3.9 - stronger first half than second; by the time Varya rolled around, I wasn’t as immersed in the story

This book takes a really interesting and multi-faceted idea about fate/free-will, but ultimately leaves little food for thought. I found a lot of the character's vices and struggles to be cliched and melodramatic. I did see it through to the end, but was often frustrated by the obvious twists the plot took, and several of them left me rolling my eyes. The characters were vivid, but ultimately left me cold. Perhaps a victim of undeserved hype.

The premise of The Immortalists is brilliant. 4 Siblings in 1969 NYC meet with an old psychic woman who tells them individually the date they will die. Then in a novel divided into four sections, one for each sibling. We see how their lives unfold and how the woman’s predictions shape and inform their futures. This book weaves together gypsies and fortune telling, illusionistic magic, and religion - specifically Judaism. It’s a novel about fate and agency, family and independence, guilt and forgiveness. Each of the siblings’ stories are very different, but I was compelled by all of them. I absolutely loved Klara’s character and the scenes where she describes her fascination with magic. One of my favorite quotes about Klara includes: "When Klara plucks a coin from inside someone's ear or turns a ball into a lemon, she hopes not to deceive but to impart a different kind of knowledge, an expanded sense of possibility. The point is not to negate reality but to peel back its scrim, revealing reality's peculiarities and contradictions. The very best magic tricks, the kind Klara wants to perform, do not subtract from reality. They add.” Her musings on magic and perception are fascinating and connect with the larger themes of death and belief in something more than this world. The character I connected with the least was Varya, but I even found parts of her story interesting. Benjamin’s prose is beautifully, compelling and draws the reader in effortlessly, and I highly recommend this book.

This is a transcription of my video review which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXNmu93W4as

The Immortalists starts with an intriguing premise, "how would you live your life if you knew when you were going to die?" It then follows four siblings with four incredibly different reactions to the fact. The book lumbered along with some sections feeling like they were in need of being edited down. It was interesting to follow the reactions, but the book couldn't bring any strong reactions from me, positive or negative.

I love the way the author crafted this book. It takes place over one lifetime but told through the perspectives of each sibling in turn, giving time to hear each characters voice.

I heard so much about this book before I had a chance to read it so I had an enormous wish to lay my eyes on this text. In the end, I wasn't disappointed but I also wasn't thrilled with it. The story is enchanting, there is some magic in it, I must say that, but I was still missing that feeling to be completely taken by it. In the end, that's my only regret, maybe another reading will give me that magic I was missing the first time, who knows?!

Not exactly what I was expecting, but a pretty interesting read. The format was different with each section following one of four siblings to their deaths in chronological order. The reader only finds out about each sibling during their section and only learns what the current character would know about the others. So if two people aren't talking, we don't learn anything about what is going on with "Sibling B".

The book also outlined and followed medical and psychological developments over the past 40 years or so, but did it so subtly and so well that I did not realize that is what happened until a doctor in my discussion group pointed it out.

A lot of good, historical insight without being preachy. Not what I would consider a "page turner", but definitely worth a read.

This book was unique and interesting and definitely kept me riveted throughout. The premise was so different. Four siblings see a fortune teller as children who tells them at what age they will die. The siblings know only their own fortune and the reader know very little of the predictions. The rest of the book shows how this information affects each sibling differently and changes how they see themselves and each other.

I loved this unusual idea and the book was well executed. I look forward to seeing what Chloe Benjamin writes next. She is certainly a rising star in the literary fiction world.

I had my book club read this and almost everyone loved it. I however, just couldn't get into it. Maybe it just wasn't the right time for this read in my life. DNF

The Immortalists is marketed as a contemporary and fantasy novel, but I see it more as a mixture of historical fiction, magical realism and literary fiction. At its core, it tells the tale of four siblings and their lives intertwined in magic and family.

The story has an introspective quality to it and you really get to delve deep into each of the sibling’s minds and get to know them as individuals. Additionally, I felt like the magic aspect was subtle which is what made it seem more like magical realism. Was it really magic or was it all just a series of coincidences? The story also follows a Jewish family through the 1980s, there’s discussions on being gay and Jewish, being disconnected with your religion as you grow older so it was interesting to read about. The sibling’s Jewish heritage didn’t overtake the novel, but it was always present which I think fit the story very well.

The Immortalists is told in four perspectives and you get a taste of each of the sibling’s stories. Though some of the characters were less interesting than others, each of them were complex in their own right. Additionally, it was interesting to see real life events being woven into each of the character’s lives. Events such as the AIDs crisis during the 1980s, 9/11, etc. There’s interracial relationships, LGBTQ+ relationships and characters with no romantic relationships at all.

