The Immortalists

I feel like a lot of the characters deaths contradicted who they were as characters. It left for surprises and twists but at the cost of not feeling exactly right. I like the book overall and the concept. Im not sure if I’d like it better if the characters live intertwined and were told simultaneously instead of as four distinct stories or not.

I loved this book. I have to figure out one of the books for my book club this year, and this is it!

The book starts with the concept of 4 young children taking off to find a rumored fortune teller who will give you the date of your death. The children get their dates, and the book fast-forwards ten years to when their father dies and they start on their paths in the world.

What do you do with that information? Do you ignore it and write it off as a New York City scam? If not, how do you react to that information? Does it change you? Do you behave as if it's your destiny?

There's so much I want to write about this, but saying anything is too much, because it's a perfect book, and has to be read with a mind untouched by prior commentary.

I love a good book with romanticized scenes. The hanging question of, did they choose their fate, or was it their destiny all along? Each character had a unique personality and story. It was slightly confusing and slow in the beginning, but once we got into their stories it was intriguing till the end, each end.

Would you want to know the date of your death? This family drama addresses the havoc this could create among four siblings. The four snuck out to see a gypsy fortuneteller and finding this information as children colored their whole lives. The novel follows them one by one, as they live out their days, long or short. It was a fascinating thought experiment played out within the microcosm of this family. I appreciated the candor in addressing each of the siblings' response to the knowledge and their choices as they live into their lives.

3.5 Stars