Erika Swyler

David Pittu

Katherine Kellgren

Ari Fliakos

A Novel

The Book of Speculation

"Simon Watson, a young librarian on the verge of losing his job, lives alone on the Long Island Sound in his family home--a house, perched on the edge of a bluff, that is slowly crumbling toward the sea. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, works for a traveling carnival reading tarot cards, and seldom calls. On a day in late June, Simon receives a mysterious package from an antiquarian bookseller. The book tells the story of Amos and Evangeline, doomed lovers who lived and worked in a traveling circus more than two hundred years ago. The paper crackles with age as Simon turns the yellowed pages filled with notes, sketches, and whimsical flourishes; and his best friend and fellow librarian, Alice, looks on in increasing alarm. Why does his grandmother's name, Verona Bonn, appear in this book? Why do so many women in his family drown on July 24? Could there possibly be some kind of curse on his family--and could Enola, who has suddenly turned up at home for the first time in six years, risk the same fate in just a few weeks? In order to save her--and perhaps himself--Simon must try urgently to decode his family history while moving on from the past. The Book of Speculation is Erika Swyler's gorgeous and moving debut, a wondrous novel about the power of books and family and magic"--

The book of speculation

Melissa Palmer

Book #35 Read in 2015
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

Simon is a librarian who loves books. He receives an old one in the mail and contacts the bookseller who sent it to him; the bookseller says that he thinks Simon will find it an interesting read. He does, as it tells the history of his family that was previously unknown to him. While reading it, Simon's sister returns and the two find out there is a lot about their family that they might not have had known. This book was well written and had a sort of gothic feel to it. It told parallel stories of Simon's ancestors and Simon's own present-day story. This can be jarring to readers but Swyler did a really nice job with it. I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine in exchange for a honest review.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

Beatrice

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Actual rating: 3.5/5

I quite enjoyed this book, and it was easily one of the best debuts I've read so far this year. The story was captivating, and the writing flowed easily. The book is split between the present, where we follow Simon and his research into the family history, and the past, where we get to see the origin of the family itself. For most of the book, I actually enjoyed the parts set in the past more than the present. As much as I was interested in seeing Simon unravel the secrets of his family to understand the curse that threatens his sister's life, I have to admit that most of the time I was just bored as he did enormous amounts of research to discover stuff I had mostly figured out already. I found his story to really pick up and become interesting around the 80% mark, which was way too late for me. On the other hand, I was really invested in the "past sections" and I would actually have loved to have a deeper insight into the daily lives of the colourful cast of characters that formed the travelling show. 

Speaking of characters, I was slightly disappointed by them. I felt that the whole cast just had so much potential, as each of them was carrying the weight of their past, and battling their own personal demons. There was such a wide range of characters and a variety of backgrounds, it being mostly set in a circus environment, that I felt it was really a shame that we didn't get to see more of them and to explore their personalities in more depth. This book was definitely plot driven, and it just felt to me as if a character was only recognised as far as he/she was instrumental to the plot. We only ever saw the parts of their personalities, their abilities or even the characters themselves when they were necessary to advance the plot, and practically never for the sake of getting to know the character personally. And that's perfectly fine, if you like books that focus more on the plot. If, however, like me you're obsessed with characters and getting to know as much as possible about them in the 300-or-so pages you've been gifted, you're likely to be left disappointed by this.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read, if at times a little too slow, particularly in the middle section. The author put in place a compelling story, narrated with great ability. She also managed to weave in magical elements seamlessly, and actually for a moment had me believing in mermaids and curses as if they were as common as cats and pizza. I'll definitely be on the lookout for her future work!

Originally posted on Book for Thought.

taryn a.

i literally was talking about how much i dislike split narrative/timeline novels with a friend AS i picked up this one in the bookstore. but it was on clearance for $6 and promised doomed circus mermaids, so i made an exception. it was… fine? a little heavy-handed on how it presented clues or pieces of lore, and yet not clear enough until the final pages how all the characters histories intersected. none of it really got me excited, and i don’t really feel like it had any business being compared to the night circus or other magical circus-adjacent novels other than the virtue of having a carnival.

Annie

Zwischen Fantasy und Realität
Das Buch hat einen angenehmen Schreibstil, das vorweg. Trotzdem hat es für mich zu wenige Emotionen transportiert. Ich hatte kaum Gefühle für die Figuren und der Fortlauf der Geschichte war mir schlichtweg egal. Gegen Ende kam endlich etwas Spannung auf, welche in einem unbefriedigenden Ende schnell verflog.
Leider hält sich das Buch in einem Zwischenbereich von Fantasy und Realität auf, was mir nicht gefiel. Hier hätte ich eine klare Richtung schöner gefunden.

