The Immortalists - Chloe Benjamin

A family saga: four siblings, Simon, Klara, Daniel, and Varya visit a fortune teller in their childhood who tells them the exact date of their death. We then follow them from NYC to San Francisco, to NYC and then back to San Francisco again, as they follow their own paths in life. Their connection: the date they were given which seems determine all of their choices in life.

I really wanted to love The Immortalists, and I did love parts of it. Simon is fearless, Klara is strength, Daniel is just kind of annoying, and Varya is cold. These children grow into adults and let a date dictate their lives, and it’s all pretty heartbreakingly sad. Their choices may appear random, but in reality they are all calculated. Even those who don’t really believe what the fortune teller told them, still live their lives based on this date. The characters are hampered by mental illness, addiction, or fear, and the inability to reach out and ask for help, or just to talk about it all with their siblings. That latter part made me sad… They suffer from immense loss, and still don’t reach out.

I just didn’t love it because I found that certain aspects were too contrived, and weakened what should have been an excellent plot. I found Daniel’s part to be the weakest of all, and forced. Obviously we know that some of the characters wouldn’t have made the choices they did if they hadn’t known their death date, but Daniel’s was just too contrived in my opinion. So basically a 3.5, as it was a good read in general, and because it was a good reminder to always strive to live and love.