Chloe Benjamin

If you were told the date of your death, how would it shape your present? It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold childrenfour adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness sneak out to hear their fortunes. Their prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in '80s San Francisco ; dreamy Klara becomes a Los Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy ; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11, hoping to control fate ; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.

The Immortalists

Natalie Unsinn 

Daniel could not understand why they didn’t feel what he had: the regret of separation, and the bliss of being returned. He waited. After all what could he say? 

 But as the years passed and they did not, he became wounded and despairing, then bitter.

It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children -- four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness -- sneak out to hear their fortunes. Their prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in '80s San Francisco. Dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy. Eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11, hoping to control fate. Bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality. The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.

Danie Swick

Ryan Mateyk

I did enjoy this, don't get me wrong, but my mind is clouded by The Great Believers and I feel like I will now and forever compare everything I ever read to that book. Anyways, I liked the variety of characters we got here though some of their motivations were.. questionable. Varya's story was definitely a highlight here for me - so stick around til the end for sure!

Liyah 🤎

Hauntingly beautiful with lots to learn about Jewish culture. A poignant well written family story. Loved it.

I thought this would read like more of a generational story and it actually just read poorly! I didn’t think novels were allowed to be double spaced and after reading this I know I was right to hope. Nothing interesting happens, this weird, abusive cop kept popping up, everyone was so bland and the present tense did nothing to alleviate the nothingness of the story. Great intro if I’m being honest, cool idea, very poor execution. Varya’s story was the best and held some (SOME) emotion.

Eli Alvah Huckabee

The instant New York Times bestseller and celebrated family love story heralded as "perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Donna Tartt" (People). If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life? It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children--four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness--sneak out to hear their fortunes. The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in '80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel struggles to maintain security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality. Both a dazzling family love story and a sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.

azliana aziz

i was expecting that the immortalists would be a moving, big sprawling story about four siblings bonded by the prophecies of their own deaths. i sort of got it all but it was SO underwhelming overall.

it's actually a curious thing with this one as i'm still mostly in the idk camp---
'the what the hell did not work for me with this one when others seems to love it so much.'
because the premise and everything (dysfunctional family dynamics! distanced sisters! second gen immigrants!) just brimmed with choke full of potentials and so right up my alley i wanted to really love it so much!!

let's just get it out of the way on why(s) this book was just okay for me.

1. i don't feel the interconnectedness between all the four main characters, which is disappointingly the main big sore point. i have read far better stories from books that employ multi-narrative structure with so much aplomb. and some of those books don't necessarily have the characters to be bonded by familial relationship but they still managed to be congruous and seamless in telling their stories. which i failed to read in here.

2. chloe benjamin can write. sure. but her language just devoid of opulence which in my humble opinion could save the book a bit at least as some of us (me!) are partial to gorgeous and vivid writing style which was sorely lacking here. there was some good prose here and there but it's just not enough.

3. like i mentioned before, i can't quite gauge my exact final feeling after i was finished. sort of felt it was unfinished and the whole experience was so jarring. like benjamin had this amazing idea but could be that she hastened things up too much, too fast or she got caught up with all the MANY themes she tried to pushed into this whole story.
it's like when you try to cook tom yam and you ended up throwing everything into it but then you forgot the basic but very important thing, the flavor--- the salt and the sweet.
you still can eat it but will you remember it or turn to it over and over again after the first taste?



OR probably just the damning case of high expectation / it's not you it's me thing.
ah well.

Lara Engle

The Immortalists is a sad, yet sweet family tale that examines questions of fate, choice, family, loneliness, and whether it is better to live fast or live long. It will make you think.

The New York Times Top Ten Bestseller 'A boundlessly moving inquisition into mortality, grief and passion' Observer 'Immersive and impressive' The Sunday Times 'You wonder if here is a writer who is truly capable of anything' Daily Mail 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.

momo-reads

The story of four siblings, told one after another; each sibling is less likable and believable than the previous one.  Made it to sibling 4 before giving up and skipping to the last chapter to see if there is redemption in the end.  There isn't.

Lynn

This book follows the story of four estranged siblings throughout a portion of each of their lives. Although the storyline and narrative ensure an interesting plot, I lacked connection to the characters. Due to the distant nature of their familial relationships, the moment you really get to know a character, their story ends and you move on to the next. But chapeau to the writer for taking on big and touchy subjects like loss, religion and family dynamics.

