One of Us
One of Us by Dan Chaon explores themes of the self, otherness, found family, and what it means to live and die in the trappings of a thrilling adventure novel.
Chaon expertly weaves several story threads and genres, following orphan 13-year-old twins Bolt and Eleanor Lambkin, their “Uncle” Charlie, and Mr. Jengling’s carnival troupe through a work that’s part magical realism, part pulp adventure, and part historical fiction - I get very Carnivale - the criminally short-lived HBO show - vibes, though it’s set about 20 years later than this novel.
Bolt and Eleanor barely knew their father, and their mother seemed to already have half a foot in the grave, telling anyone who would listen that she is surprised to wake up every day and spending as much time as she could with her spiritualist group (ah, those wacky early 20th century spiritualists). When they were 13, that eventuality came to pass, and soon they found themselves being taken by a man claiming to be their father Jasper’s brother - but we know to be a con-man who’d as soon kill you as look at you - Charlie.
When they run away, they end up on an orphan train, where they are sold to a carnival owner, Mr. Jengling, and for the first time, they start having separate thoughts, separate dreams, separate lives - and they both desire and fear that.
They start to settle in to their new life, Eleanor remaining aloof and distrusting, unsure of what Mr. Jengling could want from two ugly children, while Bolt finds camaraderie and friendship, perhaps even falling in love a little with the telepathic medium Rosalie, whom he’s assigned to assist.
Meanwhile, “Uncle” Charlie, in part due to some misguided loyalty to - possibly some form of love for - their father, mostly because he thinks he can use them for some benefit, is on the hunt for them.
There is so much more going on in One of Us, we get to see inside the lives of some of Mr. Jengling’s children, as he calls them, we even get the story of “Uncle” Charlie and Jasper Lambkin, and the last third of the book flew by as I couldn’t get to what happened next fast enough leading to a conclusion I never saw coming.
One of Us was the first book of Dan Chaon’s I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be the last.
Note: I listened to the audio along with reading the ebook, and I recommend it. Multiple narrators for the different PoVs and high production quality from Macmillan as usual.
Do like I did and borrow from your public library, or support your favorite indie bookstore (and me) by using my link to order the audiobook from https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm60355 OR if you prefer using your eyes to read, support your favorite indie (and give us both 20% off if it’s your first purchase) by using my link at https://refer.bookshop.org/candidanorwood.
