Our October selection is New York Times bestseller The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. Per Amazon, the novel tells “the story of four siblings who, on a lark, ask a fortuneteller to reveal the dates of their deaths. Whether that fortuneteller is a con artist or is genuinely gifted with second sight doesn’t interest Benjamin so much as how one piece of possibly spurious information conspires with character and circumstance to warp the siblings’ choices as they grow into adulthood."
Hello, I’m just bumping this up because it’s already September 13th! There is still, of course, plenty of time to read our October selection. I haven’t started it yet myself, but plan to do so within the next few days.
Folks try your library’s e books- I got it immediately three weeks ago - read about half and couldn’t find time on trip to finish. Now someone else has it and I’m next in line #1 on wait list -that reader has max 14 days so I know I will get email soon !
I have my book and am starting it. Just at a glance, it looks easy to read and like it will hold my interest. I should be finished in time for discussion. Looking forward to it.
I finished The Immortalists last night. I thought I’d pull up this thread to encourage anyone wondering whether time has run out to start the book and then finish in time to join in. My guess is yes. It only took me a (busy) week to read it. Overall, quick and good.
I finished it last week and, now that I understand the plot, I’m skimming it to reread everything of significance. (I like to do that with our bookclub books, or I can’t keep up with you all.)
Definitely time to read and finish before our discussion begins.
I read this book for one of my IRL book clubs. We discussed it last week.
I have a LOT to say about the professional life of one character. The author wrote some big inaccuracies, which “explained” a major character’s motivations. It drove me crazy. That character’s life arc was the least satisfying, as well. I’ll let loose when the time comes. (hint - my DH is an Army physician with 27 years years of active duty experience.) We are about the same age as that character.
Happy October and welcome to our discussion of The Immortalists!
I finished the book last night and although I’m open to having my mind changed, I was not a big fan. I didn’t find any of the characters very appealing. I thought they were more “types” than people with depth — the gay outcast, the free spirit, the OCD sufferer…and Daniel. I’m not sure what his issue was (PTSD?), but I thought his storyline was absurd. This has nothing to do with his military physician duties as mentioned upthread; I can’t speak to that. It just seemed so unlikely that a staid, middle-aged, thoughtful man in a loving marriage would suddenly dig out a gun and drive across the country on an insane revenge fantasy trip (on the very day he should be glued to a chair at home, no less). And Eddie O’Donohue? Nothing about his actions, motives or inter-chapter appearances rang true to me.
However, I have to say that The Immortalists was an entertaining read, and even if infuriating at times, there’s no doubt that it was also thought-provoking. I think the premise is the best thing the novel has going for it, and I liked the structure, i.e. moving from one sibling to the next, while skillfully managing not to reveal the fate of each one until their designated chapter. That was well done.
I am eager to hear other opinions! Here are a few discussion questions to get us started—feel free to use or ignore. (I’m off to a two-day work conference, so might not check in until late evening for the next couple of days.)
I felt like there was a great book lurking in there, but this wasn’t it. I loved the conceit. I thought the structure worked very well. There were hundreds of really great lines. There was lots to think about - particularly how age and religion and family ties effect our lives. But most of the characters never really make sense as characters. Their motivations just didn’t make sense. I didn’t mind the Simon chapters too much - well you wanted to kick him for some of his thoughtless behavior, but I thought he worked if only as kind of a stock figure. But it started to unravel for me with Klara. I didn’t think her relationship with Raj made sense, or the drinking, or ending up in Las Vegas on an intimate type magic show - with the exception of her dramatic entrance on stage. Daniel seemed to exist for plot points. And the least believable part of the plot. I thought Varyja piece made the most sense. Her guilt made sense. Her work (mostly) made sense. But she wasn’t very likable, so I didn’t enjoy reading about her.
But I did keep thinking about the book even after I finished.
I enjoyed reading this book, but @mary13 and @mathmom I agree with all you wrote.
The premise is compelling - if we knew the precise moment of our death would we live differently?
I am sincerely open to liking this book more, and hoping this discussion does that for me. In some ways it became a “hot mess” as they say, but held such promise.
I think I have more questions than answers about this book. I did enjoy reading it, but still –
IMO, knowling the (alleged) date of their deaths changed how they lived their lives – no question about it.
For Simon, he ran to San Francisco to “live,” but if he hadn’t “known” the date of his death, he would have stayed home and finished high school. He felt strongly that his knowledge allowed him to really live, and live fearlessly.
Klara committed suicide on her date, but she was – ummmm – out of sorts and heard things.
Daniel was – odd. The Eddie O’Donahue story was – odd. I feel like Eddie was only used as a conceit to get Daniel out to the fortune teller’s home so Daniel could die. As a physician, Daniel was totally in awe of the placebo effect – so knowing his own date of death led him to take actions he might not have otherwise taken.
Varya was a creepy character. Was she restricting her calories in order to last until age 88? Age 88 is not so remarkable that she would have needed to do that. Or was it just due to her OCD? The monkeys creeped me out terribly. The fact that she went through with her pregnancy made no sense to me. She was too scientific, too unemotional to continue the pregnancy “just because.” And what was the point in the book of her having had a baby and then bringing her son into the story? Was he just there as the vehicle to allow us to see the treatment at the lab from an outsider’s point of view? Is it feasible that Varya wouldn’t have recognized her own son, at all??
And what about their mother Gertie? What was her role in all of this? She was solid, steady, and – in spite of cutting off Simon, which I think she thought was for his own good – there for all of them, whenever they neded her. I did love how connected the family was, especially the siblings. In fact, in therapy, Varya says that the thing she is most afraid of is “Loss. Loss of life; loss of the people she loved.”