Inga Kühn 

Am Anfang des Buches dachte ich, dass dies auf jeden Fall 5 Sterne bekommen müsste. Schon nach den ersten Seiten war ich im Bann dieser Geschichte gefangen, verlor mich in den beeindruckend kunstvollen Sätzen und begann Theorien zu erstellen, wie sich die Handlung wohl weiterentwickeln würde. 
Im Laufe des Buches wurde mir immer deutlicher gezeigt, dass ich jede der Figuren auf ihre Weise sehr mochte und dennoch Probleme mit jedem im Buch hatte.
Das Buch ist unterschwellig voll Magie und übernatürlicher Dinge, bezaubert einen durch die Gefühle, die es hervorruft: Das starke Weigern etwas loszulassen, obwohl es schon lange weg ist; das verzweifelte Klammern an alles bekannte, an Familie und Geschichte; ein allgegenwärtiger Hauch von Nostalgie und die unumstößliche Atmosphäre von Dark academia.
Ich hätte mir jedoch etwas mehr offensichtliche Magie oder Fantasie gewünscht, das Buch lässt dir soweit nämlich frei, die Hintergründe im Übernatürlichen zu suchen oder nicht.
Nichtsdestotrotz ein unfassbar schönes Buch, was ich jederzeit weiterempfehlen würde und allein vom Schreibstil eines meiner absoluten Favoriten.

Libby G

4.5/5
A truly lovely book with lovely quotes that resonated well. Reading this book was like catching up to an old friend, warm, and familiar. You know you'll catch up again, as I plan to re-read this book. I loved the characters and enjoyed getting to know them well and their history.

Simon Watson lives alone on the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks. On a day in late June, Simon receives a mysterious book from an antiquarian bookseller; it has been sent to him because it is inscribed with the name of Simon's grandmother. The book tells the story of two doomed lovers who were part of a travelling circus more than two hundred years ago. He is fascinated, yet as he reads Simon becomes increasingly unnerved. Why do so many women in his family drown on 24th July? And could his beloved sister, who has suddenly turned up at home for the first time in years, risk the same terrible fate? As 24th July draws ever closer, Simon must unlock the mysteries of the book, and decode his family history, before it's too late.

iris

it might be a slow book at first but the mystery of it all grabs you.
i loved it.

Josee Blanchard

The book of Speculation 
\By: Erika Swyler

A sweeping and captivating debut novel about a young librarian who is sent a mysterious old book, inscribed with his grandmother's name. What is the book's connection to his family?

Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone on the Long Island Sound in his family home, a house perched on the edge of a cliff that is slowly crumbling into the sea. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks.

One day, Simon receives a mysterious book from an antiquarian bookseller; it has been sent to him because it is inscribed with the name Verona Bonn, Simon's grandmother. Simon must unlock the mysteries of the book, and decode his family history, before fate deals its next deadly hand. 

The Book of Speculation is Erika Swyler's gorgeous and moving debut, a wondrous novel about the power of books, family, and magic. 

My Overview : I found this book really good, it talked a lot about family. I love how it would go in the past, being in 1700's, how life was so different how they had to change to have a job in the circus. And how you would learn a lot about each characters. The author would describe each characters not by looks but by their habits and their quality. The plot line is good, i tried to guess what was going to happen And at the end i was satisfied and surprised . For a stand alone its a great novel. There was a romance part but it was not all they talked about. The history and family was most talked about in this story.
All and all, if you love history and magic, this book is for you.

Cons: From going to present to 1700's a lot, it got a bit confusing.

Pros: the story was good, and also the characters. Loved the history. 



Quotes:

 Evangeline smiled around her grandmother's finger, unaware she'd survived drowning.

'' So lake RonKonKoma is haunted by the ghost of a native American princess who drowns
 white guys ''

Daryl Houston

I really enjoyed this one, though my enjoyment sort of tapered off the closer I got to the end of the book. Of the two storylines, I much preferred the one set further in the past, and I found the main character in the more recent storyline to be pretty problematic (inconsistent, unbelievable, etc.). Still, on the whole it was a fun read that kept me engaged maybe 80% of the way through.

Rachel Schommer

⭐⭐⭐.75/5




This book was magical 🔮 It reminded me so much of a combination of 'The Night Circus' + 'The Museum of Extraordinary Things' + 'To The Bright Edge of The World' - all books i have previously read and loved (before I was actually trying to write reviews)!




This book is a generations long story of a magically haunted family told through the tragedy of the MC's adult life. It's about love and family and forgiveness. It's about coincidence and how we are all tied together in the most unexpected ways. And it's also about the monotony and struggle of being an adult. 




I very much enjoyed this book - the story line was so entertaining and the characters were super relatable. I've recommended this at least twice since reading it. I know it's not up everyone's alley, but I have a few 'witchy' friends, or friends who get their tarot read pretty often that I thought would really relate to this story!

The Book of Speculation A Novel

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