I cried real tears over these characters!

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I enjoyed this book so much! The writing was beautiful and the story was so engaging that I didn't want to put it down. However, this isn't a book that you fly through in one night. It's best enjoyed in pieces and savoured slowly. Right from the beginning, after the siblings visit a fortune teller, we know when each character will die, or at least when they are told they will die. The headings for each section seem to confirm this is true as each character has their own section with an end date that matches up with the fortune teller's prophesy.

The first section belongs to Simon who as a teen runs away to San Fransisco where he feels he will be free to be out as a gay man and will find love. or at least lovers. As this takes place in the late 70's early 80's it's not a stretch to imagine how Simon will die. This was the absolute hardest section for me to read. It must of been so terrifying for these men to be dying in mass quantities of a disease that no one understood or had even named yet. It's horrifying and heartbreaking. Klara's and Daniel's stories were also emotional and their ends completely shocked me. At the end of Klara's section I had to put the book down and take a break because it was so surprising and sad. The manner of Daniel's end was also unexpected. The oldest sibling and the one who was prophesied to live the longest was Varya and her story is last in the book. As with her siblings her life was also quite tragic but a twist in the plot completely astonished me and her story wasn't without hope.

I cried real tears more than once for these characters and I could not have been more invested in their struggles and achievements. I was blown away by how many little threads from previous sections were picked up in the later sections and became meaningful and important. The author really is quite clever and I bow down to her ability to keep all these little details straight. Although this book focuses on the lives of the four siblings it also delves into the family's ancestors and there's a nice little historical connection that runs through to the very last chapter. I really can't recommend this book enough!