I don't normally go for literary fiction, but the premise of this book greatly intrigued me, and the prologue grabbed me immediately (which is impressive—as a rule, I hate prologues). Looking ahead, I was also hooked by the fact that, except for the last one, each sibling's section of the book ended in the year that they were supposedly meant to die. I was very keen to find out if they would die on the predicted days, and if so, how these deaths would happen.
This book is a fascinating examination of self-fulfilling prophecies: fascinating because self-fulfilling prophecies are wholly rational, despite the mystical source of these particular prophesies—but there is also an aspect of extreme precision that makes you wonder if there isn't some magic involved. Klara's section seemed especially significant, due to her own passion for magic and the hints that her tricks and experiences were not always fully rational, either.
Because the siblings drifted so far apart so early in the book, it was hard to connect with some of them during other's sections—but this makes sense, because the siblings themselves seem to barely know each other. However, by the end of each character's section, I always cared about them immensely, enough that my heart suffered multiple fractures throughout this book. The final section, Varya's, was especially moving, and left me feeling both hurt and hopeful.
This book is a fascinating examination of self-fulfilling prophecies: fascinating because self-fulfilling prophecies are wholly rational, despite the mystical source of these particular prophesies—but there is also an aspect of extreme precision that makes you wonder if there isn't some magic involved. Klara's section seemed especially significant, due to her own passion for magic and the hints that her tricks and experiences were not always fully rational, either.
Because the siblings drifted so far apart so early in the book, it was hard to connect with some of them during other's sections—but this makes sense, because the siblings themselves seem to barely know each other. However, by the end of each character's section, I always cared about them immensely, enough that my heart suffered multiple fractures throughout this book. The final section, Varya's, was especially moving, and left me feeling both hurt and hopeful.