Your reviews are always so thorough and concise! Can't wait for more :)

I literally JUST finished this book & loved it until the very end. I wish there was more of Gertie! I also simply just dont understand why it ended the way it did.

Found this book for sale in a used bookstore and I've had it on my shelf for ages, just got around to reading it in quarantine haha! I went in blind, didn't even read the back so I had no expectations and it kept me engrossed the whole way through. Your review was great, well-structured & I understand how having those expectations would change the way you saw the book. I definitely connected with Simon the most, either because his was the first section and I got used to his voice or I found his character arc the most compelling. Klara was the most frustrating, I found Daniel's section a bit boring, but Varya was perfect to end on because she had the second-best arc and I was glad to see she helped mend a lot of rifts in the family. Anyway, I'm rambling - just finished the book so now I feel I have to talk about it lol. Thanks for the review!

Hi! Thank you for your review of the book. I totally agree with you. I felt that Gergie was a bit of a stranger for me every time the author mentioned her. And I really wanted something special to happen in the end of the book to reveal her character. The way Benjamin presented her in the end just didn't reach the level i was hoping for tbh. How do you feel about the stories of four siblings? I personally liked the first one a lot, probably because Simon's reaction is closest to what i think i'd feel knowing the date of my death. When i read the chapter about him, it felt like i watched a very well set movie, which i couldn't stop thinking about for a long time. I agree that Benjamin did a very good job on character development. Every time a new chapter started i was hesitant to get involved with a completely new person, but i always changed my attitude after reading a few pages. She makes you so invested in the siblings' lives that you just can't stay aside.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book! For a while, I was undecided about picking it up, but the more I see it on social media, the more I lean towards picking it up. Knowing it's more of a family saga than a magical realism book is also steering me towards (eventually) adding this to my collection (and, in turn, my ever-growing TBR).

You’re one of the best book reviewers I’ve come across on KZfaq.

I have been contemplating this book since I first saw it at the end of last year. I'm so glad I decided to watch this video before getting it. Not that I don't enjoy literary fiction and I definitely still want to pick it up, but like you mentioned I would've been really disappointed by it since I did expect it to be magical realism. As always, great review!

I just finished this book and i enjoyed it, but Varya's section dragged a bit for me. I loved the characters and i liked her play on the self-fulfilling prophecy, but i found it a bit underwheming. I thought i wpuld love it more.

This was a great review, Olive. I really think this book might hit the mark for me, but I SO appreciate hearing your reservations about it. Such as they are. 🙂

Great review. I got this on Kindle a few days ago as the physical book is not out here until March and from your description it sounds like my kind of thing. I agree though, my presumption from what I knew about the book is that it might involve some light touch magical realism, but I think the fact it doesn't, not withstanding the issue of 'false advertising', actually makes it more appealing for me. I may have to shift some of my TBR around to get to this sooner now!

Okay. It was refreshing to hear some actual, solid criticism of this book so early on in its publication (which usually surfaces only months later when BookTube reviewers are feeling safe about speaking out). So, thank you for that. It was a bit disappointing that even Roxanne, of the podcast Just the Right Book, didn’t have much criticism when she interviewed Benjamin (or, if she did, it was not memorable) which I thought was a bit out of character for her. I’m planning to read this in February as I was on the wait list at my local library, but I’ll definitely be keeping your review in the queue to watch again after I’ve read it.

This was a skillful review. I'm just 60 pages in and feel I have a better grasp of what's to come while not having everything telegraphed. I'm happy to hear that the book is character-driven and not moving toward magic realism. The structure (following one family member at a time) sounds similar to The Corrections. I fastened in on what you said about the mother in the story being shortchanged, as I'm one of those people who's fascinated by family dynamics and the way traits filter down from parents to children, but I also tend to respect authors' prerogatives so far as what they chose to focus on (as I've had all too many workshop colleagues fixating on elements of MY writing that weren't central to my personal vision). I'm glad Google sent me here this morning. I'll be back.

Great review! I had a lot of similar thoughts on the literary aspects of this book (mostly that they were simultaneously too weak and overbearing). It was thought-provoking, but not very clever. For me, it was a well-crafted story as general fiction, but not a strong literary novel. I'm a little late to the game watching your review, but I can finally watch reviews on this book since I just uploaded my own. :) I like to wait to make sure I'm not biased by other opinions before I form my own.

Thanks, saved me the trouble of starting a book which would not have been what I wanted.

I love your reviews. You're honest and insightful.

Just finished it...I thought your review was spot on - and specifically shared your sentiment about Gertie's character as lost opportunity. In truth, I found the novel compulsively readable and some of Benjamin's prose blew me away with thoughtfulness and relevance to the larger considerations the novel sets into my reader's mind motion...but...for some reason I discovered some contempt in my own experience of each sibling at several points during their separate sections. I will have to check out Anatomy of Dreams for certain...thanks for your stellar review - which I waited until finishing to watch btw!

I love your channel, even though, it was your channel that started me on liking to watch/listen to nonfiction booktube🥰🥰 have a wonderful night

The monkey info went on forever.

My library book club discussion group was this morning today TUE 5/21/19 and The Immortalists was our book. *YES* we are more than a year late to the party. I agree with you on this book. It missed a mark for me as well. I also feel like maybe it was shortened (not by the author's choice). There was so much more that could have been given / told.

What a wonderful review - I had already thought this one wouldn’t be for me and I still think so. :-)

I loved this book so much T-T even tho the ending was kindaaaaaaaaa disappointing and also my favorite part was Simon's idk i just loved him so much and kinda related to him...

I was soooooo disappointed and didn’t finish this book! I was so angry about being misled!

I've read this book and have interviewed Chloe Benjamin. She is quite the remarkable young lady, very intelligent and talented. Loved the video, Olive, thanks for sharing. www.mybookabyss.com for the interview

I didn’t like the book, it was more like jumble of stories and characters

Too bad that this book’s message is so in your face. I love philosophical fiction, more than family sagas. Thanks for the review!