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Washington Post • NPR • Entertainment Weekly • Real Simple • Marie Claire • New York Public Library • LibraryReads • The Skimm • Lit Hub • Lit Reactor AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A captivating family saga.”—The New York Times Book Review “This literary family saga is perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Donna Tartt.”—People Magazine (Book of the Week) If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life? It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes. The prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in '80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality. A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.

Gillian Rose

Possibly more of 3.75 stars.

I liked it, but there were some parts that went on overkill or I figured would happen. And I was upset by how the book was structured because of what it meant for the characters even though I wound up finding everyone more interesting than I expected to. I don't know, this book was weird.

Meghan Navoy

Shawna Delellis

** spoiler alert **
           The first half of the book had me hooked, I loved Simon and Klara and their stories. Daniels story bored me a little but I think that was the point, to show how different they lived. Varya’s story was a good ending. I liked the lessons she learned and that she had time to fix her mistakes and start living. 

I would not want to know my death date, but even if I did I would live how ever long I had to the fullest.

Ana Paula

I felt the book lacked in some ways; not connecting with the characters was maybe the biggest issue I had, in many ways it was so predictable...maybe too much. The ending didn´t really do it for me either. 
The only reason it gets 2 stars and not one, is because of the growth "secondary" characters had; I loved the glimpses of their mom, ex-partners and other people they had come across during their lives; those were, to me, the best part of the entire book.

Siya S

A bunch of selfish people trying to defy the gravitational pull of some Gypsy's prophecies. Every main characters are so entitled it made me cringe. And I sided with Raj everytime he spoke of whatever things critically. Like that about the Gold's melancholia over family drama, and, ahem, about post-9/11 politics. I'm a non-American, after all. 

I like this book, however. The flow of the story feels natural enough. And also I'm such a sucker for a family saga, so there's that.

Kada biste znali točan datum svoje smrti, kako biste proživjeli život? Godina je 1969. New York. Susjedstvom se proširi glas o vidovnjakinji koja svakom može proreći točan datum smrti. Četvero djece obitelji Gold iskrade se da čuje svoje sudbine - ono za što nisu spremni, ono što će odrediti desetljeća koja slijede. Simon, najmlađi sin i obiteljski mezimac, slobodu i ljubav potražit će u San Franciscu osamdesetih, umjetnička duša Klara postat će opsjednuta ispipavanjem granica stvarnosti i fantazije, pouzdani Daniel sigurnost će potražiti u pozivu vojnog liječnika, dok će se odgovorna Varya posvetiti potrazi za dugovječnosti. U skladu sa svojim karakterima, svatko od njih odlučit će hoće li zanemariti, prigrliti, prevariti "znanje" podareno im dok su bili djeca ili mu žestoko prkositi...

Besmrtnici

High Fidelity

There is something so mesmerizing about the simplicity of telling hardcore sad things in life. In four life's to be precise.
And even when you think oh, the next kid is can't be possibly better than last one, it kicks you in the heart.
How would you live your life if you knew for how long can you live?

Gisela Ayala 

Whoa. I did not expect what I listened to hit me as hard as it did. I cried, friends. So many tears have been shed over the days of me listening to this book. I'm hardcore thinking about life right now. The narration was done beautifully and had me completely involved with the book and the characters lives. 

We get introduced to each character in four parts and just when I think I won't get attached to a new sibling because I'm attached to the last one, nope - guess what, I get attached. The siblings interact somewhat over the years, but I wished we got a bit more of them in each other's stories. Besides that, this book is phenomenal and heartrendingly lovely.

i am deeply upset that simon died early on and it felt like a bit of a waste to keep watching them die. i kept expecting a magic/fantastical element (especially with the title) and i never really got that, mostly just bitter reality.

Joyce

'Boundlessly moving' Observer 'Immersive and impressive' The Sunday Times 'Benjamin writes with verve and charm' Guardian The NEW YORK TIMES Top Ten Bestseller 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. 'Such is her dazzling sureness of touch that you wonder if here is a writer who is truly capable of anything' Daily Mail

Sian Wadey

I adored this book. Chloe Benjamin creates four vivid characters that come to life off the page. After the Gold children visit a fortune teller, who reveals to each of them the date they die, they go on living their lives with this knowledge hanging over them.
I particularly enjoyed Simon's section of the story and could have read a whole book just about him and his escapades. It was an emotional roller-coaster, yet also made me question how I live my life and the choices I made. I can't wait to read more by Chloe Benjamin.

