The Immortalists

This was quite an interesting story! It begins with the four Gold children in New York in the summer of 1969. The children hear of a traveling psychic who is said to be set up in their neighborhood, who can tell anyone the date when they will die. No surprise, the Golds seek out the psychic and learn the supposed dates of their deaths. After that intro, the book jumps forward several years and we learn about the lives and deaths of the Gold children over several decades. First we hear from wild child Simon, the youngest, who becomes a dancer in San Francisco. The next chunk of years are told by Clara, the dreamer who wants to be a magician. The third portion is told by Daniel, the second oldest, who became a military doctor. Lastly, is Varya, the eldest child, who becomes a scientist interested in finding the key to long life. It's very interesting to see how the psychic's prophecies affect the Gold's as they grow and mature. It was also intriguing to see the family dynamic not just with the Gold siblings, but with their mother as well. And it was quite affecting to see how the deaths of their siblings impacted the other Gold children. This really was a very interesting story. I think the synopsis is a little misleading. It makes it sound like the book is more about magical realism than it really is... There isn't much magic in the book at all (the psychic being able to tell the dates of death and possibly Clara having a little bit of real magic), but it's more about the characters journeys and relationships.

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin is a fascinating study in the nature of young people faced with the truncation of their future. Most of us go through life thinking of our life as a limitless string of experiences, but for those of us who understand our mortality, it can look very different. For the young, to know their fate ahead of time is to have great power, however it can certainly be damning, as was the case here. Benjamin's writing style is gripping and beautiful, I am very much looking forward to her next work, whenever that might be. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wonders if their life is meaningless. I also love the cover art, it was what attracted me to the work in the first place.

There was so much hype surrounding this book in the months leading up to it's release, I was both excited and wary to begin reading. I was afraid that perhaps the actual product would not live up to the hype. I was wrong. This book was everything it was promised to be and more. The author combines so many different elements to create a dazzling story that is set across several decades and manages to delve deeply into more than one character. I was so quickly drawn into the story and immediately found myself becoming emotionally invested in some of the characters-- a sign of a truly good book. If you can, I encourage you to pick this book up and be prepared not to put it down until you've read the entire thing.