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Spoonbenders
On sale
24th August 2017
Price: £14.99
*** The BBC Radio 2 Book Club choice ***
*** An amazon.com Top 20 Books of The Year pick ***
*** In development with Paramount TV ***
‘Funny and charming . . . magical’ New York Times Book Review
‘Hilarious, freewheeling’ Guardian
‘Gloriously imaginative’ Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
They were the Amazing Telemachus Family, who in the mid-1970s achieved widespread fame for their magic and mind reading act. That is, until the magic decided to disappear one night, live on national television.
We encounter this long-forgotten family two decades on, when grandson Matty, born long after the public fall from grace, discovers powers in himself and realises his hugely deflated, heavily indebted family truly are amazing.
Spoonbenders is the legacy and legend of a dysfunctional, normal, entirely unique family across three generations of big personalities and socially inept recluses – each cursed with the potential of being something special.
*** An amazon.com Top 20 Books of The Year pick ***
*** In development with Paramount TV ***
‘Funny and charming . . . magical’ New York Times Book Review
‘Hilarious, freewheeling’ Guardian
‘Gloriously imaginative’ Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
They were the Amazing Telemachus Family, who in the mid-1970s achieved widespread fame for their magic and mind reading act. That is, until the magic decided to disappear one night, live on national television.
We encounter this long-forgotten family two decades on, when grandson Matty, born long after the public fall from grace, discovers powers in himself and realises his hugely deflated, heavily indebted family truly are amazing.
Spoonbenders is the legacy and legend of a dysfunctional, normal, entirely unique family across three generations of big personalities and socially inept recluses – each cursed with the potential of being something special.
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Reviews
A joyfully weird book about psychics and con artists, and the marvels that result from the intermarriage of the two.
Spoonbenders is brilliant. With the Telemachus clan, Daryl Gregory has created a family that is part J.D. Salinger and part David Foster Wallace. But the most impressive trick in the novel isn't how they read minds. Gregory's real gift is how he uses them to show the depths of the human heart.
A big generational family story of longing, nostalgia and humor. The writing is so deftly charming and yet deeply felt. Spoonbenders is entertaining and moving - a perfect summer read.
Did you spend a childhood convinced that you were *this close* to developing telekinetic powers? Me too! The supernatural may elude us still, but there is real magic in Daryl Gregory's gleeful story of the Amazing Telemachus Family. Spoonbenders is also about the power of belief and whether we can ever escape our tangled family legacies - and why we might not want to.
Imagine amazing powers - but do so with uncommon creativity, rigor, and humor. You might, if you're lucky, arrive at the delicious drama of the girl who can smell lies; the all-at-once-ness of the boy who can't not see the future; the great dilemma of the psychic pressed into service as a spy. Daryl Gregory's novel traces the line where gift balances against curse and by the end, we realize he isn't only talking about amazing powers after all. Spoonbenders is X-Files meets The Sopranos with a real, roaring heart.
This gloriously imaginative novel featuring a family of somewhat reluctant psychics has a nifty trick up its sleeve - as whimsical and eccentric as the Telemachus family is, their hopes and desires perfectly mirror our own. Spoonbenders is hilarious, heartfelt and brimming with humanity.
Cleverly plotted and swiftly paced . . . Gregory's novel deploys a cast of odd, damaged, enormously likable characters . . . Readers will emerge from the fray sure they know each Telemachus down to the smudges on their hearts.
Utterly charming and effortlessly witty . . . this is a book that constantly surprises and blindsides you . . . the book is bursting with vibrant characters, nostalgic detail, cheeky cultural references and delightful twists. If Spoonbenders were a film it'd be a Wes Anderson remake of The Incredibles.
A magnificently twisted collision of a book that reads like Michael Chabon or John Irving but plays out in your head like the cast of Arrested Development just hijacked The X-Files and the whole thing is directed by Wes Anderson. It touches your heart while frequently being laugh out loud funny . . . a riotous comic epic that really shouldn't work but somehow it is impossible not to fall in love with. . . A brilliant achievement.
Daryl Gregory has written a novel as gripping as it is hilarious. The members of the Telemachus family may have powers beyond our own, but in telling their tale, Gregory reminds us of the bits of ordinary magic that are at the heart of every successful family. You will love this book.
Laugh out loud.
A sprawling, quirky-smart saga.
Superbly engaging, balancing delightful wackiness with genuine tenderness throughout in a way reminiscent of Michael Chabon or Jonathan Lethem.
Even though the action is never-ending, it's fun, and the engaging plot is supported by a clever structure. I stayed up late into the night reading chapter after chapter, pulled in by yet another fantastic line that either made me laugh or gasp in surprise . . . With characters like these, you're bound to love one, and I'd wager you'll end up loving them all.
Gregory's characters are brightly drawn, and he neatly captures the world of the early internet. But the real fun is in seeing how his intricately constructed puzzle comes together in the end.
A story about a family in freefall, one that manages not only to land on its feet, but to find those feet clad in elegant dancing shoes, ready to deliver a spin and final flourish as a prelude to a well-deserved fictional bow.
A celebration of family love and self-protection.
Compassionate, heartfelt . . . A wonderful story about a weird family - but no weirder, really, than any other - and the love that binds them together, against all odds.
[An] exhilarating, high-action drama . . . For a book that insists so consistently on differentiating true talent from clever tricks, Spoonbenders reveals an author gifted with more than his share of both.
A skillfully written family drama that employs quirk and magic with grace.
Pure escapism . . . crisp and frequently clever.
The strength of this book is in its characters . . . The writing is effortlessly original and at times painfully insightful. Whatever you do, don't miss Spoonbenders.
A surprising and engrossing novel.
Daryl Gregory's Spoonbenders takes a madcap look at the US in the latter half of the 20th century through the dysfunctional but endearing Telemachus family . . . What follows is a hilarious, freewheeling caper involving Chicago gangsters and government secret agents, culminating in a satisfyingly bittersweet denouement.
Gregory seamlessly switches between different points of view, creating vivid voices for each Telemachus family member.
Spoonbenders gallops . . . Gregory's characters are simply magical - in terms of both their abilities and their deeply recognizable humanity.
A hilarious portrayal of family, schemes and a few superpowers thrown in along the way . . . The level of emotional detail at work is astounding, and Gregory's magic touch makes even their strangest moments relatable. These characters' gifts merge with a brisk pace and a subtle, often bittersweet sense of comedy to make Spoonbenders an intensely endearing read. The premise will hook you, the plot will entice you, and then the Telemachuses themselves will make you fall in love.
Gregory writes with humour and charm, offering up a rollicking and quick-paced plot tailor-made for summer.
Sweet, inventive . . . from start to finish.
Delightful . . . a poignant tale of a family teaming up to defeat the insurmountable odds stacked against it.
A superbly entertaining novel . . . well-written, beautifully constructed.
Spoonbenders is a great story and a lovely read. Daryl Gregory manages to bring both laughter and tears in this caper, which is part heist novel, part bildungsroman, and all family saga. I adored it.
Heartwarming and hilarious . . . The greatest trick of all in Spoonbenders may be that it shows the inexplicable alchemy of family . . . Gregory takes the many narrative threads and weaves them together for his final revelation.
If you're looking for a quirky book that will win your heart and make you laugh, then you must meet the Amazing Telemachus Family . . . This dysfunctional family of disgraced psychics, conmen, psychokinetics and oddballs are some of the most memorable characters we've encountered this year.
Impeccably twisty . . . compassionate and witty . . . a delight.