I cannot even begin to describe how much I love this book. There is an inevitability to the fate of each of the characters, but also the sense that they are responsible for making their fates. In the end, I found this to be a sweeping and emotional examination of how we choose to live and how we choose to love.

This book is an incredible read from the first word until the last. I could not put it down, literally. The title may mislead some into thinking this might be a fantasy genre; no it's just damn good fiction. We start out in 1969 with four kids ranging in age from 4 to about 12, in New York City. Average kids, not poor, not rich, but not really middle-class. Their parents get by with a small garment and tailoring shop that's seen better times. The oldest takes them to see a woman who tells fortunes, and he's heard, will also tell you the exact date of your death. So, do you then live your life because of this information, or despite it. The characters and writing are so very good you'll be swept inside living every moment with them. You'll try and question their every decision, every move; all four of them. Exceptional read. Highly recommend.

That day in 1969, when the four Gold children went to see the psychic in their Lower East side neighborhood, their lives changed forever. Simon, Varya, Daniel and Klara all wanted to know how long they would live and the woman told them.

Soon after their father's death, Simon & Klara decided to travel across country to San Francisco. Simon was able to explore his gay tendencies and even joined a male dance troupe. Klara perfected the magic tricks she learned from an older magician and ended up as a Las Vegas performer. Daniel went off to medical school and Varya became a researcher studying longevity.

The book is divided into 4 sections, one section for each of the siblings as they approach the predicted day of their death.

The author has created a cast of memorable characters in her debut novel.

This book is SO GOOD! None of that annoying, you are waiting and are really excited about reading this one, and you want so badly and try so hard to like it, but it sadly disappoints you by being just not that great. Oh, that terrible letdown. That did not happen here with The Immortalists at all. This book is refreshing with its unique, original premise; it's something that hasn't been done a million times before. And you guys...you can't read this novel without feeling something. These are not characters that you can mindlessly gloss over while reading. You will read their stories eagerly, think about them when you're not reading, and be on edge until you find out what happens to them. Well done, Chloe Benjamin. I am a fan.

So here's what is going on in this book: In the prologue, four siblings together decide to visit a fortune teller they've heard about in their New York City neighborhood. This woman tells each of them separately the date of their deaths. There are four sections of the book, each dedicated to a sibling, so you can see how the prophecy plays out. Benjamin's writing is impressive to me--the girl knows how to stick to a theme. The strongest theme in this case being familial relationships. The siblings' stories are so separate and so different, but they are so connected.

This book took me two weeks to read. One, because we went on vacation and I could hardly hold my eyes open at the end of long days of hiking, sightseeing, and swimming in Tennessee. (So fun, y'all. Get yourselves to the mountains.) But two, because I kept stopping to research what was happening in the book. I spent hours reading about the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 80's. So fascinating...I mean, I knew that it happened but I'd never really learned anything about it. Then during Varya's part of the story, I got distracted finding out more about animal research and rhesus monkeys. I think I drove my husband crazy--my exhaustive discourse trying to discern my feelings on this topic.

If you're looking for something a little more serious, not quite light reading, something that will make you think, this is an excellent choice. I'm so glad I read this one!

The Immortalists di Chloe Benjamin è uno dei romanzi più attesi del prossimo anno e in giro iniziano a spuntare le più entusiaste recensioni.

Io ho rimandato a scrivere due righe sul libro a lungo, perché in sostanza non mi ha detto molto.

La storia inizia nel 1969, Lower East Side di New York, quando si diffonde la voce dell'arrivo di una donna che pratica una magia particolare, una viaggiatrice psichica che sostiene di poter predire a chiunque il giorno della morte.
Quattro adolescenti, Varya, Daniel, Klara e Simon, particolarmente sensibili ed evoluti interiormente, decidono di incontrarla, tra mille reticenze e dubbi (conoscere quando si morirà quanto può influenzare la vita?).

La trama li segue nei successivi cinque decenni: Simon fugge sulla costa occidentale alla ricerca dell'amore nella San Francisco degli anni ’80, la sognatrice Klara diventa una maga a Las Vegas, ossessionata dal confine tra realtà e immaginazione, Daniel cerca la sicurezza e diviene medico, sperando di poter controllare il destino, infine Varya si lancia nella ricerca della longevità, testando il confine tra scienza e immortalità.

Il romanzo ha ambizioni notevoli per quanto riguarda i contenuti ed è qui che per me ha in parte fallito.
Di assoluto interesse il tema fondante, sottile e sempre presente, tra destino e scelta, libero arbitrio e fato, realtà e illusione, nonché quanto una profezia, un timore, o comunque qualcosa che riguarda il futuro, vero o meno che sia, possa guidare o cambiare le nostre scelte.

