The Book of Speculation

Simon Watson and his sister, Enola, are swimmers. Or to be more precise, breathers. Or even more precise, breath holders. Like their mother before them and, we eventually learn, all their female forebears, they are able to hold their breath under water for extraordinary lengths of time. Long enough to be thought part mermaid. So why have all their female forebears, including their mother, died by drowning? And why always on July 24th? It’s a puzzle that has always haunted Simon, a reference librarian in the small town of Napawset on the coast of Long Island Sound. The arrival of an ancient tome that appears to be a circus master’s ledger may hold the clue. But more important matters are pressing. Enola is coming home after years show more away and July 24th is looming.

Unravelling the mystery of Simon and Enola’s cursed family sets up a wild race of investigation and insight in the present. But we are also, alternatingly, provided with the origin story as we see the emergence of the wild boy, Amos, and his love for Evangeline in the menagerie that is Hermilius H. Peabody’s troupe of travelling entertainers. Somehow a curse is passed on to Evangeline and her heirs. But how and by whom?

This is an engaging twin page turner as we follow the story in the present and the one in the late 18th century. Swyler maintains the tension and, for the most part, makes plausible the incredible number of coincidences that result in Simon and Enola’s situation. She gently weaves in the real possibility of rusalki preying on men and luring them to watery deaths as well as grave destinies foretold in tarot readings. And even, curiously, a man who can generate electricity. Plus there are lots of books and libraries and research. What’s not to like?

Gently recommended. show less

First, a warning: If you expect a novel about a circus family to be action packed, this is not the book for you. This story is for those who enjoy a slow unraveling of family secrets, old books, tarot readers, orphans, and the relentless sea.

Simon Watson's life is falling apart as surely as his 300-year-old house is being destroyed by the sea. He receives a mysterious, old book in the mail, which holds mention of some of the women in his family. His mother drowned when he and his sister were children, but it seems that other women -- his grandmother, great-grandmother, etc. -- have all drowned on the same date, despite the fact that they worked as "mermaids," able to hold their breath underwater for extended lengths of time. His younger show more sister, Enola (considered a creepy name in the book, because she was apparently named after the first plane to drop an atomic bomb, but was creepier to me because backwards it's Alone), returns home when the carnival where she works as a tarot reader stops nearby. She's obviously falling apart, too, and Simon fears she will meet the same fate as all the women before her. He becomes obsessed with the book and with his family history, partly as a distraction from losing his job and awkwardly beginning a romance with the girl who grew up next door.

Alternating with Simon's story is that of the circus from which the mysterious book originated. It reveals the beginnings of Simon's family line and the series of events that led to the family curse. I found this historical story line more interesting from the beginning, but Simon's story eventually picked up speed, as the connections between past and present became clearer. By the conclusion, Swyler has brought everything together masterfully. show less

"Even Pandora's Box had hope."

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through NetGalley.)

"Churchwarry laughs, and I begin to understand some of his delight in passing books on. There's a certain serendipity, a little light that's settled in my sternum."

"How could I have known that goodbye meant goodbye?"

Simon Watson comes from a long and storied line of performers: travelers, carnies, circus folks. Divers and breath-holders (half-mermaid women!) as well as fortune tellers and tarot card readers (psychics and witches!). Like his predecessors, Simon is a master of reinvention. Rather than taking up the family business, as did his younger sister Enola - who bailed on him and joined the circus the moment she turned 18 show more - Simon has chosen a more practical vocation: he's a librarian at the Napawset library. And unlike his distant, nomadic relatives, Simon seems rooted to a single spot: the crumbling, 1700s colonial house that he and Enola called home.

After Simon's mother Paulina committed suicide - one day, she bid him and Enola farewell, walked into the ocean, and never came out; a mermaid who drowns? how does such a thing even work? - father Daniel became nearly comatose in his grief. It was Simon who looked after Enola; Simon who bandaged her cuts; Simon who taught her how to how to dive and swim and hold her breathe for ten minutes straight, just like his mom the mermaid showed him. And when Daniel finally dropped dead of a heart attack, it was Simon who worked several jobs at a time to put food on the table.

And so the house began to come apart at the seams: thanks to Daniel's apathy and Simon's ignorance, yes, but also due in no small part to the relentless pull of nature. Hurricanes, thunderstorms, flooding, erosion: all of these threaten to drive the Watson family house over its cliffside perch and plunge it into the depths of the Atlantic ocean.

Yet in these walls dwell the ghosts of Paulina and Daniel - and Simon just can't let them go. Neither can Frank McAvoy, the Watson's neighbor and longtime friend.

When a handwritten ledger dating back to the late 1700s mysteriously appears on Simon's doorstep, it naturally excites the "information specialist" in him - and hey, if it offers a temporary escape from reality, all the better. Simon's grandmother Verona Bronn makes a cameo in the book, near the very back - right before the remaining pages were claimed by water damage and rot. As he delves into the mysteries of the titular "book of speculation" - otherwise known as the ledger of one Mr. Hermelius Peabody - Simon makes a sinister discovery: all of the women in his matrilineal line die. They die young, but not before having a daughter; they die of drowning, even though all are mermaids; and they die of apparent suicides, even where no clear history of mental illness exists. Most shockingly of all, they all perish in the same way on the same day: July 24th.