Sonja H

Ich habe dieses Buch schon vor ein paar Tagen beendet und ich weiß immer noch nicht, wie ich meine Liebe dazu in die richtigen Worte verpacken kann. 
Selten verfalle ich einer Geschichte so sehr wie dieser! Selten suche ich nach Formulierungen, die meinen Empfindungen zu einem Roman gerecht werden.

Wenn du den Tag deines Todes kennen würdest, würde es dein Leben beeinflussen? Diesen Gedanken beleuchtet Chloe Benjamin über die vier Geschwister Simon, Klara, Daniel und Varya, die in kindlicher Neugier eine Hellseherin besucht haben, die jedem Einzelnen geheim sein Datum für das Lebensende mitteilte.
Zunächst scheint es keine Rolle zu spielen, doch als ihr Vater stirbt, sehen sie sich zum ersten Mal nah mit dem Sterben konfrontiert und plötzlich ist er wieder da, der Gedanke an den eigenen Tod.

Mit unglaublich viel Liebe zu Details begleiten wir die vier Protagonisten, die unterschiedlicher kaum sein könnten, auf ihren weiteren Wegen. Sie alle versuchen, sich selbst treu zu sein oder zu werden - ein Leben zu leben, das sie erfüllt, unabhängig von den Vorstellungen anderer Menschen und deren Erwartungen. Sie kämpfen jeder auf seine Art darum zu leben statt nur zu überleben.
Simon und Klara wählen einen ungewöhnlichen aber intensiven Lebensstil. Simon sucht seine Erfüllung in seiner Sexualität, in Beziehungen zu anderen Männern- Klara entscheidet sich für die Magie, das Spiel mit Illusionen.
Daniel und Varya entscheiden sich für Religion und Wissenschaft, sie gehen ihrer Neigung nach, das Leben anderer Menschen zu verlängern, um so vielleicht das eigene Ende hinauszögern zu können.

Offen bleibt bis zum Schluss die Frage, ob jeder Mensch einem unveränderbaren Schicksal unterliegt oder es unbewusst in den Händen hält, die Prophezeiung selbst erfüllt.

Es gäbe so viele Dinge zu diesem Buch zu sagen, so viele Gedanken, die mir seit Tagen durch den Kopf schwirren wie "sollte es einen Unterschied machen, den Todeszeitpunkt zu kennen?", "lebe ich tatsächlich mein eigenes Leben?", "hätte ich den Mut, mein Leben radikal anders zu gestalten?",...

Ich habe jedenfalls "The Immortalists" sofort noch einmal von vorn zu lesen begonnen. Ich möchte noch eine ganze Weile mit den Figuren und ihren Geschichten verbringen. Ich möchte erfahren, was sie mir noch mitzuteilen haben, was ich aus ihren Leben lernen kann.

Ein unglaubliches Buch, das für mich jetzt schon ein Highlight in 2018 ist!

Mary Rose Luksha

I’d give this 3.75 stars. Can we give quarter stars? I’m appointing myself Official Star Giver and I say yes so don’t @ me. 

Despite mediocre or underwhelmed reviews I really enjoyed this book. Four siblings visit a fortune teller as children and she gives them the dates of their deaths. So the main theme of the book is how much of your life is a self-fulfilled prophecy. 

The book is divided in 4 sections for each sibling so in that way it felt a little stilted because there wasn’t much interaction between them, but they each had separate and distinct voices and they each amalgamated their prophecies differently into their lives. The end was a little trite but I liked it because the whole book is about death so I didn’t mind ending on a lighter note. 

I think this book was hyped a little *too* much so a lot of people had crazy expectations going into it. Is it literary? Sure. Is it going to wreck you and give you an epic book hangover? Not really. But it was good.

Inga Kühn 

Simon, Klara, Daniel und Varya - 
das Leben der vier Geschwister wird in diesem Buch nacheinander dargestellt. Alles beginnt mit dem Tag, an dem sie ihren Todestag erfahren. Eine einschneidende Erfahrung für die Kinder damals, die sie ihr ganzes Leben begleitet. Es werden glaubhaft dynamische Familienbande gezeigt, der Einfluss von Religion und Spiritualität auf das Leben wird behandelt und Sexualität und mentale Gesundheit wird angesprochen. Dir zentrale Diskussion jedoch, die ebenfalls gen Ende sehr elegant direkt in den Text eingewoben wird, ist, Leben vs. Überleben. Wie verhält man sich im Angesicht seines eigenen Ablebens? Geht man lieber auf Nummer sicher und versucht die Zukunft doch noch etwas zu beeinflussen oder nimmt man die Zeit, die man hat und macht das beste draus? Lieber im Jetzt leben oder im Potential der Zukunft? 

