The Immortalists
If you knew the date of your death, how would you live?
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3.8 • 11 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
'Once I started reading The Immortalists, I resented every moment I had to spend away from the book until I'd finished' Stylist
'A compelling and utterly absorbing read with virtuoso storytelling on display' Sunday Express
It's 1969, and holed up in a grimy tenement building in New York's Lower East Side is a travelling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the date they will die. The four Gold children, too young for what they're about to hear, sneak out to learn their fortunes.
Such prophecies could be dismissed as trickery and nonsense, yet the Golds bury theirs deep. Over the years that follow they attempt to ignore, embrace, cheat and defy the 'knowledge' given to them that day - but it will shape the course of their lives forever.
Readers love The Immortalists:
'I read this book over three days and will remember it for a lifetime' *****
'This is a book that I never wanted to finish reading. I truly enjoyed each single word of it' *****
'A book of epic proportions. . . mystical and hugely memorable . . . I can't praise it highly enough. A must read!' *****
'Deserves all the noise around it' *****
'One of those books I wish I could un-read so I could read it all over again for the first time' *****
'A perfect book club read' *****
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
You might think that a tale about magicians, monkey-experimenting scientists and fortune tellers would be farfetched but somehow this novel feels exceptionally relatable. In 1969 New York four siblings seek out a mystical woman who tells them when they will die. Burdened with the weight of this knowledge, Simon, Daniel, Varya and Klara lead wildly different lives. Chloe Benjamin’s second novel sparkles with prose that illuminates the chemistry, complex nuances and close bonds between brothers and sisters. From the first chapter this enchanting premise will have you questioning whether you believe in destiny or choice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her second novel, Benjamin (The Anatomy of Dreams) constructs an imaginative and satisfying family saga. In 1969, the four rambunctious Gold children, Simon, Klara, Daniel, and Varya, visit a psychic on Manhattan's Lower East Side who predicts the date each of them will die. The novel then follows how the siblings deal with news of their expiration dates. In the late '70s, Klara and Simon, the youngest, run off to San Francisco, where the closeted Simon becomes a dancer and Klara a magician and stage illusionist who believes she can commune with the spirits of dead relatives. In 2006, Daniel, a married army doctor based in Kingston, N.Y., learns that the psychic who foretold their fates is a con artist wanted by the FBI, and attempts to track her down. In 2010, Varya, the eldest Gold, is a longevity researcher who feels closest to the rhesus monkeys she uses for her experiments. But one day, a journalist named Luke interviews her and, in the process, changes the course of her life. The author has written a cleverly structured novel steeped in Jewish lore and the history of four decades of American life. The four Gold siblings are wonderful creations, and in Benjamin's expert hands their story becomes a moving meditation on fate, faith, and the family ties that alternately hurt and heal.
Customer Reviews
Mesmerising
So beautifully crafted, I loved the way each of the stories linked to the other. I could not put this book down and was left pondering the characters long after finishing this book!