Omg! This was a spiritual,entertaining, and insightful novel. Four Jewish siblings (all children) visit a psyche who predicts their death. The reading experience was like engaging with a friend telling a fascinating tale. Each child has a unique profession-magician, gay dancer in San Francisco, animal researcher and military doctor. Lovingly written with emotion and heart. ( )

3.5/5 stars
After reading the first two parts of the novel, I was certain this was going to be a favorite, but as the story got to Daniel and Varya, I felt more disconnected to the characters; although this may have been intentional (as a symbol of their detachment from their family/life), it felt more like poor execution of a great premise. ( )

Book 3 of 12 ( )

Science fiction

Middling. That's what this damn book is and it's so frustrating because with a premise like it has it could have been so much more.

In 1969 four young siblings living on the Lower East Side go see a fortune teller who tells them each individually the day that they will die. The book then follows each of the four in separate parts over the following decades and across the United States. We watch teenage Simon find himself and his sexuality in San Francisco in the 1980s. Then we follow Klara as she chases her dream of being a magician all the way to Las Vegas. We spend time with Daniel in upstate NY as he struggles with himself as an Army doctor whose job is to medically evaluate men and ship them off to war. And finally we watch stand-offish Varya who has committed herself thoroughly to her scientific research on longevity as she questions her world.

Each of these characters, and even their individual stories, had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. There was scope to really investigate fate vs free will but nope. None of the characters or their stories felt complex in any way. Maybe that's down to the way in which Benjamin split them; there's not enough time with any of them to build an attachment. Everything felt superficial and rushed.

Of the stories, one was overly predictible, one was lacklustre and frustrating, one was wholly unrealistic and downright preposterous, and the last was pathetic and depressing. And that last one was probably meant to be uplifting in the end. Let's not even start on the weird saccharine ending that doesn't relate to the story all. There were seemingly cloying attempts to elicit emotional reactions from the reader which pissed me off, too.

All that said, it was highly readable and I can see where people would be impressed with its ambition. It goes big and, to be fair, Benjamin does not fall on her face here. My main impetus in finishing wasn't the characters (who I found all pretty unlikeable on the whole) but was wanting to know if any escape their fate and/or how they die. Harsh but true.

So, yeah, middling. I'm not angry I read it but I won't remember it. ( )