It's late June, and Eola has just announced that she's returning home for the first time since fleeing more than six years ago. Simon has but days to get to the bottom of the family curse - and banish it to the annals of history forever. Luckily, he's got help: in addition to his network of superhero librarians, there's Martin Churchwarry, who found and gifted him the book; Frank McAvoy and his daughter Alice; and Enola and her new beau Doyle, the Electric Boy/Tattooed Man (squid? octopus?). The pasts and futures of all of these folks are, naturally, tangled in all sorts of ways, both lovely and tragic.

There are so, so many things I loved about The Book of Speculation. The writing is magical; this story is bursting at the seams with quotable bits and passages that will stick with you long after turning the final page. I laughed, I cried, I cursed the heavens.

Books, of course, are a central theme; in fact, if I had to sum this book up in just two words, it'd have to be "water" and "paper." The Book of Speculation often reads like a love letter to libraries and librarians; through Simon's troubles at work, we mere patrons are afforded a glimpse inside the inner workings of a library, including all that it takes to keep them afloat (grants, grants, grants). Churchwarry's delight at delivering the right book to the right person is simply infectious, and Simon's last-ditch effort to save his old library is nothing short of heartbreaking. (Doyle's comment re: the encyclopedias?: "Somebody drew dicks all over it anyway." Priceless.)

Swyler breathes life into her characters, most of whom I adored. (Yes, even sad sack Frank; my heart ached for him, just a little.) Simon, Enola, Doyle, Churchwarry, Alice, Leah, Amos, Evangeline, Yelena Ryzhkova, even Peabody: each one tugged at my heartstrings in a different way. How Amos learned to express himself through the tarot cards. Evangeline, the victim of religious fervor and superstition, who nonetheless tried to find a place for herself in the world. Simon, keeping vigil for Enola still, even after all these years.

And Enola - yes, as in that Enola; as fucked up as it is, there's something almost lovely in Paulina's naivety in thinking that a tragedy so vast could possibly be reclaimed, repaired, made beautiful again. Enola the explosion. Enola the compulsive tarot card reader. Enola who might not have been Enola had she grown up in the house next door. Enola who, for all her flaws, is pretty well-adjusted in spite of it all.

Probably the only person who failed to charm me was Benno, and that's because his motivations remained rather murky. He always seemed to be scheming - above and beyond the profiteering Peabody, which is saying something.

I especially loved the dual chronologies: as Simon dives into the mystery shrouding his family, the origins of the curse are laid bare for us. Simon's present alternates with his past as pages of the book come alive and we are transported to the East Coast, circa the late 1700s. The tale begins when Peabody's traveling circus takes on a young, mute, seemingly feral boy who they christen Amos; as the boy grows into a man, he's transformed from the Wild Boy to Madame Ryzhkova's apprentice. When he falls in love with a troubled young woman who appears seemingly out of nowhere, Amos's mentor and adopted mother predicts disaster, heartbreak, and murder. What happens next will reverberate on down the family line. Self-fulfilling prophecy much?

At its core, The Book of Speculation is a book about family. About holding tight to your memories, but not letting the past define you. About love and loss and the cycle they generate.

Though the book's setting practically screams "summer reading!," I wouldn't classify The Book of Speculation as a light summer read. There are so many puzzle pieces to keep track of, names and dates and locations and historic events, that I actually sketched a family tree (or a semblance of one, anyway) to keep track of it all. This counts as a positive for me: I love it when an author keeps me on my toes and guessing. Sometimes I like to work for the resolution, you know? And while you're likely to get the gist of it pretty quickly, there are so many layers to the mystery that you'll never get bored. I found myself captivated by the story even after I'd set it aside to do other things - chores or whatever - and couldn't wait until I'd be able to pick it up once again.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2015/06/24/the-book-of-speculation-by-erika-swyler/ show less

First of all - it's about a book.  It's about a librarian, and it's all about the reference and research functions of a library.  What's not to like?  A delightful give and take flight of fancy and fantasy.  Often I dislike books that try to wrap an ancient family history into a present day reality. However, this time Erika Swyler held my interest from the start.  The fascination of the old book, the traveling circus, the tarot readings (a subject I knew little of), together with the present day romance, the looming disaster of the crumbling house, and the just below the waterline mystery of the identity of the antiquarian bookdealer all combined to keep me up late for two nights while I finished this one.

