If you knew exactly when you were going to die, would it make a difference to the choices you made right now?
For the four central characters in Chloe Benjamin's new novel, the answer isn't straightforward, but it's intriguing nonetheless.
The novel kicks off in 1969 and siblings Varya, 13, Daniel, 11, Klara, nine and Simon, seven, are suffering from heat and boredom over the summer break. They find out that a travelling fortune teller has set up shop in their neighbourhood and that her specialty is being able to tell her clients the very day they will die. With nothing better to do, the siblings pay her a visit and one by one they emerge from the soothsayer's room with the nugget of information that has the potential to blow their world apart.
It's difficult to say anything more about what happens without spoiling the plot, but the two most affected by the fortune teller's words are youngest siblings, Klara and Simon.
If you knew exactly when you were going to die, would it make a difference to the choices you made right now?
For the four central characters in Chloe Benjamin's new novel, the answer isn't straightforward, but it's intriguing nonetheless.
The novel kicks off in 1969 and siblings Varya, 13, Daniel, 11, Klara, nine and Simon, seven, are suffering from heat and boredom over the summer break. They find out that a travelling fortune teller has set up shop in their neighbourhood and that her specialty is being able to tell her clients the very day they will die. With nothing better to do, the siblings pay her a visit and one by one they emerge from the soothsayer's room with the nugget of information that has the potential to blow their world apart.
It's difficult to say anything more about what happens without spoiling the plot, but the two most affected by the fortune teller's words are youngest siblings, Klara and Simon.
Klara grows up to become a magician, Simon becomes a dancer in a gay nightclub – and as if their career choices aren't already fabulously 'out there', both of them go hell for leather as their lives progress, taking the kinds of risks you'd expect from people with nothing to lose.
Older siblings Varya and Daniel, meanwhile, walk a very different path, choosing to ignore the fortune teller's predictions.
A beguiling family drama that places a magnifying glass over the concepts of destiny and quantity of life versus quality.
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Entry is open only to New Zealand residents. Employees of Bauer Media Group (LP) NZ or Hachette, their affiliates, agencies and immediate families are ineligible to enter. No responsibility is taken for lost, misdirected or incomplete entries. Entries are limited to one per person. Open to New Zealand residents only. This promotion commences Thursday January 11 and ends Wednesday February 28. By registering their details, entrants give permission for Bauer Media Group (LP) NZ to post, email and mobile text message updates. The prize consists of a copy of The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. We have five to give away. The prize package must be taken as offered and is not exchangeable, transferable or redeemable for cash. Bauer Media Group (LP) NZ reserves the right to exchange any item with another item of greater value. Anything not specified in these terms and conditions as being included in the prize package is excluded. The winner will be contacted via email between Thursday March 1 and Friday March 9. The promoter is Bauer Media Group (LP) NZ, Shed 12, City Works Depot, 90 Wellesley Street West, Auckland.
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