate being given the opportunity to review this book but I am refraining from posting this on my usually sites, as I did not finish the book and I only write for review for books that I have completed.

In 1969 four siblings visit a mystical woman who tells each one the precise date of their death. This knowledge will define each sibling's life in various ways, be it because they live their life in spite of the knowledge or because of their knowledge. It is a novel about fate and agency, about finding a place in the world, about family and selfhood, about mistakes and guilt and forgiveness.

This book's prologue was absolutely bloody brilliant. It had me engaged immediately and I could not stop reading there (I actually read it again when I finished the book - it was that great). Chloe Benjamin had me, hook, line, and sinker. I needed to know what happens to the children and how the knowledge of their death date will influence their lives.

Each section of the book then follows one of the children until the day they die; I especially found the first two sections following Simon and Klara to be brilliant and unputdownable. They move to San Francisco in search of a place for them: Simon is gay and Klara wants to become a stage magician instead of anything serious. Simon's story broke my heart, his family's rejection to its inevitable conclusion; Klara's story was equally engaging and their relationship was absolutely beautifully executed. The following two sections following Daniel and finally Varya were still great but more difficult as those two were not as easily likable as their younger siblings.

It is fitting that I read most of this book while on holiday with my sister because at its heart this novel is about siblings - and I do love stories about siblings a whole lot. Weirdly enough, I gravitated towards the younger, less responsible siblings for a change (I have talked elsewhere how I am the Bert in most of my relationships). I think this shows how brilliantly the characters were constructed and how real they felt. As such the characters and their believable interactions were the best part about this book.

First sentence: "Varya is thirteen."

4 and 1 / 2 stars

It’s 1969 in New York City. It’s a hot and boring summer, and the eldest of the four Gold children Daniel gets the idea that his siblings Varya, Klara and Simon should go with him to get their fortunes told. The woman he wants to see can even predict when they will die. They gather their allowance and go to see the woman. For years none of the siblings tell one another the dates of their supposed deaths.

Daniel and Varya are the eldest children and Klara and Simon are the youngest.

Some years later, Varya is studying biology. Daniel is studying medicine and wants to be a military doctor. Klara wants to be a famous magician. Simon is to take over the family’s garment business. However, Simon is gay in a non-tolerant family. Klara is the only family member who knows Simon’s secret. She tells Simon that they ought to go to San Francisco where she can be a magician and Simon can be himself. He begins to think over the idea.

Simon is only sixteen when he and Klara arrive in San Francisco. He begs for a job at a nightclub and lands one dancing. The owner of the club sends him to ballet school. Scared at first, Simon takes to dancing the ballet. He has found a home so it seems. He avoids calling or speaking to his family, except for Klara. He revels in being gay in the Castro District, a predominately gay area of the city.

Klara is taking temp jobs and still dreaming of being a magician. Klara’s career is struggling when she runs into Raj a former friend from when she and Simon first arrived in San Francisco. Raj becomes her business partner. Raj is very mechanical and creates the props that Klara uses in her illusions. She calls her act “The Immortalist.” The book gives an interesting brief history of magicians and their tricks. Interspersed with this is a history of the Gold family.

Klara and Raj become very close and Klara has a daughter she names Ruby. She gets so wired after a show that she begins to drink to calm down. She forgets things. She hears knocks and believes it is Simon trying to communicate with her. She has a shameful secret. Against her better judgement, Raj and Klara move to Vegas where they audition. They are hired to open for Siegfried and Roy. On opening night in Vegas Klara loses the plot.

Some years later, Daniel is suspended from his military post as doctor for two weeks. It gives him plenty of time to think. He begins to think about Simon and Klara’s deaths. Did the fortune teller really predict the dates of the four siblings’ deaths? Or did she put the idea in their minds to obsess about and alter their behavior to bring about the predicted result? He knows and understands the relationship between psychology and physiology for he has participated in placebo studies as a student intern. He begins to become driven to find the woman.

Varya now works for the Drake Institute for Research on Aging with monkeys doing primate research. She is more than a little paranoid about germs and dirt. She is afflicted with OCD. She, like Daniel, believes in the power of the human mind. She tries to make the world conform to her rational outlook. She also harbors a secret.

This book is very well written and plotted. It is filled with likeable characters and memorable situations. The idea that psychology informs physiology is not a new one. However this book brings it home in a unique and thought-provoking manner. The trip to the fortune teller was the downfall of the family and one must wonder just how much the power of suggestion plays in our lives. Were the events inevitable, or were they a product of the mind?

I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for forwarding to me a copy of this most remarkable book to read and enjoy.

I intended to just take a nibble of this novel before tucking in for the night and ended up savoring the whole book at one sitting. I knew what was going to happen but had to stick with the Golds until the bitter end. What an engrossing and entrancing story.

Daniel Gold overhears some older kids talking about visiting a fortune teller who told them the dates of their deaths. He and his three siblings gather all their allowances in a little bag and head for the Lower East Side where they hunt down the woman, who gives them what they asked for. The four Gold kids, Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon think they have pooh-poohed the idea, but they hold these dates in the back of their minds as they grow and step out on their own.

Each of the Golds is a wonderful, believable character, heading in different directions in life but still bound to each others. Their exasperation with and joy in each other is so genuine, you'll be hooked and dawn will be glowing before you can leave them behind.

"The Immortalists" is a great book club pick because there is a lot to discuss and interesting places to go with those discussions. I recommend it for anyone who wants a thoughtful, exciting, engrossing, and satisfying read.