Simon Watson is barely staying afloat, living in his
family's home that is getting closer and closer to
falling into the Long Island Sound. A surprise package
arrives in the mail and sends Simon on a research quest
to discover more about his heritage. What secrets are
hidden within the water damaged book detailing the events
of a traveling carnival? Is the past about to repeat
itself?
THE BOOK OF SPECULATION alternates between the past and
the present, as readers are drawn into the daily lives of
carnival performers in the 1700s. Erika Swyler does a
great job at pulling together the two time periods to
show readers a fascinating portrait of the effects of a
family curse. I love the slow, meandering pace as we get
to savor the intricacies of the relationships. I
especially love how Amos learns to communicate despite
his inability to verbally speak.
The secondary characters in THE BOOK OF SPECULATION
fascinate me and I wish we had gotten to know a bit more
of their history. Doyle, in particular, has such a story
to tell. Instead, we spent far too much time with Simon
and I couldn't help but wonder what Alice saw in him that
was attractive. THE BOOK OF SPECULATION would have been
one of my favorite reads of the year had I liked Simon
even just a little bit as the story itself is enchanting.
THE BOOK OF SPECULATION is a dark and haunting tale of
the lasting impacts of history on a family. Erika
Swyler's splendid storytelling draws the reader into the
world of a traveling carnival. THE BOOK OF SPECULATION is
a stunning debut novel and I look forward to reading more
by Erika Swyler in the future.
Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that
is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His
parents are long dead. His mother, a circus mermaid who made
her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water
his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off six
years ago and now reads tarot cards for a traveling carnival.
One June day, an old book arrives on Simon's doorstep, sent
by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on
speculation. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log
from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who
reports strange and magical things, including the drowning
death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of
"mermaids" in Simon's family have drowned--always on July
24, which is only weeks away.
As his friend Alice looks on with alarm, Simon becomes
increasingly worried about his sister. Could there be a
curse on Simon's family? What does it have to do with the
book, and can he get to the heart of the mystery in time to
save Enola?
In the tradition of Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, Erin
Morgenstern's The Night Circus, and Elizabeth Kostova's The
Historian, The Book of Speculation--with two-color
illustrations by the author--is Erika Swyler's moving debut
novel about the power of books, family, and magic.
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