If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?
“If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?”
Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists tells the story of four siblings who visit a woman on Hester Street during their impressionable youth to learn of the day they are going to die. Although they are young, this visit sets into motion the rest of their lives. Each sibling took a different approach based on their fortunes: Simon, the youngest, escapes to San Francisco with his sister, determined to live his life to the fullest; Klara, dreamy and introspective, pursues her dreams of being a magician and eventually ends up in Las Vegas; Daniel becomes an army doctor and aims to live a safe life to avoid his ultimate fate; and Varya becomes obsessed with longevity research in pursuit of extending her life as long as possible.
The characters themselves were not my favorite. They were selfish, and as a result, they became estranged from each other as they grew into adulthood. Each became obsessed with their respective “date” to the point of putting that above all else – even their own siblings. It soon becomes clear that Simon, Klara, Daniel, and Varya each have their own set of issues (which are explored in their separate sections), and how they deal with those issues – and their ultimate fates – says a lot about their characters.
Even though the characters themselves weren’t always the greatest and the plot wasn’t always developed to its fullest potential, I did really enjoy The Immortalists: not only does it tackle ideas of living versus being alive, but it also explores the boundaries between predestined fate and the choices we make, between reality and illusion, between the living and the dead.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group PUTNAM for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.
Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists tells the story of four siblings who visit a woman on Hester Street during their impressionable youth to learn of the day they are going to die. Although they are young, this visit sets into motion the rest of their lives. Each sibling took a different approach based on their fortunes: Simon, the youngest, escapes to San Francisco with his sister, determined to live his life to the fullest; Klara, dreamy and introspective, pursues her dreams of being a magician and eventually ends up in Las Vegas; Daniel becomes an army doctor and aims to live a safe life to avoid his ultimate fate; and Varya becomes obsessed with longevity research in pursuit of extending her life as long as possible.
The characters themselves were not my favorite. They were selfish, and as a result, they became estranged from each other as they grew into adulthood. Each became obsessed with their respective “date” to the point of putting that above all else – even their own siblings. It soon becomes clear that Simon, Klara, Daniel, and Varya each have their own set of issues (which are explored in their separate sections), and how they deal with those issues – and their ultimate fates – says a lot about their characters.
Even though the characters themselves weren’t always the greatest and the plot wasn’t always developed to its fullest potential, I did really enjoy The Immortalists: not only does it tackle ideas of living versus being alive, but it also explores the boundaries between predestined fate and the choices we make, between reality and illusion, between the living and the dead.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group PUTNAM for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.