The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin

If you could find out the day you will die, would you? I certainly wouldn’t want to, but that is the topic explored in The Immortalists, a unique novel by Chloe Benjamin.

The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin

Themes: Fiction, fantasy, historical

Reading Format: Paperback

Pages: 368

4 STARS

Four siblings go to a fortuneteller as children who tells them the dates they will die. This book follows each of their lives and how they react to the date they have been given. I found this such an interesting concept, it has really got me thinking and asking others if they would want to know their date. I wouldn’t want to know mine, I think it would control me too much. And it also begs the question of by knowing the date, is that the very thing that causes the death in the first place? I still can’t decide if the fortuneteller in this book is magic or if what she says influences the events that happen.

From the four siblings, we see a big split between those who are living and those who are surviving. The ones that have been told they will die younger are really going out there and living life to the full, achieving their dreams and doing the things they really want to do. Whereas the ones with older dates live slower lives, they are getting by and not really excelling at anything. It’s interesting to see these two different approaches to living. If you have nothing to lose, why not give your all and really live life? That’s what made this book such a clever concept.

I liked the way this narrative was told, following each character in turn and showing the passing of time through their lives and milestones. This is a relatively short book but I felt like I was part of this family from the way Chloe Benjamin writes it. She easily passes between the present day and memories of old conversations. Her writing is so smooth and clever that you never feel disjointed or lost with the switching of characters that each chapter follows.

It didn’t go unnoticed that this book mentions both Scoliosis (very briefly) and OCD, both of which I have. It felt good to see the way I feel mentioned in this book as the OCD was contamination OCD, the same as mine. I don’t usually read books about OCD because it tends to make me feel worse, but this was only mentioned for the last 50 pages or so. This book tackles many issues including serious illness, mental health and violence, I don’t want to spoil it by going into detail, but if you’re worried this will trigger you, I would advise giving the themes a quick google.

My mum picked this book up for me when she visited Canada earlier this year and I’m glad she did, it has been an eye-opening read.