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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Some violence across the siblings' sections; Simon's AIDS death is among the novel's most affecting sequences
Language
Some
Adult language in Benjamin's literary register
Sexual Content
Some
Adult content across the siblings' lives; one section involves gay sexuality in 1970s San Francisco
Substance Use
A lot
One sibling's section centers on drug abuse; significant substance use throughout that storyline
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological weight of living under the shadow of a known death date — and how differently each sibling responds — is the novel's brilliant and moving subject
What this book is about
Chloe Benjamin's debut novel follows the Gold siblings who visit a fortune teller in 1969 New York and receive the dates of their deaths. Each sibling's section follows their life: Simon, a gay dancer in 1970s San Francisco; Klara, a magician; Daniel, a military doctor; Varya, a longevity researcher. Benjamin writes with genuine literary ambition; the AIDS crisis hits one section with full force, drug use is central to another, and the novel's structural ambition is matched by its emotional execution.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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