Great writing, unfulfilling plot

I was drawn in by the premise of this book and the writing is truly lovely. But I just didn’t enjoy the story. As it went on I felt like each part was more cringe worthy than the next. I appreciate the author’s desire to explore themes like how thoughts influence life or why we assume living longer is better. I’ve never encountered a book like this where I appreciated its depth, liked the questions it posed and yet was so relieved for it to be over so I could move on. The ending felt superficial and I was less and less invested with each successive character. I was also annoyed that Gertie moves out of caricature only in the final pages.

44 people found this helpful

This book is good but . . .

I really enjoyed this book until the end. It kept me interested and surprised and I finished it in 3 days. The ending doesn’t really resolve anything, it just ends. It could use a prologue or something, I felt like it was in the middle of a chapter and just stopped, but nope that was it.

66 people found this helpful

Warning to animal lovers

The last 1/4 of this book tells of some of the horrors of primate labs. I found it very upsetting.

142 people found this helpful

Could not end quick enough

No clue how it won so many awards. While an interesting premise, it failed to deliver and just bored me frankly. A big dull dud.

10 people found this helpful

Mysticism vs. the Self-fulfilling Prophecy

As the summary says, during the summer of 1969, four siblings in New York, Varya - 13, Daniel -11, Klara - 9, and Simon - 7, are contemplating another boring, miserably humid day on the Lower East Side when Daniel tells them he heard about a lady, a psychic, claiming the power *to tell fortunes and something else...she can say when you'll die.* Varya argues she doesn't want to know, Klara and Simon agree to go, and gradually the four make a pact to combine their savings and make a secret visit to the lady on Hester St.

Varya is the last to meet with the woman. After manipulating the young girl's palm she tells Varya she'll die in 2044, at the age of 88. *How do you know?* Varya asks. The woman says everything is contained in the hand, quoting the Greek philosopher, Heroclitus: *A man's character is his destiny.* (Personally, I'm not sure how the author has tied destiny to longevity.) When she reunites with her siblings outside, Danny is stony, Klara's cheeks are streaked with tears, and Simon is quiet and distant then refuses to eat dinner. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the author is throwing us a glimpse into the future. Potato, potahto...the first little manipulation by the author, in my opinion, a step at setting into motion the prophecies. The author is essentially asking, if you knew when you were to die, how and would you live your life differently, and, at the same time inserting the phenomenon of the self-fulfilling prophecy i.e.: an expectation about a subject, such as a person or event, can affect our behavior towards that subject, which causes the expectation to be realized.
If Tom Hank's character in Big, 12 yr. old Josh, would have known how it would all go, would he have dropped that quarter into Zoltar's gaping mouth and said to those flashing red eyes, *I wish I were big?"

The rest of the novel is divided into sections, each dealing with one of the siblings. Young Simon leaves for San Francisco ten years later, becomes a dancer in a gay nightclub. It's the early 80's, and after a string of boa feathers and gay affairs, he contracts AIDS. The sexual encounters the author describes are a bit graphic, which may be an issue for some readers. Simon has been reckless and irresponsible, obviously living very conscious of his death sentence.The once little quiet, distant Simon that couldn't eat his dinner, passes away the very day foretold by the fortune teller. ...And then there were three.

And, so it goes, minor characters slip in and out of the story, perfunctory visits to the Jewish mother in New York regroups the siblings and feel like little more than mile markers to show how the family dynamics have shifted. But, you can't yet sell Ms. Benjamin short. There are also other factors afflicting the siblings as they live out their lives. How do depression, addictions, mental disorders, disease, and family problems fit into each person's trajectory?

Haven't most of us felt that jab of self-doubt while reading a book? Sat in the corner at Book Club listening to unanimous accolades, too busy swallowing your intended declaration of *poopoo* regarding your reading experience to enjoy the coffee cake. That's how I've felt since I read this novel and the corresponding rave reviews. I waited and tried to re-evaluate my experience, but I wasn't able to find myself engaged with the book. And I really didn't like any of the siblings. The author writes intelligently, beautifully, and almost convinced me this was deserving the starred reviews. I didn't feel it, so I'll sit back and eat my coffee cake and realize that a book can have an interesting premise, wonderful sentences, a page full of recommendations, and still be a disappointment.

64 people found this helpful

Don’t listen to the hype. This book is disappointing.

This is a Jewish family. Reader should have had a New York cadence to the voice. The reader was absolutely the wrong choice! There were ethnic words that were pronounced incorrectly. No excuse. Do your homework.
The idea the novel is playing with: that we live our lives differently if we know when we are going to die is intriguing, but the execution was uneven. A beach read

28 people found this helpful

 Inaudible unfortunately

Would you try another book from Chloe Benjamin and/or Maggie Hoffman?

From Chloe Hoffman yes, but from Maggie Hoffman no.

How could the performance have been better?

The performance is read in such a monotone - like Ms Hoffman is a somnambulist sleepreading the script.

Any additional comments?

So many amazing performers on Audible bring even tough pithy books alive. Was so excited to hear this selection but will delete it and go back to reading the text version.

145 people found this helpful

Oh no

I usually only write a review when I want to rave about a book, but in this case I’ll make an exception.

I’m actually not sure if I like the book itself because the narration is so overwhelmingly awful that it completely obscured the writing.
Pretty much every character is voiced with an over-enunciated and yet somehow slightly slurred belligerence that is grating, monotonous and obscures the story. Even the exposition is over the top, with seemingly random emphases spat out in slow motion through clenched teeth.

The story itself is intriguing but also annoying. Teatro ZinZanni is woefully misrepresented, as is the Castro of the 70s and 80s. Other aspects are better written, but in this “performance” the flow and internal integrity of the constructed is shredded by the audio. In this case, the reader is better served by the printed page and her own imaginatiob.

20 people found this helpful

A Complex Deep Dive into Fractured Family Dynamics

Chloe Benjamin is a fantastic writer, giving us characters that we kind of like but plenty to flaws that give us pause. The different stories of each sibling will draw you in and make you consider how life can play out so differently for each.

My only gripe is with the narrator's choice in presenting the book. It felt like she read everything with a hint of attitude and it was just off-putting over time.

5 people found this helpful

Considered a refund 1/4 of the way in.

This was one of the slowest & unentertaining books I have listened to. I wanted to file for a refund after 1/4 of the book but I was listening while driving so couldn't log on to a computer.

15 people found this helpful