How would you live your life if you knew when you were going to die? That’s the high-concept idea behind Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists, which opens in 1969 Brooklyn with the four Gold children, aged 7 to 13, visiting a fortune teller who gives each the exact date of his or her death. Three of the four are upset by their predictions, and each reacts differently in the following years. Simon leaves home at 16 and follows his sister to San Francisco where he can […]
A Bit Like the Last Six Minutes of Six Feet Under
I finished Chloe Benjamin’s second novel, The Immortalists, over two months ago but for various reasons (involving the end of an academic semester and a trip to China) haven’t sat down to complete my review. However, last night a chance discussion at my book club reminded me that I wanted to get my thoughts/impressions of this book on paper now rather than later. The Immortalists is our selection for later this fall, and one of our members had just gotten a copy of the novel from […]
If You Knew When You Would Die, Would It Make You Take Risks or Avoid Them?
It’s the middle of summer in 1969 New York, and the Gold children, Varya (13), Daniel (11), Klara (9) and Simon (7), are bored. As a result, it does not take much convincing to visit a fortune teller who can predict the day someone will die. Klara, already fascinated with magic, simply wants to meet someone who works in magic; the rest of the children have other motivations or are propelled along, some more interested than others, since they have nothing better to do. This […]
The Cannonballist
“And what if I change?” It seems impossible that Varya’s future is already inside her like an actress just offstage, waiting decades to leave the wings. “Then you’d be special. ‘Cause most people don’t.” In 1969 the Gold children visit a fortune teller who can let you know the exact date of your death. While the foursome don’t share their fates with one another the information they receive shapes their futures. Benjamin divides her story into parts based on whose perspective the reader is privy […]