The Immortalists

Instant New York Times Bestseller

A Washington Post Notable Book

An NPR Book Of The Year

An Entertainment Weekly Best Book Of The Year

A Libraryreads Top 10 Book Of The Year

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, hoping to control fate; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.

A sweeping novel of remarkable ambition and depth, The Immortalists probes the line between destiny and choice, reality and illusion, this world and the next. It is a deeply moving testament to the power of story, the nature of belief, and the unrelenting pull of familial bonds.

Read the Prologue at Entertainment Weekly

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A 2018 most anticipated book of

Entertainment Weekly, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Southern Living, Martha Stewart Living, InStyle, The Huffington Post, Popsugar, Bustle, Nylon, Goop, BookPage, Book Riot, HelloGiggles, Goodreads, Book Riot, and TimeOut

Reviews

#1 INDIE NEXT PICK FOR JANUARY 2018
JANUARY 2018 LIBRARYREADS FAVORITE
SPRING 2018 B&N DISCOVER GREAT NEW WRITERS SELECTION
JANUARY 2018 AMAZON SPOTLIGHT PICK
January 2018 IBOOKS FAVORITE

“A captivating family saga.

The New York Times Book Review

“The only real magic here is Benjamin’s storytelling... Poignant... A testimony of love.
Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“The Gold children’s lives unfold over five decades [in] four meticulous sections, each well-crafted enough to stand alone. This literary family saga is perfect for fans of Donna Tartt and Celeste Ng.
PEOPLE (Book of the Week)

“2018’s first big read... an epic, enchanting family saga.
Entertainment Weekly

“The tale of four siblings marked in childhood by a terrible prophecy, [THE IMMORTALISTS] careers through time and tragedy with the reader in tow, as deft and dizzying as a high-wire act... As the novel deepens, the reader is beguiled with unexpected twists and stylish, crisp prose... This ambitious, unorthodox tale may change you. Chloe Benjamin is a writer to watch.
The Economist

“To describe Chloe Benjamin’s second novel, THE IMMORTALISTS, as a story about the evolution of a family would be true, but wholly insignificant for the breadth and depth of this amazing work of fiction... Benjamin unfurls a dense, yet beautifully spun and satisfying tale... Each sibling, as well as family matriarch Gertie, receives equally surefooted literary treatment in Benjamin’s capable hands. Begin 2018 with the book that could easily retain the year’s top spot, THE IMMORTALISTS is a can’t-put-down, makes-you-think tale of a not-so-average American family.
Associated Press

“The reader will likely be thoroughly taken by the world of the Gold siblings, in all its shades of brilliant color. It’s not a totally comfortable realm, since we know all too well how this tale’s going to end, but getting there is lovely
NPR.org

“THE IMMORTALISTS is magical... Benjamin [slips] into each of the characters’ heads and lets us live there for a while, writing in a delicate third-person voice that knows everyone’s secrets. There are moments as taut as a thriller, where time disappears as you turn pages; and passages of quiet compassion, as the characters reflect on the bonds of siblinghood, on the idea of home, on how those we have lost can still manage — miraculously and mysteriously — to stay with us, in ways that we can’t always explain.
The Seattle Times

“Bewitching and provocative... Each character’s story is saturated with paradox in this delving family saga laced with history and science and a heart-pounding inquiry into self, inheritance, fate, and the mind-body connection. Aligned in her artistic command, imagination, and deep curiosity about the human condition with Nicole Krauss, Dara Horn, and Stacey D’Erasmo, Benjamin asks what we want out of life... Benjamin has created mesmerizing characters and richly suspenseful predicaments in this profound and glimmering novel of death’s ever-shocking inevitability and life’s wondrously persistent whirl of chance and destiny.
Booklist, starred review

“Chloe Benjamin’s THE IMMORTALISTS is the very best kind of literary thriller, its suspense deriving from characters we care about deeply and surprises that feel embedded in our shared humanity. As profound a meditation on destiny as readers are likely to encounter.
Richard Russo, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of EMPIRE FALLS

