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Synopsis

One of BuzzFeed’s 24 Best Fiction Books of 2015!

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.

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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.

Synopsis from Kobo Canada.

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What I Think

I came across this book as I was mindlessly scrolling through Kobo last month, searching for a new book to purchase despite the fact that I may or may not have already bought thirteen books that are sitting idly on my Recently Added list. Yup. So, here comes Simon. I don’t know why I initially thought the protagonist is a female, maybe because of the book cover or maybe because I didn’t really read the synopsis. I simply got interested with the title and the illustration.

First quarter in, I would say this is a well-written but kind of disappointingly a little flat book, if that makes sense. There is a particular conversation style that kind of speaks in casual, half-exhausted, after-work, boring days which I can appreciate at times. The concept itself is not boring, let me tell you that unless esoteric practices doesn’t interest you. However, the mundane scenarios are just is, mundane. And there’s a bunch of them.

Right off the bat we have Simon, the main character who sadly, is laid off from his job as a librarian due to budget cuts. It stung him deeply as his present financial standing is desperately in need of a miracle. The colonial house that his parents had left him needs a lot of TLC (nothing outrageous, just casually leaning towards a cliff) and by the way things are going for him, he might have to sell the property against his personal wishes. On top of that, he’s been having a thing with his neighbor’s only daughter Alice, with whom he shared a bed, and an unfortunate chance at getting fired (they both work in the same library). He got the unlucky chance, though.

The Book of Speculation is a tale of two era.

It weaves the story of Simon, a character on the present day, and the adventures of a man called Mr. Peabody and his travelling circus who lived in the 1700s. The latter, presented through the crusty, almost falling apart, ink-faded journal that Simon received from Mr. Martin Churchwarry of Churchwarry and Son Booksellers Iowa, an antiquarian he knows nothing about.

In the midst of the crumbling house, cracking and splitting here and there, his unlabeled affairs with Alice, the disappointing scenario at his job, and Enola her younger sister dating The Electric Boy, Simon decided to study the old book. According to Mr. Churchwarry, he was able to track him through a name Verona Bonn, Simon’s grandmother. And because this was a book mixed into the lot he bought out of speculation, he wouldn’t mind giving it to him. Quite odd to be honest, as I personally wouldn’t hand out antique books that I’ve spent good money on.

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I’m rating this book three stars. While I do appreciate the unique story, there are elements that felt bland and need a bit more herbs and spice for flavor. Let’s see, first we have the main character himself, Simon.

If Simon is an anime character, the whole series will not get any financial support and thus, will remain in the drawing board. He is wonky, not the Mad Hatter kind of wonky but wonky as in, are you kidding me?? Double question mark right there. If I’m going to be really honest, this book was a tedious read. The writing was fine but traversing their world of curses with a spineless milkfish, I almost gave up reading.

Good thing we have Amos, his counterpart from the past era.

Amos’ character is what mostly pushed me to finishing the book. He is an illegitimate, mute child (described in the story as bastard but I don’t like using the word) who found himself quite a good fit working for Mr. Peabody in his travelling circus caravan. He fell head over heels in love with a breath-holding performer, Evangeline. Sadly, this relationship was not approved by Amos’ motherly figure in the troupe which led to a series of events that became so warped in time that a bloodline curse was born. Amos paddled the whole narrative that somehow I was able to finish reading. He cannot speak, but the way his thoughts were translated into words made all the difference.

Second could-have-been-better point, the pacing was jagged. For Simon’s it was a slow grey drag bordering boring, while for Amos’ it was a show, a circus act. I would’ve appreciated it more, if the difference in progress from the two eras were pulled together to a closer rhythm. Plus it also made keeping track of whose mother is who, and whose child is who pretty difficult. Of course I would not be writing names down as I don’t want assignment (not while reading a fantasy book!) but it kept me a little lost until the end. Since this is more of a genealogy caked with the esoteric and tarot, and curses, I just think a balanced pacing would have made it a friendlier read.

Nonetheless, The Book of Speculation is still a good book, maybe just not for me.

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