Purtroppo l’autrice ha voluto metterci dentro mille altri argomenti, dai legami familiari, all’amore, alla discriminazione, all’AIDS, ecc. – tutti molto gettonati nella narrativa di questi ultimi tempi, ovviamente con esiti diversi a seconda degli autori –annacquando così la tematica portante e risultando un po’ artificiosa (e noiosa) nel voler per forza parlare di tutto con una serietà per nulla genuina.

Lo stile è sicuramente apprezzabile e i personaggi ben costruiti, benché Simon su tutti mi sia sembrato quasi patetico da un certo punto in poi.
Ecco, torna quel senso di esagerazione, di voler sbandierare “sto scrivendo un libro serio! tutto deve essere melodrammatico, pesante, tristissimo!” che non mi piace, perché ha il gusto di qualcosa di finto – per quanto ami anche le storie serie, cupe, deprimenti, queste devono risultare naturali e credibili.

Per questi motivi il libro non mi ha lasciato nulla ed è un peccato perché la tematica portante è eccezionale, molto interessante e se l’autrice si fosse concentrata su quella, lasciando vivere e respirare i propri personaggi, invece di renderli così rigidi e innaturali, ne sarebbe uscito qualcosa di davvero pregevole.

Almeno per me; dato che la mia voce è in assoluta minoranza, potrei essere io a non aver colto il quid in più nella storia.

In the midst of a long hot summer, four siblings hear of a fortune teller hanging around town that can tell people the exact day they will die. The siblings go see her and all find out the day they will die, some very young, others not so young. The reader then gets to follow each sibling throughout their life to see how it all transpires. Great book on relationships, and makes you wonder if fate really is real or if they made the decisions they did because they knew they'd be dying soon.

I loved 'The Immortalists'. I couldn't put it down. What if you could know the date of your death? Would you want to know? How might knowing shape the rest of your life?

'The Immortalists' has a fascinating premise, but the best thing about the book are the wonderful, flawed and complex characters. Every section of the book is from the point of view of a different sibling, and I loved each one more than the last.

I truly wonderful book. Highly recommended.

A beautiful and poignant tale about 4 siblings who venture out an old woman who can foretell when you will die. We share the turmoil of Simon, Klara, Daniel and Varya as they navigate their lives despite the burden of what they know. The writing is solid, the characters fleshed out. You will devour this novel from beginning to end. It is unflinching and transparent. It brings to light what a life entails--living and pursuing, always trying to make the most of what feels important and the value of family.

It is a fascinating idea - If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life? Clearly the moral of this story is that we are better off as we are - not knowing!

I found myself deeply involved in each of the siblings' lives as we went along, and was intrigued to ponder the question for each of them - did they bring about their own death because of the prediction or was the fortune teller correct? I was very interested in their familial relationships the dynamics of those relationships. The author left me with some very poignant thoughts on how regret & guilt impact the quality of your life.

I enjoyed the book and will recommend at the library. My one comment would be that the book may have tried to cover too many things lightly rather than concentrating on fewer things and covering them more deeply. Still - a great page turner!

A remarkable, moving, beautiful book, that asks the question, what is a life well lived? Do we have a choice in how we live our lives or is it all fate or destiny? This book will stay with me for a long time. Thanks Netgalley.

The Immortalists gripped me from the first sentence and didn't let go. Chloe Benjamin has written a gorgeous book! The Immortalists follows the lives of the four Gold children - Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon. Daniel hears rumors of a fortune teller who can predict when ypubwill die. The kids sneak out of their apartment one hot summer day and see this fortune teller. This one afternoon changes all of them, forever. How would you live your life if you knew when it would end? Would you live with heedless abandon? Would you plan every step carefully? Would you believe the prophecy was real?
Chloe Benjamin weaves big ideas about destiny, choice, and faith into a compelling, relatable, heartbreakingly beautiful story. The Immortalists is the best book I have read this year.

Developed characters, elegant and description prose, The Immortalists is a text that will stand the test of time. The issues Benjamin addresses are ones that everyday ordinary people will relate to which is why the novel works so well.

A fascinating look at what knowing (or thinking you know) the date of your death can do to you. Great premise and it kept me turning pages. I was so interested in how things concluded. Some people may find the shifts in time during each characters' section to be confusing but I had no problem following what was going on. A very enjoyable read!

This is a very smart book that explores the idea of whether we would be changed by knowing the date of our own deaths. The Gold children visit a fortune teller in the late 60s who tells each of them when they will die, and they are irrevocably scarred by the information. Their relationships are tested and shattered and rebuilt as each sibling both builds their own prison out of the knowledge and seeks freedom from it.