Twinless Twin - The James Alan McPherson Prize for the Novel by Dean Marshall Tuck Paperback

About the Book

This rural gothic novel finds a family maimed by the unspeakable actions of a troubled, enigmatic son, raising questions about culpability in the face of tragedy and about the responsibilities of those who remain.

Book Synopsis

The James Alan McPherson Prize for the Novel, AWP Award Series Winner

Twinless Twin finds a family maimed by a troubled, enigmatic son, whose unspeakable actions leave the family reeling, torn between moving on and searching for answers. A twin who survives their sibling twin may sometimes be plagued with lifelong feelings of loss, guilt, and even a strange sense of urgency--a need to live two lives in one. In this story, the tragedy of the lost child reverberates through the surviving sibling and ripples through the rest of the family and beyond.

Set largely in twentieth-century America in the foothills of an unnamed mountain, this insular landscape breeds rumor, legend, desperation, daydreams, and a mystery that runs deeper than the family who inhabits its woods. Raising questions regarding culpability in the face of tragedy and the responsibilities of those who remain after a family has been splintered, Twinless Twin ultimately asks: What must be done to salvage the family, their reputation, and their homeplace?

Review Quotes

"A dreamy tale that unravels with hypnotic precision. A story of love and secrets, all played out against a backdrop of meticulous, flowing writing. The best stories are the ones that leave readers with decisions to make: about themselves, about life, about the world. Twinless Twin leaves readers with all of those difficult choices and more. It's a novel that relies heavily on the established traditions of rural storytelling--with its tropes of magic, danger, and folklore--while grappling with contemporary themes with no loss of momentum or impact. In short: a wonderful story."--Jason Mott, author of Hell of a Book, winner of the National Book Award

"In Twinless Twin, Dean Marshall Tuck takes us by the hand and leads us into a twilight world that exists just outside our everyday perceptions. The mood is uncanny and the prose haunting. His language is lyrical, engaging, and emotionally precise. And the voices of his characters sing with heartbreak, joy, and deep love. This is a book about a family unlike any you have ever encountered. But by the end, it's also about your own."--Richard Hatem, writer and producer of film and television, scriptwriter of The Mothman Prophecies

"Reader beware: This amazing first novel is haunted, not just by mysterious creatures in the Appalachian deep woods, but by enduring humans facing mortality all around them--births, deaths, horrible accidents, and even more horrible cruelty from within their own kith and kin. It's like a surreal Southern fever dream from which no one can awake, yet in the end the characters find hope in the fractured hearts of others, and in items that can fit in the palm of your hand: coins, teeth, a pocket watch, a railroad spike, a rock. I loved Twinless Twin."--Mark Richard, author of Fishboy and House of Prayer No. 2

About the Author

Dean Marshall Tuck is a writer living in eastern North Carolina with his wife and daughters. His work has been published in Alaska Quarterly Review, Epoch, Witness Magazine, and elsewhere. Tuck serves on the advisory board for the North Carolina Literary Review and teaches writing at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, North Carolina.