“As deft and dizzying as a high-wire act… the reader is beguiled with unexpected twists and stylish, crisp prose…[an] ambitious, unorthodox tale.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
The opening of this novel sets the entire tone of the book. In 1969 in New York City four young siblings head to visit a fortune teller who, as rumor has it, can tell you the date of your death. Simon, Klara, Daniel and Varya separately enter the apartment of the psychic who tells each of them the date of their death. What they hear affects each of them in different ways.
Soon after their Father dies the four separate and go their own ways. Simon and Klara head to the West Coast while Daniel and Varya decide to continue their education and stay closer to home. These actions rip apart the relationship of the four to a point where it can’t be repaired.
The rest of the book is divided into four long chapters, each one dedicated to the life of each sibling.
I think it would be impossible for a writer to satisfy everyone with how these stories will turn out. The premise of the story leads to much speculation and anticipation. The author gives it a good effort. Some of the stories are believable and sad, some seem stretching it a bit. Was the fortune teller a true psychic, should anyone ever take a psychics predictions seriously. But when we are young, it is so much easier to believe in these predictions as we have yet put enough life experience under our belt, or matured enough to separate fact from fantasy.
Very readable at 284 pages it is well worth reading. I just feel the book left me with a feeling that a lot more could have been accomplished by the author.
Reviewed by:
Richard Franco
Added 1st March 2018