In general, The Immortalists focuses on themes of mortality. Would you be able to defy death itself or just accept it when it comes towards you? Though I think what makes the story so memorable is the familial bond between the siblings. Even when they were apart, it was like there were invisible strings pulling them together. Overall, The Immortalists was compelling, to say the least. I don’t think I’ve read a book that explores science, mortality, magic and family all at once. If you’re a fan of The Raven Cycle By Maggie Stiefvater or They Both Die At The End By Adam Silvera, I would definitely recommend it for you.

Rating: 3.5/5

Beautiful, magical realism-adjacent novel. The writing was gorgeous and the 4 siblings were perfectly realized characters.

It’s a deep look at life from perspectives I never thought of. I enjoyed the book and the exploration and insights it provided. Seeing the siblings in their own stories added to better understanding of the dynamics for my own family.

I absolutely loved this book for the first two thirds. But by the end I found myself ready for it to be over. It was almost like too much at that point. My favorite part was in San Francisco although I cried for hours after.

compelling original family saga with whip smart concept and emotionally complex characters and original plot

Fabulous writing, captivating storyline.......but left me horribly depressed. I know I was in the wrong mindspace for this book, but it didn't prevent me from appreciating Benjamin's writing talent. However, an entire book about dying and thinking about dying and a tiny segment about animal testing just let me depleted and down. Highly recommended for those what are in an upbeat and non-existential-crisis phase of life.

Three siblings decide to use their allowances to consult a "fortune teller" to find out the date of their deaths. Two are told that they will die young; one will have a very long life. This book follows the three and it really raises the question of what you yourself would do if you knew when you were going to die. Each character is fully drawn with careful insight and you feel close to them; it's a terrific book and one of our book groups selected it for the end of the year read.

The Immortalists has me a bit torn. The story is beautiful and haunting at the same time, but I simply didn't expect the type of story that I got from the synopsis I read. The story focuses more on the lives of the siblings than the ticking time bomb in the room. I did enjoy it, but it's certainly not a book one flies through with unbridled anticipation. I would say it's a 3-3.5 out of 5 stars for me.

If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?

So asks the tagline of Chloe Benjamin's novel The Immortalists. Simon, Klara, Varya, and Daniel are just children in 1969 when they learn of a fortune teller who can give a person the day they will die. The curious thing about knowledge is that you can't unknow something you wish you didn't know. And yet no one can avoid the end of their life no matter how near or far it might be. Simon runs to the opposite side of the country in search of a better life, or to at least live the one he has a full speed while he can. Klara is determined to pursue her dreams regardless of their feasibility. Daniel tries to forget what he knows, but denial can only last so long, and Varya makes her life's work about prolonging life itself.

Filled with complicated characters that make decisions for very complicated reasons, I found this book interesting and compelling, but I really wanted to like it more than I did. It was an excellent concept, but the execution (no pun intended, really) didn't quite achieve what I think the author intended. I was often frustrated with the actions of the characters. Certainly no character ever behaves in exactly the way every reader would like, but their behaviors were so determined toward self-fulfilling prophecy that I wanted to scream at them, and not in that satisfying, "these characters are crazy but I still love them" kind of way. Only one of the deaths we see am I able to view with understanding and compassion. The others just made me angry.

And yet, I couldn't put the book down. I am sure that says more than my final opinion of the book. Or if not more, certainly quite a lot. Maybe you will enjoy it more than I did.

Oh! And before I forget, there was quite a lot of what I found to be unnecessary graphic descriptions of intimacy. I am always going to be a "fade to black" kind of girl. I just find that more romantic and I never like to read anything explicit and when I encountered that in this book I almost didn't continue reading. I only finished because it was for an online book club with which I haven't been the best about reading. Luckily it was a short-lived section that didn't repeat further in the book, but I feel obligated to put that warning out to you.

The Immortalists has been on many must-read lists this year and I was absolutely engrossed in this incredible book, told from four sibling’s perspectives.

The premise of this book is that the four children visit a fortune-teller who is able to tell them the exact date of their death. Each sibling keeps this information a secret from one another and the story explores how knowing when you will die (young or old) impacts your decision-making. Do you engage in risky behaviors because you know you know when you will die anyway? How does knowing your final date shape your own patterns of behavior?

The book is broken into four sections following each of their lives and how they live them with this forecasted information. Each of the characters was so well-written that I found myself escaping into each story easily.

I, honestly, couldn’t put this one down. I highly recommend it for yourself or to share with your book club!

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the initial chapter setting up the premise of the "cursed siblings" but found that I enjoyed some of their stories more than others. And there were a few things that just felt a little off to me, like the author's insistence on introducing 13 year old Varya with "the dark patch of fur between her legs" and swiftly moving on to the next chapter being all about a random hook-up...it just seemed really forced and unnecessary to me.