Changes

It's a difficult plot to discuss in any detail, as there would be spoilers inherent in any character's day or manner of death. But there is still plenty to talk about in the paths the four siblings follow and the different ways they respond to the advance knowledge of their (perhaps untimely) deaths. I can imagine how much fun Benjamin had researching and writing this novel: she's able to explore four distinct worlds. Daniel, a military doctor, examines Iraq War recruits; Klara becomes a magician in Las Vegas; Varya researches aging ageing via primate studies; and Simon is a dancer in San Francisco. The settings, time periods, and career paths are so diverse that you feel you get four novels' worth of interesting background.

The siblings also differ in the extreme in terms of how they deal with the fortune teller's revelations. In this fictional world , the dates of death seem inevitable, but before that deadline one can choose to chase after life afterlife experiences, to give in, or to seek revenge. One can rail at fate or decide that life is of one's own making. 'Nobody picks their life. I sure didn't,' their mother, Gertie, says; 'Here's what happens: you make choices, and then ''they'' make choices.' Daniel gives a contrasting opinion, though: 'The truth is that most people enjoy a certain level of impotence. But I think we ''do'' have control—so much that it scares us to death.'