The Book of Speculation: A Novel

The Book of Speculation centers on Simon Watson, a young librarian living in his family’s old house on Long Island. Simon’s mother, a circus “mermaid” breath holder, drowned long ago and his father died soon after, leaving Simon to raise his younger sister Enola alone. Now an adult, Enola has been on the road for six years reading tarot cards in a traveling carnival. Simon barely makes ends meet at home, letting the house fall into disrepair as he faces a layoff at his library.

Then Simon finds a mysterious book on his doorstep that sets everything in motion. It's an 18th century carnival log that details the drowning of another circus “mermaid” who happens to be an ancestor of Simon and Enola. Simon learns that generations of “mermaid” women in his family have drowned just like his mother, all on June 24. With the date fast approaching, Simon races to find out whether and why his family is cursed in order to save his sister from the same fate.

This book hooked me from the first chapter and kept me guessing until the very end. Swyler writes convincingly and authentically about circus performers and their fascinating history. I was completely spellbound by her descriptions of death-defying breath holders, vengeful fortune tellers, and apocalyptic natural phenomena. Like the storyline itself, the characters are complex, well-developed, and totally unforgettable. I would recommend this atmospheric, quirky novel to anyone looking for a cozy long weekend page-turner.

The Book of Speculation kept rising to the top of my pile even though I had other books I had planned to read before it. It had an immediate draw. It had an intense pull from an old book connecting the past and the present. It had genealogy and research into the secrets of a family. The family history is revealed slowly and kept me on my toes thinning about the possible outcomes.

Erika Swyler wrote a forceful book. She sets up a world full of tension and drama. Her protagonist Simon Watson cares deeply about books, family, and objects that remind him of his family. He has stayed probably too long in the house just on the faint and ill guided hope his sister will return. Simon receives a mysterious book combining all he cares for setting him on his obsession driving the book. The book is a log of a circus traveling in the U.S. in the late 1700’s.

I liked Swlyer’s choice to write chapters switching back and forth between the past and the present. I wanted to read it quickly to discover what was going to happen next. It never disappointed and it kept my attention. I have no idea if her descriptions of a traveling circus are accurate but it was entertaining.

I would recommend this book to any reader interested in circuses, genealogy, family lore, or just a well written story. Swyler created a hit.

The characters and the story were not well-developed. Wish I had been able to check it out at the public library. Was chosen for my bookclub monthly selection. What a disappointment after reading the wonderful, "The Night Circus". No comparison to that magical book, at all. And, the ending was so mirky that I am unsure it ended or maybe the author grew weary of writing it. It fizzled, pretty much like the rest of the book.

I don't know if book reviews are particularly helpful since reading is such an incredibly subjective thing, but if you like mystery, really good characters, a good story, and books in the realm of "realistic fantasy" - a term I made up for when there is a little magic happening but it's not sci-fi or a world with wizards and witches and dragons and all sorts of crazy magical things - then this book is totally for you. It's a bit along the lines of The Night Circus, so if you read and enjoyed that book, I think you'll love this one.

Boy did I struggle to get through this one....wait i couldn't even finish it. (I can't remember the last time I couldn't finish a book!) Parts were interesting then it just got repetitive.I just started flipping through pages. I found the carnival stuff with the tarot cards very boring. There was a lot of mundane-ness.

We meet Simon. A librarian living in a near delapitaded house on a cliff overlooking the water, we realize his past has tethered him there and when an old book shows up, he begins a journey that I doubt many saw the destination.
This book is full of odd characters that seem off a wee bit and as we travel through the book with Simon, we realize facades can fall horrifically.

I really enjoyed this book, great summer read. Usually this kind of book has a female protagonist, and having a male lead voice was really refreshing. Yet - I felt that with just a bit stricter editing and just a bit fiercer writing this book could have been much better. It really did feel like the author was playing it safe, which is a bit unexpected given that the book has a pretty fantastical premise ( sorry about being vague, really trying to avoid spoilers here!). On the bright side - learned a lot about horseshoe crabs, absolutely amazing creatures. So - read, enjoy, but don't expect a five star classic.

I found the dual story lines very compelling. I enjoyed both time periods equally, wanting to know what was going to happen in each. I did not find it annoying that the story went back and forth between time periods. I found myself wanting to get back to the story when I wasn't reading. It was also very interesting to learn something of the bygone era of the traveling carnival. Great read and looking forward to more from this author.

While this book held my interest, and I kept looking for the big ah-hah, this book fell short somehow. I love or like or dislike a book in great part because of the characters. I never could relate to Simon, the main character. The most vivid and likable character was Doyle, the sister's boyfriend. This book was kind of like the house within it, it just kept cracking and sinking.

As I read "Speculation" I had the sense of having been there before. In fact I had, years ago when I read Sachar's "Holes". Aside from any similarities with "Holes" "Speculation" is just a boring read.

Instant favorite and perfect summer reading. I had no expectations coming into this one. And it was an absolute joy to follow the story along. This book has rich, believable, and empathetic characters. It has mystery and intrigue. It is actually two stories that dust off layers of themselves to find their ways back to one another. I absolute adored not being able to guess what was next and enjoyed the unfolding of a great story.

After all the advertising and rave reviews, my expectations were set rather high before opening the cover. I liked the book, but the superlatives didn't apply. The most impressive things were Swyler's drawings and the fact that she created her own 19th century Carnival Logbook by hand, including the binding and gilding.

This is a very unique story, and the characters were very real despite some magical qualities. I was swept into their world and was very invested in what would happen to them. This isn't just a formulaic tale with a happy ending.

4 stars to Erika Swyler's The Book of Speculation, a beautiful story full of intense imagery and powerful connections among the many characters. With a slight border into the fantasy realm, this tale is well-woven and provides an opportunity to feel the impact the past has across a family's descendants and relationships. The book alternates chapters weaving the past and the present together while challenging the reader to determine the connection between the two stories.

Story
In the past, a traveling carnival and circus heads up and down the Eastern seaboard in the mid 18th century lead by the incomparable Peabody. Along the way, he takes in stray who become part of his acts and his own life. When he's forced to choose between some of the older members and the newer finds, disaster strikes causing a flood of impacts for the future.

In the present, Simon Watson, receives a book from a mysterious bookseller in Iowa. Simon's Long Island shore house is crumbling and he loses his job as a librarian in difficult economic times. His wayward carnie sister comes home resembling their late mother. His childhood friend becomes his lover. He begins to make connections between the people in the book he receives with his own family but doesn't understand what it means. All the women are tied together on a certain date under certain weather conditions.

The two stories collide in a powerful realization leaving Simon at the center of preventing the same fate from happening to his sister. In the end, everything he knew about his life is turned upside down and he finds himself a tragic hero. But will he sacrifice himself in order to preserve his family?

Strengths
The imagery is stunning. The intensity of the relationships is beautiful. The connections among the characters are vast. It's a very simple story but it's a very complex fall-out. The author hits the art form right in its center, providing a wonderfully tragic tale full of intrigue, suspense and drama. You never know who to root for, but you want them all to survive the impacts. It's one of the only books where I didn't need to care so much about specific characters as I did for the way they all relate to one another. It's about relationships and trust, love and power.

Suggestions
I generally am not a huge fantasy fan, but when I read fantasy, I want it to go all out, e.g. Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings... this book crosses a very fine line of not actually having any fantasy in it, but the underlying arc that drives the connection feels like it has fantastical elements at its core. I would have liked to see that explored more so it had a very clear purpose in the end (don't want to give away spoilers). A little too much is left to interpretation on what really happened, and why it's happening... which is OK, I like the unknown magic aspects, but given this was such a strong and powerful story, I wanted a little more depth to the core of "why."

Final Thoughts
I like the author's style and would want to read more from her. I'm curious to see what others think of this debut novel. It has so many great components and images, it's bound to be a success. At the same time, it was missing that final piece to push it over the edge and gain immense popularity. The title, "The Book of Speculation" could have been explored more and it would have knocked it out of the park for me.

I loved this book. It was beautifully written and full of magic. It reminded me of The Night Circus - another favorite book. I forwarded this book to my niece as she is a "budding writer." This may have been Ms. Swyler's first book, and, if so, I look forward to her next book.