''Spoonbenders'' is a
fantasy novel
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...
by American writer
Daryl Gregory
Daryl Gregory (born 1965) is an American science fiction, fantasy and comic book author. Gregory is a 1988 alumnus of the Michigan State University Clarion science fiction workshop, and won the 2009 Crawford Award for his novel ''Pandemonium''. ...
, published in 2017 by
Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
. It follows the rise and fall of the Telemachus family as its members, each with his or her own unique
telekinetic
Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...
or
clairvoyant
Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...
ability, navigate lives filled with frustrations, hilarity and intrigue.
Background
''Spoonbenders'' is Daryl Gregory's seventh novel
and was inspired by
Uri Geller
Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other i ...
and others who, in the 1970s, appeared on popular television shows claiming to have psychic powers. The title of the book comes from Geller's stage trick of
bending spoons
Bending Spoons S.p.A. is an Italian mobile application developer, founded in 2013 and based in Milan. The company is known primarily for iOS mobile apps, including Splice, 30 Day Fitness, Live Quiz, and Remini. In November 2022, it agreed to ac ...
.
Gregory, who grew up in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
and now lives in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, wanted to write a book that was neither
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
or
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
like his previous books.
To research the book, Gregory participated in a spoon bending seminar in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. He attributed the bending more to strength than psychic ability.
"It just struck me that it's the saddest of the psychic powers. Does anyone really need bent cutlery? There's something about the small scale of it. They're not changing the world. They're just bending spoons."
Still, he told a reporter of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
n newspaper ''
The Mercury News
''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...
''of his writing process, "I'm never really happy until something weird intrudes".
Gregory, describes himself as "really boring and a skeptic about this stuff".
He reminds readers at the end of ''Spoonbenders'' that "None of it's real, folks."
Overview
''Spoonbenders'' follows the lives of a "somewhat dysfunctional and often hilarious" Telemachus family.
The main characters include: Teddy Telemachus, the patriarch (a con man); Maureen, his wife (a powerful psychic); their three children Irene (a human lie detector), Frankie (a telekinetic), and Buddy (a person who can foretell the future); and Matty, Irene's son who can travel outside his body when sexually aroused by thoughts of his cousin Mary Alice (nicknamed Malice).
The story line of ''Spoonbenders'' moves back and forth between the 1960s, when Teddy and Maureen meet in a classified
ESP study,
and the 1990s, when their three children are coping with life and the death of their mother. In the early days, the Telemachus family toured as a group showing off their superpowers. This early success is thwarted when they participate on a television show and are debunked,
James Randi
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skepticism, scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific cla ...
style, and discredited.
As adult children, Irene, Frankie, and Buddy are struggling to cope. Irene's lie detecting abilities have ruined her relationships, Frankie's telekinesis, rather than help him, has gotten him in trouble with the mob with a get rich scheme, and Buddy's "memory of the future" has left him verbally paralyzed (he does not want to upset the future) and digging holes in his father's backyard. Irene's 14-year-old son, Matty, too, develops out-of-body experiences while spying on his step-cousin, Mary Alice, and masturbating.
Along with threats from the mob, the family is being investigated by a government agent who had worked with Maureen years earlier.
Reception
The novel was nominated for the 2018 Nebula award.
''Spoonbenders'' has received positive reviews from critics who describe it as an unexpectedly funny, charming, touching, and "fascinating glimpse" into the lives of people who believe they have psychic powers:
a magical magic trick of sorts.
Gary K. Wolfe, of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'', wrote: "Gregory makes excellent use of the comic potential of hapless superpowers and sets up some intriguing mysteries, but mostly the novel is a celebration of family love and self-protection."
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reviewer, Manual Gonzales, while favorable to the book overall, found the story lacking in a few places when Gregory "sped through moments that should linger" and "left loose ends untied". He noted that Maureen McKinnon's storyline could have been developed further. While Amal El-Mohtar of
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
found Matty's behavior toward his step-cousin "sleazy and not endearing",
Gonzales mentioned that Mary Alice (Malice), "spends most of the novel gothy and removed" and then shows up in the final act of the book sympathetic, forgiving, and willing to "help Matty project".
Adaptations
, ''
You're the Worst
''You're the Worst'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Stephen Falk. Originally broadcast by FX, the series moved to its sister channel FXX beginning with the second season. The series follows Jimmy (Chris Geere), a self- ...
'' showrunner
Stephen Falk has been developing a
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
development for
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
2017 American novels
Skepticism
American fantasy novels
Alfred A. Knopf books
English-language books