The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?

So asks the tagline of Chloe Benjamin's novel The Immortalists. Simon, Klara, Varya, and Daniel are just children in 1969 when they learn of a fortune teller who can give a person the day they will die. The curious thing about knowledge is that you can't unknow something you wish you didn't know. And yet no one can avoid the end of their life no matter how near or far it might be. Simon runs to the opposite side of the country in search of a better life, or to at least live the one he has a full speed while he can. Klara is determined to pursue her dreams regardless of their feasibility. Daniel tries to forget what he knows, but denial can only last so long, and Varya makes her life's work about prolonging life itself.

Filled with complicated characters that make decisions for very complicated reasons, I found this book interesting and compelling, but I really wanted to like it more than I did. It was an excellent concept, but the execution (no pun intended, really) didn't quite achieve what I think the author intended. I was often frustrated with the actions of the characters. Certainly no character ever behaves in exactly the way every reader would like, but their behaviors were so determined toward self-fulfilling prophecy that I wanted to scream at them, and not in that satisfying, "these characters are crazy but I still love them" kind of way. Only one of the deaths we see am I able to view with understanding and compassion. The others just made me angry.

And yet, I couldn't put the book down. I am sure that says more than my final opinion of the book. Or if not more, certainly quite a lot. Maybe you will enjoy it more than I did.

Oh! And before I forget, there was quite a lot of what I found to be unnecessary graphic descriptions of intimacy. I am always going to be a "fade to black" kind of girl. I just find that more romantic and I never like to read anything explicit and when I encountered that in this book I almost didn't continue reading. I only finished because it was for an online book club with which I haven't been the best about reading. Luckily it was a short-lived section that didn't repeat further in the book, but I feel obligated to put that warning out to you.