Title: The Immoralists
Author: Chloe Benjamin
Publisher: Putnam 2018
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 346
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges:
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.
Full disclosure: I almost gave up on this book. I read the first section, Simon’s story, and almost couldn’t continue. It was so devastating and emotional that I expressed interest in wanting a break and possibly turning to a lighter read. Instead, I sat down the next day and sped through Klara’s story and into Daniel’s. I ended up finishing the book and really enjoying it. I just have to say that this one is very emotional. Klara’s story was my favorite. I feel for her drive for something different and free -spirit ways. Daniel’s story ended up being my least favorite; I just didn’t connect to him as a character. In the end, this is a wonderful character study of a family.
Next up on the TBR pile: