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The Book of Speculation A Novel Erika Swyler Books

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The Book of Speculation A Novel Erika Swyler Books

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.


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The Book of Speculation A Novel Erika Swyler Books Reviews

The title of my review is from this novel, page 173. I seldom buy brand new hardback novels by first-time authors, but I'm glad I followed my 'book intuition' and purchased " The Book of Speculation" by Erika Swyler. I was not disappointed.

I was drawn to the gorgeous cover art, the plot and the good reviews. I loved how the story was told in chapters alternating from the present to the past...and what book lover could resist a book about a crazy/dysfunctional, cursed carnival family with mermaids and Tarot card readers PLUS a mysterious, ancient sideshow diary? The writing is both prosaic and beautiful and the plot built steadily to a satisfying ending. I can't wait for Ms. Swyler's next novel!
This book deserved this rating because I couldn't put it down. The first couple of chapters start out slow and then BAM, you're hooked! Two different stories were going on and it was easy to follow. I loved that the author had pictures in the book to help you see what was being described. The whole circus story is one of my favorites to read in itself; there's always a story waiting to unfold. The story wrapped up nicely leaving me satisfied. I lost sleep over this book and THAT my friends, is a fantastic read! Enjoy!
I loved this book. It was a mix of magic/curses, historical fiction, and mystery. And it had libraries and librarians in it. It was not what I expected but I could not stop reading it. I tried to stay awake reading it 2 nights in a row and woke up with me sleeping on top of my book.
I have to admit that I first became interested in The Book Of Speculation after learning from Goodreads about her over-the-top method of submitting her debut manuscript to publishers. As if writing a book isn’t daunting enough, learning that she handcrafted aged pages and hand-bound enough ‘old’ books to submit to various publishers… well, I was impressed with her tenacity and absurdity. When an author is invested in her work to that level, I have to believe she’s given her all to writing the story, too. At least, I hoped so. And the synopsis promised me mermaids and carnivals. She’d landed a publisher with her unconventional methods, and so I decided to give her story a chance. I’m glad I did.

The story is really two tales, one set in the distant past (and written in past tense), and one set in present day (written in first person). The stories are connected, and as I read, the connections between the two became clear. I could attempt to describe the plot in some clever words, but I feel the story really should speak for itself.
I love stories that revolve around books.
This quirky story features an odd book - a journal from the 18th century.
It's damaged by water.
...and it's linked to a mesmerizing family saga.

There's an elusive quality to the story. I was waiting to be totally blown away but it remained just beyond my grasp and all I was left with were "snatches of greatness".
At some point the rhythm was measured and the story flowed but then it began to lose momentum...and eventually reached a plateau. I got the sense that there was an attempt to regain the rhythm, which didn't really work.

I did enjoy the story.
Some great descriptions. Wonderful prose. Atmospheric.
Interesting dual storylines with past and present written in alternating chapters.
The main character, Simon, was okay...tiresome and frustrating at times...and far too apologetic.
I preferred the mysterious and multi-dimensional Madame Ryzhkova.

I'll give this book 3.5 stars.
I came upon this book because it was in my suggestions on audible. I am a librarian and the main character was a librarian so I thought it would be interesting to give this book a chance. I have seen comparisons to The Night Circus and Water for Elephants and I would not put this book in with either of those. Yes, there is a traveling circus in this book, but that is where the similarities end for comparing those books end. The Book of Speculation weaves a story from the past and the present together in a magical and intriguing way that keeps you completely enthralled, desperate to discover how the two are related to one another.

I listened to the book on audible and the narrator was fantastic! He did all the voices, read at a great pace and was very engaging. I loved him and will be sure to look up what else he has narrated and give those a try as well. There were a couple of moments at the beginning of the story that I was not sure if I was going to stick with it, but his narration kept me interested and I am glad I stuck with it, because about 50 pages in, it really started to pick up. I will say that listening to the audio had one downside, I did not know there were drawings in the book until after I was done. I happened to pick up a copy and noticed them and wish I had known about them earlier because I would have liked to see them as I was reading. I am pretty sure they were described to me throughout the novel, but the illustrations were very interesting and I went back through to see all of them. So if you do listen to it, know that there are small illustrations in there that you might be interested in seeing. I just checked the book out from my library and scanned through them that way.

I am not sure how much I can really say about the book itself without giving too much away. The magic in this story was not knowing what was going to happen and who was related to whom. Each chapter unraveled one mystery only to present a new one which kept me very intrigued and always guessing about what was going to happen next. We follow Simon, a librarian who is about to be let go, as he tries to uncover why an old book landed on his doorstep and how it relates to him and his family. The book itself tells the story of a travelling circus from long ago, the characters all acts within Mr. Peabody’s show. Honestly, almost every one of them could have had their own book and I would have been interested in learning every detail about them. I was fascinated by their lives and what they entailed. At the beginning of this book I wanted to get back to the chapters about them, but by the end I was more interested in Simon’s life and how it connected to this traveling circus. Swyler weaved an amazing journey, that I was not sure I was willing to go on at first, but now I cannot stop thinking about it. I know it is a book that I will re-read and it will stay with me. I have not read anything else by her yet, but I will be on the lookout for her books in the future in hopes of getting lost in a new and magical world.
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.