Finished: The Immortalists (Benjamin) A very good book about the four Gold siblings, ages 13,11,9 & 7, in New York in 1969 who go to visit a seer who tells them all the dates that they will die. The children, spurred on by 11 year old Daniel, thinking it will be something unique, go with that purpose in mind. Of course, she scares them all to death and gives them very specific dates of when they will die. The oldest, Varya, is affected very deeply by the predictions, even though she is told she will live to the age of 88. It affects the rest of her life though, as she feels guilty and responsible since Daniel is given to the age 48, 9 year old Klara is given to the age 31, and 7 year old Simon will only reveal to his siblings that she told him he would be "very young". The book then goes a section at a time with each sibling's story. Klara is the dreamer who has no intention of going to college. She wants to be a magician! When she's 18 she plans to leave home and go somewhere she can start putting together a show. She convinces 16 year old Simon to go with her to San Francisco easily since she has figured out that he is gay in a world where being gay wouldn't work in his New York family. So, in Simon's story, he goes to San Francisco and proceeds to live a very promiscuous life just as the unnamed AIDS has begun to ravage gay men. Does he survive or does he die at the age of 20 (which he finally confesses to Klara was the age the seer told him.) Klara goes on to create a successful, though risky, magic/thrill show after meeting her husband, Raj, and having a baby girl. By the time she's 31, she is haunted by her feelings, her life, her drinking and on the date the seer gave her, she and Raj are just about to have their opening night at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, opening for Siegfried and Roy! Will she survive to accomplish that goal? Daniel goes to medical school and becomes the doctor he always wanted to be. He meets the love of his life and marries, but has no children. He is also haunted by the old predictions from the seer and how it has affected his younger siblings, though he has never believed it will truly affect him. As he approaches the date the seer gave him when he is 48, will he be able to live past that date, or will he implode? I'm not giving the answers here just in case someone reads this, lol. Varya's story is last and is equally as compelling given all that has happened in her family. She does feel guilty and responsible and closed off all of her life. She ends up working in research trying to find answers to longevity in human life. She grows closer to some of the monkeys she works with than she has to any other humans in many years. A surprise visitor to her when she's about 50 turns her life around and helps her to open up and realize she's been missing life! It's not too late for her to start living and enjoying life. This was a very good book, a page-turner, and very well written! A bit depressing, because I sure grew attached to all of the characters!