Spoonbenders

The Amazing Telemachus Family once dazzled audiences with their psychic abilities on national television, until a skeptic exposed them as frauds. Now in 1995 Chicago, the remaining family members live in obscurity, each possessing genuine supernatural talents they rarely use. Matty, a teenage boy who can astral project but only while sleeping, lives with his father Frankie, a small-time con man who can see brief glimpses of the future. His aunt Irene is a human lie detector who cannot tell a lie herself, while his uncle Buddy appears trapped in a time loop, performing strange tasks for reasons only he understands. The story alternates between different time periods and family members' perspectives as they face mounting pressures from the mob, government agents, and their own complicated relationships. Their individual struggles connect to a larger mystery involving their deceased matriarch Maureen's legendary psychic abilities and an event from the family's past. At its core, Spoonbenders explores the tension between extraordinary gifts and ordinary life, questioning how supernatural abilities might help or hinder a family's pursuit of love, purpose, and connection in a skeptical world.

Readers highlight the blend of family drama with psychic abilities, with many noting the book's humor and heart. The multigenerational storyline and complex character relationships draw frequent mentions in reviews. Readers liked: - Character development, especially Teddy and Matty - Balance of supernatural elements with realistic family dynamics - Dark humor and witty dialogue - Multiple timeline structure - Audiobook narration by Ari Fliakos Readers disliked: - Slow pacing in first third of book - Large cast of characters can be confusing initially - Some found the 1990s mob subplot less engaging - Shifts between past/present timelines felt jarring to some Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (13,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (500+ ratings) LibraryThing: 4.1/5 (300+ ratings) "Like if Wes Anderson directed X-Men" - common reader comparison "The family dynamics feel real despite the supernatural premise" - Goodreads reviewer

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🌟 Uri Geller, referenced in the novel, famously bent spoons on television in the 1970s but was later exposed by magician James Randi, who replicated all of Geller's "psychic" feats using stage magic techniques. 🌟 Author Daryl Gregory won the World Fantasy Award for his novel "We Are All Completely Fine" and has written acclaimed comic books for Planet of the Apes and Dracula. 🌟 The CIA actually ran a real psychic program called Project Stargate from the 1970s to 1995, similar to the government interest in psychics portrayed in the novel. 🌟 The book's title "Spoonbenders" pays homage to both Uri Geller's famous spoon-bending demonstrations and the 1970s counterculture term for people claiming to have psychic abilities. 🌟 The novel's Chicago mob elements are rooted in historical fact - the Chicago Outfit was one of America's most powerful crime organizations in the 1970s, when part of the story takes place.