One of Us

Psychic twins join a carnival sideshow to escape a madman in Chaon’s spectacular latest (after Sleepwalk). Born in 1901 Ohio, Eleanor and Bolt Lambkin can read each other’s minds and, sometimes, the thoughts of others. Their father, Jasper, an itinerant mentalist whom they never knew, died by suicide, and after their mother dies in 1914, Bolt and Eleanor are taken in by a man who calls himself Uncle Charlie and claims to be their only living relative. Turns out Charlie is actually a murderous grifter and onetime friend of Jasper’s, who hopes to make money from the twins’ paranormal abilities. Bolt and Eleanor stupefy him with spiked beer, talk their way onto an orphan train, and are adopted in Iowa by traveling carnival operator Harland Jengling. Eleanor is standoffish with Jengling and his troupe but Bolt bonds with performers Elmer the Dog-Faced Boy, Gladness the half-ton woman, and even the eerie Rosalie, who has a partial second head and can predict people’s deaths. Determined to punish—and profit from—the twins, Charlie follows their trail westward, setting the stage for a climactic encounter that tests their ability to protect each other. Chaon dazzles with his vision of family, strangeness, and the tension between care and exploitation. This captivating adventure is not to be missed. (Sept.)