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thoughtsonbooks 's review for:
Spoonbenders
by Daryl Gregory
This book is like one of the magic tricks Teddy Telemachus performs in it - and like the very best magic tricks, you know a trick is being performed on you, you know your eyes are purposefully forced, you know a trick is coming - and you still get blindsided when it finally happens. It was just so awfully clever and I had such a blast trying to figure things out ahead. I enjoyed this so much while at the same time wanting to whack some characters on their heads.
The Amazing Telemachus' are a family of psychics (or con men, depending who you ask). After being debunked on live television they live a quiet life; Teddy the charming, weasely patriarch, astral projecting Maureen, and their children Irene (human lie detector), Frankie (telekinetic), and Buddy (clairvoyant). Years later, even their grandchild Matty is not sure what is true of their family lore and what Teddy made up - until he has his first out of body experience, when he realizes that there might be more truth to Teddy's stories than his mother Irene led on.
The book starts out meandering, but charming. Told in alternating perspectives following the five main characters, the first half or so is spent on showcasting the family and starting to move pieces into place. The characterization is so well-done that I did not mind this at all. I can just imagine every single one of them so vividly and their interaction feels real (if at times exasperating, but family is like that). I felt for Irene who does not know how to have relationships anymore when she always knows if somebody is lying, I raged at Frankie and his harebrained schemes, I marvelled at the enigma that is Buddy - always living at all times of his life at once. Is there even a place for free will if you always know what you will do ahead of time? Can you cheat your own knowledge to carve out a place for yourself? The plot was first secondary (but so much fun!), then more and more coming into focus. There is so much happening: The Mafia! The CIA! Cold War! Spies! Debt! Love! (one of those things is not like the other - but very much the focus of this book)
In the end, when everything came together, I had such a huge grin on my face while at the same time being scared out of my mind about these annoying characters and what they might lose before the end. I absolutely enjoyed this immensely and am still thinking about all the moving pieces that you only recognize as part of the puzzle when they suddenly slot into place. Awfully, awfully clever.
____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
The Amazing Telemachus' are a family of psychics (or con men, depending who you ask). After being debunked on live television they live a quiet life; Teddy the charming, weasely patriarch, astral projecting Maureen, and their children Irene (human lie detector), Frankie (telekinetic), and Buddy (clairvoyant). Years later, even their grandchild Matty is not sure what is true of their family lore and what Teddy made up - until he has his first out of body experience, when he realizes that there might be more truth to Teddy's stories than his mother Irene led on.
The book starts out meandering, but charming. Told in alternating perspectives following the five main characters, the first half or so is spent on showcasting the family and starting to move pieces into place. The characterization is so well-done that I did not mind this at all. I can just imagine every single one of them so vividly and their interaction feels real (if at times exasperating, but family is like that). I felt for Irene who does not know how to have relationships anymore when she always knows if somebody is lying, I raged at Frankie and his harebrained schemes, I marvelled at the enigma that is Buddy - always living at all times of his life at once. Is there even a place for free will if you always know what you will do ahead of time? Can you cheat your own knowledge to carve out a place for yourself? The plot was first secondary (but so much fun!), then more and more coming into focus. There is so much happening: The Mafia! The CIA! Cold War! Spies! Debt! Love! (one of those things is not like the other - but very much the focus of this book)
In the end, when everything came together, I had such a huge grin on my face while at the same time being scared out of my mind about these annoying characters and what they might lose before the end. I absolutely enjoyed this immensely and am still thinking about all the moving pieces that you only recognize as part of the puzzle when they suddenly slot into place. Awfully, awfully clever.
____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!