One of Us
Read this novel in a well-lit place and with friendly people around you. One of Us by Dan Chaon is a masterpiece of macabre storytelling set in the midwestern U.S. of 1915.
The story is about a pair of thirteen-year-old twins, Bolt and Eleanor, who are unlucky enough to have lost both parents and their home, as well. A man who claims to be their uncle then suspiciously arrives on the scene. Charlie is no savior. He is a mad psychopath who enjoys killing people. And he demands total submission from the twins whom he believes have powers to prophesize.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), the twins are rescued by another intellectually aberrant character, Mr. Jengling, who owns a circus of intellectually and physically disabled people who are put on display for money in different towns. There is sweet Rosalie, for example, who has the head of a boy poking from the back of her head.
The plot has many shocking twists and frightening events. The dialogue is twisted, yet compelling at times. The unfortunate circus characters are appealing in their attempts to live their existence with some dignity. But the heart of the novel is the twins: as small children, they are very close, but, as they mature and interact with others in their challenging environments, their different responses to these people pull them apart. Chaon traces this journey with delicate pathos.
