By Bill Miner
NextGen Co-chair

The new NextGen Book Club met for the first time on December 7 to discuss the novel “The Immortalists” by Chloe Benjamin. The gathering of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley group was virtual, with most participants sitting in their homes. Several of their kids’ furry friends made guest appearances, while each adult had a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate at hand.

Some of the group had never been to a book club before, and we worked to cultivate an environment where everyone’s voice could be heard and everyone felt comfortable. We discussed the novel’s themes, how those themes play into everyone’s lives, and what lessons we could learn. 

The plot centers around a family of four children: Simon, Klara, Daniel, and Varya. The children learn the dates of their deaths and strike out in remarkable ways. One son discovers his true identity in San Francisco, another becomes a magician, and a third becomes an army doctor, while the daughter goes into biological research. 

What happens next challenges each sibling, and each of the book’s readers, to think about how people approach their own lives. Do we limit ourselves or embrace risk? What do the roles of our friends and family play in our choices? The group posed, discussed, and wrestled with these questions and came up with more questions, all in a very laid-back environment. We talked about how responsibility to family and family legacy impacted one’s choices. 

NextGen Book Club invites everyone ages 30-45 to attend our next meeting, in March. The specific date will be announced in January, and we will also solicit suggestions for the next book. 

If you have any suggestions for a book, or questions about NextGen, contact Lee Kestecher Solomon, Jewish Federation director of community engagement, at [email protected] or 610-821-5500. We are hoping to create an online list of fiction and nonfiction reading recommendations for everyone in the community.