The Immortalists Summary
Death is a constant fascination for human beings. We read about it, we watch movies about it, we fear it, we wonder what will happen after it…but what if we could know when we were going to die? Would it change anything about how we lived our our lives? That’s the concept author Chloe Benjamin explores in her New York Times bestselling novel The Immortalists. It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and four siblings—Simon, Klara, Daniel, and Varya—seek out a fortune teller who predicts each child’s time of death. At the time, the Gold siblings have no idea how much that one encounter will influence the rest of their lives. But over the course of the novel, we follow each sibling over the next five decades, and we see how the prediction of their death influences how they live their lives. This is a reading guide with book club questions to help you discuss The Immortalists. Please note this post contains some spoilers.
Themes Explored in The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
Well, let’s get the big one out of the way first: death. We all know death is coming for us, but the Gold siblings believe they know exactly when their death will come. Whether we like to think about it or not, impending death motivates us. We act differently because we know we only have so much time on this planet. Benjamin explores that motivation in this book, and she heightens it by giving her characters’ lives a specific timeline. How does death motivate us? That’s one of the main questions Benjamin wants to explore in this novel. But there’s also the issue of fate versus free will, and that’s a big question in The Immortalists. Do the Gold siblings fulfill their fates because it was predestined? Or were they pushed in that direction because of what the fortune teller told them? Do we have the ability to change our fates, or are we all on a trajectory that cannot be altered? There are heavy, existential questions Benjamin asks the reader to grapple with in this book. Let’s break them down a little bit more with some specific book club discussion questions.
The Immortalists Book Club Questions
Loved The Immortalists? Here’s What to Read Next!
If you loved The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin’s first novel The Anatomy of Dreams is also excellent. Or if you’re looking for more literary fiction about sibling relationships, I would recommend The Dutch House by Ann Patchett or The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Looking to read more about The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin? There’s a great interview with the author over at Girls Night In Club. And there’s another interesting interview with Benjamin over at PopSugar. Reading interviews with the author can always help enrich a book club discussion. Looking for more book club questions? Try these 40 Great Book Club Questions for Any Book. And have fun!