“An imaginative and satisfying family saga... The author has written a cleverly structured novel steeped in Jewish lore and the history of four decades of American life. The four Gold siblings are wonderful creations, and in Benjamin’s expert hands their story becomes a moving meditation on fate, faith, and the family ties that alternately hurt and heal.
Publisher's Weekly, starred review

“Luminous, wise... Benjamin’s writing is sumptuous. Fearlessly, she gets into the minds of these people in ways that are truly astounding, and she gets into their hearts even more deeply.
Huffington Post

“Beautifully written and intricately detailed, [THE IMMORTALISTS] is impossible to put down and sure to be one of those books you’ve got to re-read again and again.
POPSUGAR

“Is there such a thing as knowing too much?... Benjamin’s inventive second novel [opens] with a psychic telling the Gold children the precise dates of their deaths in 1969 New York. The tale continues into their disparate adulthoods—happily married or resignedly alone, tightly regimented or unabashedly free-spirited, selfish or self-proclaiming selflessness—as the choices they’ve made with the ticking clock of mortality in mind raise quandaries about predetermination and the nature of self-fulfilling prophesies.
Harper's Bazaar

“For someone who loves stories about brothers and sisters, as I do, THE IMMORTALISTS is about as good as it gets. A memorable and heartfelt look at what might happen to a family who knows too much. It’s amazing how good this book is.
Karen Joy Fowler, author of WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES

“[A] captivating family saga... Each of these four narrative strands is a mini marvel, but together they form a hauntingly beautiful tapestry of familial love and loss.
Literary Hub

“A meditation of fate & free will, faith & reason, THE IMMORTALISTS grapples with all of the biggest issues in life, in a profound and unforgettable way.
NYLON

“This story of four children who learn the dates of their own deaths turns out to be a beautiful, compassionate, and even joyful novel. Chloe Benjamin has written an inspiring book that makes you think hard about what you want to do with the time you’re given. This is not really a book about dying—it’s a book about how to live.
Nathan Hill, author of THE NIX

“The flawed humanity in Chloe Benjamin’s gripping characters feels incredibly familiar... If you’ve ever had an existential thought in your life, you’ll see yourself in every sibling—in their gut-wrenchingly human existence—and be reminded that life is by turns complicated, fun, disastrous, painful, and out of our control.
Goop

“An Edna Ferber Prize winner for The Anatomy of Dreams, Benjamin opens her second novel with four children in 1969 New York daringly visiting a fortune-teller said to be able to predict the date of one’s death... How differently would their lives have turned out had they not made that visit?... The narratives she offers are intriguingly intertwined and beautifully rendered. Yet the [hint of magic] proves effective while feeling entirely natural, and readers can believe what they want of the fortune-teller’s power. Both thought-provoking and entertaining, this title is highly recommended for a wide range of readers.
Library Journal, starred review

“Suspenseful, compassionate, inquisitive, and wholly captivating.
Bustle

“A moving story of family and the unknown... You cannot help but get wrapped up in all of [the siblings’] stories. [Benjamin] is a young author to put on your radar.
Elite Daily

“The book world has been abuzz about Chloe Benjamin’s THE IMMORTALISTS for months, and with good reason... Benjamin probes fascinating questions about mortality, fate, and self-fulfilling prophecies.
Bookish

“The premise of THE IMMORTALISTS is irresistible—four young siblings visit a woman who reveals the date on which each will die—but it’s what comes next that makes this book a literary tour de force. As the Gold children become adults with distinct and distinctive lives, Chloe Benjamin examines issues of mortality and immortality, destiny and self-determination, magic and science, the past and the future, and the trials and joys of our fleeting but precious existences. A beautifully written page-turner, unpredictable and unforgettable, THE IMMORTALISTS is ultimately a thoughtful and tender look at how we live our lives in our fraught and perilous times.
Judith Claire Mitchell, author of A REUNION OF GHOSTS