Vier jonge New Yorkse kinderen bezoeken in 1969 een waarzegster die hun een persoonlijke sterfdatum voorspelt. Deze gebeurtenis maakt grote indruk op alle kinderen en heeft grote gevolgen voor de levens die zij daarna leiden.

De onsterfelijken

Cariena

Ik had eigenlijk meer verwacht van dit verhaal. Ieder kind van de Gold familie heeft z’n sterfdatum te horen gekregen en ieder van hen gaat hier anders mee om. De verhalen van ieder ‘kind’ had een mooi verloop. Mijn verwachtingen waren alleen niet helemaal vervuld aan het einde van het boek. Ik denk dat ik een soort epiloog miste, maar dat kan ook een persoonlijke keuze zijn.

ANDREW BRYK

Ruud Gras

I read a Dutch translation. A very original concept told in a very attractive manner.  I still struggle a bit with the intentions of the writer. 

Se você soubesse a data de sua morte, como viveria sua vida? É 1969 no Lower East Side de Nova York e os rumores na vizinhança são sobre a chegada de uma mulher mística, uma vidente que se diz ser capaz de dizer a qualquer um qual será o dia de sua morte. As crianças Gold – quatro adolescentes que estão começando a conhecer a si mesmos – saem de casa sorrateiramente para saber sua sorte. As profecias informam as próximas cinco décadas de sua vida. Simon, o menino de ouro, escapa para a costa oeste, procurando por amor na São Francisco dos anos 80; a sonhadora Klara se torna uma ilusionista em Las Vegas, obcecada em misturar realidade e fantasia; Daniel, o filho mais velho, luta para se manter seguro como um médico do exército após o 11 de setembro; e Varya, a amante dos livros, se dedica a pesquisas sobre longevidade, nas quais ela testa os limites entre ciência e imortalidade. Um romance notavelmente ambicioso e profundo com uma brilhante história de amor familiar, Os imortalistas explora a linha tênue entre destino e escolha, realidade e ilusão, este mundo e o próximo. É uma prova emocionante do poder da literatura, a essência da fé e a força implacável dos laços familiares.

Os imortalistas

Ana Vitória Soares 

** spoiler alert **
           A primeira parte do livro , que conta a história do irmão mais novo, Daniel é realmente a minha favorita e mais interessante, mas isso é extremamente relativo não ? O livro narra a história de 4 irmãos em épocas totalmente diferentes da sua vida vida, irmãos com personalidades, medos e desejos totalmente diferentes um do outros, creio que você se conecta mais com quem de identifica mais, pra mim essa foi a história do Simon, tão jovem, chorei litros nesta primeira parte e a cada vez que era mencionado novamente os olhos me enchiam de lágrimas .
A parte da Klara foi uma viagem, nada do que esperava mas muito interessante, ela pegou um caminho totalmente diferente daquele que eu esperava , mas a sua reta final foi tão"Klara" .
Pra mim essa parte e esse irmão foi o que menos fez sentido, não me atrai por sua escolha de carreira ou como escolheu levar a sua vida , no fim parecia que tinha perdido a cabeça e sua morte foi de certa forma estranha, apesar de realmente mostrar o que a visita à aquela vidente fez aos irmãos.
Varya, uma personagem que eu desgostei desde o início, não sei bem por que, fria e tão estranha a meus olhos, realmente só consegui me conectar com a personagem faltando 20 páginas para o final do livro, a personagem que mais mudou , cuja vida tomou rumos tão estranhos para mim, mas de certa forma compreensíveis, para mim ela era como a consequência da morte dos irmãos, da visita à vidente... Se a vidente estivesse realmente certa morreria aos 88 anos, não vemos a sua morte, mas vemos o início da sua vida as 54 anos.
Enfim, a escrita é muito boa, é visível a profunda pesquisa que a autora fez sobre cada tema que retratou no livro, emocionante e que nos deixa com diversas questões sobre a vida, a morte e a quieta sobrevivência, com certeza uma releitura futura.

The Immortalists

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