Spoonbenders (Gregory)

Spoonbenders
Daryl Gregory, 2017
Knopf Doubleday
416 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781524731823


Summary
Teddy Telemachus is a charming con man with a gift for sleight of hand and some shady underground associates. In need of cash, he tricks his way into a classified government study about telekinesis and its possible role in intelligence gathering.

There he meets Maureen McKinnon, and it’s not just her piercing blue eyes that leave Teddy forever charmed, but her mind—Maureen is a genuine psychic of immense and mysterious power.

After a whirlwind courtship, they marry, have three gifted children, and become the Amazing Telemachus Family, performing astounding feats across the country. Irene is a human lie detector. Frankie can move objects with his mind. And Buddy, the youngest, can see the future. Then one night tragedy leaves the family shattered.

Decades later, the Telemachuses are not so amazing. Irene is a single mom whose ear for truth makes it hard to hold down a job, much less hold together a relationship. Frankie’s in serious debt to his dad’s old mob associates. Buddy has completely withdrawn into himself and inexplicably begun digging a hole in the backyard.

To make matters worse, the CIA has come knocking, looking to see if there’s any magic left in the Telemachus clan. And there is: Irene’s son Matty has just had his first out-of-body experience. But he hasn’t told anyone, even though his newfound talent might just be what his family needs to save themselves — if it doesn’t tear them apart in the process.

Harnessing the imaginative powers that have made him a master storyteller, Daryl Gregory delivers a stunning, laugh-out-loud new novel about a family of gifted dreamers and the invisible forces that bind us all. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1965
• Where—Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Education—B.A., Illinois State University
• Awards—Crawford Award; World Fantasy Award; Shirley Jackson Award
• Currently—Oakland, California


Daryl Gregory is an American science fiction, fantasy and comic book author and won the 2009 Crawford Award for his novel Pandemonium. His most recent novel, Spoonbenders, was released in 2017.

Personal life
Daryl Gregory was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, with his two sisters. He graduated from Illinois State University in 1987 with majors in English and theater. After graduation, he taught high school in Michigan for three years and attended the Michigan State University Clarion science fiction workshop.

When his wife, Kathleen Bieschke, attained a job at the University of Utah, the couple moved to Salt Lake City. Later they moved to State College, Pennsylvania, where Bieschke took a job with Penn State University. Gregory worked for Minitab, a company producing statistical analysis software. They have two adult children but are now divorced. In 2016 Gregory moved to Oakland, California, where he writes full time and lives Liza Groen Trombi, Locus Magazine Publisher and Editor in Chief.

Career
In 1990 Gregory sold his first story to the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. His first novel, Pandemonium, came out in 2008, winning him the Crawford Award for best first fantasy book. The novel was also nominated for the World Fantasy Award, the Mythopoeic Awards and the Shirley Jackson Award.

Gregory's second novel, The Devil's Alphabet, was published in 2009 and named one of the best books of 2009 by Publishers Weekly. It was additionally nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. In 2011 he published Raising Stony Mayhall, as well as the short story collection, Unpossible and Other Stories. Publishers Weekly named the collections one of the five best science fiction books of the year.

In 2010 Gregory was hired by Boom! Studios to co-write Dracula: Company of Monsters with Kurt Busiek and later the Planet of the Apes tie-in comic. He also wrote the stand-alone graphic novel, The Secret Battles of Genghis Khan, published in 2013.

Neuro-SF novel Afterparty came out in 2014, and his novella, "We Are All Completely Fine," in 2014. The novella was a Nebula Award finalist, and won the 2015 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella, as well as the Shirley Jackson Award. (Adapted from Wikiipedia. Retrieved 7/13/2017.)

Book Reviews
Daryl Gregory’s heartfelt and immensely entertaining novel takes us inside a wacky family endowed with psychic gifts. Maybe “gifts” is the wrong word — because not one of the family’s psychic powers is in good working order, nor does anyone in the family even want them. For the most part, the Telemachus family would prefer to be ordinary suburban folks left alone to live their lives in peace. But of course … that won’t happen. And we know it won’t because we’re told, right at the outset, that 14-year-old Mattie Telemachus has just taken his first astral-plane trip out of his body. What else would a kid do with such power but get into trouble? READ MORE …
P.J. Adler - LitLovers


[F]unny and charming.… Gregory writes with humor and charm, offering up a rollicking and quick-paced plot tailor-made for summer, but what makes the novel magical is his exploration of what it means to harbor these gifts, and to be the World’s Most Powerful Psychic.… At times, Gregory speeds us through moments that should be lingered over or leaves loose ends untied. Other ends he ties too tightly.… But as with all novels, choices must be made, and the danger of creating such an enjoyable world is that it leaves a reader longing for more.
Manuel Gonzales - New York Times Book Reivew


A family plagued with malfunctioning superpowers, persistent federal agents, and the mafia should make for a fast-paced and enthralling story, but a stalled plot grounds the [novel]…. Gregory seamlessly switches between different points of view, creating vivid voices for each Telemachus family member. But the intermittent bursts of incomplete information…result in a less-than-concrete understanding.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Masterful.… [G]racefully balances the outrageous melodrama of Chicago mobsters and shadowy government agencies with the ordinary mysteries of family dynamics.… Readers will emerge from the fray sure they know each Telemachus down to the smudges on their hearts. A skillfully written family drama that employs quirk and magic with grace.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. What happens when the Telemachus family goes on Mike Douglas’s television show? What leads to the act not going as planned? What impact does it have on the family thereafter?

2. Why is Irene unable to trust anyone? How does this affect her relationships, including her relationship with Joshua? Is she able to overcome this? What advice does her father give her about this dilemma? Why is Irene exhilarated by online communication?

3. Why does Teddy refuse to invest in any of Frankie’s proposed ventures? What does Teddy believe is "the ultimate test of evolutionary fitness" (50)? How has Teddy succeeded in this test?

4. Why doesn’t Buddy speak most of the time even though he is able to? What is the question that haunts him the most? What does he mean when he thinks "Duty eats free will for breakfast"?

5. According to Teddy, what effect did "fear of the Russians" have on the U.S. government during the Cold War? What is the correlation between fear and gullibility?

6. What is "the great catch" in Irene’s ability? What might this suggest about truth?

7. After Maureen falls ill, she confesses to Teddy that she allied herself with a dissident Russian and reported false results to her government employer. Why did she choose to do this? Were her actions justified? Explain. 

8. Why does Buddy take Frankie to the casino boat even though he knows what will happen to his brother? Where does Buddy go when he disappears?

9. Who is Archibald and what is his relationship to the Telemachus family? Is Archibald responsible for Maureen’s death as Frankie believes? 

10. What does Maureen make Teddy promise before her death and why? Does Teddy honor his promise? Why or why not? 

11. Are the Telemachuses’ powers ultimately beneficial or are they more of a hindrance or a curse? Discuss.

12. Despite their powers, what common problems or obstacles does the Telemachus family face? How do they resolve these issues? What seems to unite the family? 

13. What does the book indicate about the power of suggestion? Which of the characters in the book are swayed by placebos, cons, and the power of suggestion? What is the most surprising example of this? Do we learn what causes these characters to believe in something that isn’t true or real?

14. What are "the moment the future ends" (86) and "the Zap"? What favor does Buddy ask of his sister on the day the future ends? How is he changed as a result?

15. At the end of the story, where does Matty go? Who does he believe is his "partner in transparency" (399)? What does Matty ultimately realize navigation is an act of?
(Questions issued by publishers.)

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