Reviews - Spoonbenders | The StoryGraph

640 reviews for:

A wonderfully original way to tell what is basically a heartwarming family saga of a very unusual family. Throw in some friends, enemies, federal agents, the mob, and astral travel, and you've got a very entertaining story, saved from being merely comedic by the omnipresence of beloved wife and mother, Mo, the 'World's Greatest Psychic', who died when the grown children were very young. The chapters are told (and the plot advanced) through the eyes of the Telemachus family members - Teddy, his grown children Irene, Frankie and Buddy, and his grandson Matty - an interesting crew, each in their own way. The ending is much more antic than all that comes earlier, but it also ties up most of the story in a satisfying way. If you think the title is funny, you'll appreciate this book's sense of humor and if you liked The Family Fang you'll probably like this. The elegiac missing mother/wife also reminded me of Moonglow. After I finished the book I saw the author's picture on the back flap - dang if he wasn't an older Buddy! I wonder if he sees himself that way.

whatmeganreads's review against another edition

5.0

My first read of 2018 gets a five star rating. BOOM. How awesome is that?! My book club picked this novel for our January theme of magical realism (a genre which I’m finding I enjoy more and more) and I absolutely loved it.

I thought the characters in this story were so well constructed, they were each loveably flawed, quirky, and so fun to watch develop as the storyline progressed. I felt like the plot was perfectly paced – it kept me completely engrossed and I had no idea what would happen next. I mentioned in my Instagram review that it was a book that made me feel ALL THE THINGS. And it really did! At some point during the course of the book I alternately laughed out loud, felt afraid, teared up, and fist pumped. Oh, how I adored this family. I officially want to be a Telemachus!

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Nothing kills nostalgia for your childhood home like moving back into it. She’d come limping back to Chicago in her eight-year-old Ford Festiva, a teenage son in the passenger seat sprouting and stewing form every pore, dragging a U-Haul crammed with the entirety of her possessions: a mattress and box spring; a wood-veneer coffee table; two sturdy kitchen chairs; and two dozen wet cardboard boxes labeled HUMILIATION and DISAPPOINTMENT."

"New love walks up and slaps you on the butt, demands your attention, gets your pulse racing. Old love lies in wait. It’s there in the evening when your eyes are closing. It slides into bed beside you, runs its ghost fingers through your hair, whispers your secret name. Old love is never gone."

"Denny’s is a hellscape of unfettered free will."

kielma's review against another edition

5.0

This is the story of a family that all have various psychic abilities. All except the patriarch who pretends to be a mind-reader through excellent sleight of hand. The story flashes back and forth in time, from when the patriarch is just meeting his future wife (who has great psychic abilities), to when their children start to discover their powers, to present day when the grandchildren are just beginning to discover their powers. This is the story of how having various powers affects the lives of these people. I found it to be a fun read that kept me coming back for more.