The subject matter: the show more antique book, the storm damage, the loss of job, fortune telling, ancient circus tales combines with eloquently drawn characters: an out-of-work librarian, a tattoo'd circus strong man, neighbors who may be more than just neighbors, a mute wild man, a human 'mermaid' who can hold her breath underwater for more than 10 minutes.   All of these disparate elements are woven into a colorful, soulful tale of life before and life to come, of unrequited love, lost love, and love recovered.  An engaging first novel.  I will definitely be on the look out for more by this author.  show less

THE BOOK OF SPECULATION is an impressive debut novel by Erika Swyler. As a book nerd, the story resonated with me. Anything about books, right? The author beautifully blended magical realism, historical fiction, and mystery to create an amazing Gothic tale about a family cursed for centuries.

I enjoyed the somewhat quirky main character Simon Watson. Simon is a young librarian, around 30, who seems better suited to have lived before the digital age. He receives a mysterious book, a very old circus ledger actually, with his deceased grandmother’s name in it. The women in his family, though blessed with a special ability, have been cursed for centuries to die young. Simon is tasked with deciphering the meaning of the book before his show more sister becomes the curse’s next victim.

The language in this book is gorgeous and lyrical, and I loved the haunting Gothic feeling of the story. While the plot is not fast-paced, I stayed hooked to the very end. Some elements in this book reminded me of Alice Hoffman’s writing, which I always enjoy. It gives an interesting look into the world of tarot card reading too. 4.5-stars!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

It’s been a while since a book so captured my imagination that I found myself talking to the characters. (You know, like when you’re watching a movie and you tell the girl not to look behind her as she runs away through the woods.) Simon lives in the house he grew up in on the Long Island Sound, but the cliff is eroding and the house is in danger. Simon is unable to keep up with repairs on a librarian’s salary. Someone sends him the logbook of the owner of a traveling circus from the 1700’s. His grandmother’s name is written in the back of the book along with the names of other women who all drowned at a young age on July 24th. His own mother drowned on July 24th when he was young. He struggles to find the connection and solve show more the mystery before something happens to his sister Enola.

The chapters alternate between Simon and the story of the traveling circus and its members. Some reviewers have found this book to be slow moving and dull, but that was not my experience. I devoured this tale in two days because I didn't want to put it down. I'm looking forward to more books from this author. show less

COMING SOON: June 23, 2015

Carnival Side-Show Performers and Librarians...
Does it get much better than this?!

Carnies and book-jockies are two of my favorite subsets of the human race, and their powers combined make for one hell of a delightful book, Fortune-telling tarot readers, computer-savvy information professionals, tattooed jugglers who emit their own electrical charge, modern day mermaids - this book has it all. Mermaids?! I mean, the last time I gave a crap about mermaids was in the nineties when I was singing along with Ariel and Sebastian on VHS; but, this book made me care about mermaids (and those men doomed to love them) all over again. I love this book. A lot. And I can't wait until other readers can love it too.

The Book show more of Speculation isn't due to hit the shelves until June, so I don't want to ruin any of the surprises that this beautiful book has in store for the legion of readers who will, no doubt, run to discover its secrets. I'll try to gloss over the nitty-gritty details and big reveals, but this is a sprawling family history with back-story out the wazoo.

Simon is a youngish librarian living in a decrepit house teetering on the precipice of certain disaster and the raging waters of the Long Island Sound. Simon's mother drowned in those very waters when he was just a boy. She, presumably, committed suicide - because Simon's mother was able to hold her breath for upwards of ten minutes (a feat she displayed as a sideshow Carnival act). His father died of, quite literally, a broken heart shortly thereafter, leaving Simon to care for his sister, Enola. Only, now that she's grown, Enola has chosen the life of a travelling tarot card reader, leaving Simon to care for the crumbling family homestead all by himself. His solitude is interrupted with the delivery of an unexpected parcel: an ancient diary that appears to be tied to an early 19th century circus show. In reading and researching this unusual artifact, Simon begins to unknowingly uncover disturbing truths about his family history. The most frightening of these revelations is that seemingly all of the Watson-family women, the merwomen of the circus circuit, meet their death by willful drowning on the same day, July 24th. Their suicides stretch out over the years, claiming the matriarchs' lives with pin-point precision. When his sister Enola makes an unexpected trip home, mid-summer, acting strange and claiming to be troubled, Simon realizes that the past may still hold a very powerful hold on their future.

This book shifts between two stories: that of Simon and that of the lives of the people contained in the ancient book he has inherited. As Simon researches the history of the book, the reader is transported into the past, into the very pages of history, to travel alongside Amos and Evangeline, performers in Peabody's traveling circus. I was equally interested in both stories. The switch between the present and the past created tension, a delicious anticipation, that simmered throughout the entire book. When I was with Simon, I longed to be with Amos; when I was with Amos, I longed to be with Simon. I was hooked, though and through. Like I said, it doesn't get much better than circus tents, decrepit beach houses and dusty libraries. Plus, librarians (I love me some librarians). And fortune tellers. And mermaids.

The Book of Speculation is a well-balanced, finely-woven family history. I'm going to go out on a ledge here and say that this may be one of my favorite reads of 2015. But, it's only February, and time will tell. Definitely worthy of a re-read in the future. I wouldn't mind adding a physical copy of this book to my library when it comes out! show less