A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Washington Post • NPR • Entertainment Weekly • Real Simple • Marie Claire • New York Public Library • LibraryReads • The Skimm • Lit Hub • Lit Reactor AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“A captivating family saga.”—The New York Times Book Review“This literary family saga is perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Donna Tartt.”—People Magazine (Book of the Week)If you knew the … captivating family saga.”—The New York Times Book Review
“This literary family saga is perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Donna Tartt.”—People Magazine (Book of the Week)
If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?
It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.
The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ’80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.
A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.
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If I hadn’t read this book during a pandemic, I’m sure I would have given it five stars, which isn’t quite fair to the author but it was a little dark. Otherwise it was beautifully written, spellbinding and a great portrait of love between siblings.
Made me smile
I read it all the way through, mostly to find out what happened to each of the siblings. But I wasn’t a fan of the basic premise (knowing in advance the exact date of your death). It wasn’t bad…it just wasn’t nearly as good as I’d hoped.
SO very original and engrossing. An excellent read by a gifted writer.
I found the plot fascinating – how a few words of a gypsy directed the lives of these four siblings. I can’t imagine myself allowing this to happen to me.but I’ve never listened to a Gypsy foretell my future.
Very interesting idea. Would you want to know the date of your death
I loved the plot it made you wonder, did the fortunes come true because they were true or did the fortunes come true because of what the characters did knowing about the fortunes?
How would we handle our lives if we knew when we would die? That’s the theme of this page turner of a book. Riveting!
Is knowledge power or is ignorance Bliss? Four siblings when they were children set out to find answers to questions that they think they want to know. Will these answers change their lives? Some had said that this is sexually offensive but I believe that it was relevant to the time period
Four young siblings, ages 13, 11, 9 and 7, see a fortune teller who tells each one independently the date of his or her death. Why a 13 year old would want to do this, and encourage his younger siblings to subject themselves to something that could have such impact, is beyond me. We know one of the siblings is told she will live a long life. Not surprising, the youngest appears most haunted with the prediction. The siblings eventually go their own ways. The book sections into four parts, one for each of the siblings, and describes how this knowledge affected their lives, and how accurate the fortune teller was in forecasting their deaths. This is a creative and thought-provoking plot and an excellent reminder of the impact that words and the power of suggestion can have.
This book was ok, but I don’t see what all the hype is about.
It was unusual, I didn’t love it, but it was not a formula book and had some unexpected turns.
This was an inventive and unique tale that I thoroughly enjoyed, primarily realistic with a dash of the paranormal/supernatural.
BOOK REVIEW
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
-DESCRIPTION-
This book is about siblings that visit a fortune teller (of sorts) who tells them the exact date each will die. It then goes on to tell each siblings journey.
-THOUGHTS-
1. So, I thought this was an amazing idea for a book. I listened to this on audiobook and didn’t love the narrator. But, I’m not sure reading it would have changed how I felt about this book.
2. While each story was different and the points of view well done. I simply didn’t care. I was sick of it.
-RATING-
I do not recommend this book.
-SIMILAR RECOMMENDED READS-
Dark Matter
All We Ever Wanted
Wilder Girls
I really enjoyed reading The Immortalists. It starts off with a great opener. The four lead characters learn the dates of their deaths. How they live their lives after they find out is the real story. Benjamin’s writing is wonderful and engaging. She gets into the minds and hearts of her characters in ways that are truly amazing. Great read!
3 of 5 stars
This is the story of 4 siblings who visit a psychic to find out the day of their death. After hearing it, they are stunned, but live their lives fulfilling the prophecy. It was sad and heartbreaking. These children never lived the lives the way they could have because they had a date in their minds. The family was torn apart.
#TheImmortalists #ChloeBenjamin
Thought provoking
Loved it!! Great characters and a wonderful story line
I really enjoyed this book. Very different, I couldn’t put it down.
It took me a bit to get into the book, but after the first 25 pages, I was pretty hooked. The characters were well developed and each of their stories were filled with twists, turns, and cliff-hangars. This book is an emotional roller coaster as well! Some moments are filled with witty humor, sadness, and shock. Definitely a good read! The only reason that I put 4/5 stars instead of 5/5 is that within each character’s story, the author tends to jump around in time slightly which confuses me as to where I am chronologically in the book.