Book Review-The Book of Speculation

I recently read The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler.  It had me at "Book." Simon, a librarian (!), receives a book in the mail from Martin, a used book dealer. The book is handwritten, the earliest entries are from the 1700's. Martin sent the book because one of the women mentioned in it is an ancestor of Simon. The women in Simon's family are "swimmers"-people who can hold their breath for up to 10 minutes-who perform at carnivals as mermaids. Most of them also read tarot cards. Simon's younger sister works as a tarot card reader, but not as a mermaid. Simon realizes that all these women drowned themselves on July 24 and starts to fear for his sister. She, on the other hand, is worried about Simon because of her readings. The book alternates with this story and the story of a menagerie (or carnival) from the 1700's, owned by Peabody. He takes in a "wild boy" who cannot speak. His tarot card reader, Madame Ryzhkova, takes the boy under her wing and names him Amos and teaches him to read the cards. When a young woman appears out of nowhere Amos is enchanted but Mme Ryzhkova is horrified. I enjoyed following the two stories and wondering how they would intersect. Each story was interesting in its own right. Each had a point where I had to cover the page so I wouldn't read ahead! There is a hint of the supernatural in this book, so people who only like realistic fiction probably would not be happy with it. If you liked The Night Circus you'd probably like this one as well.

The Book of Speculation By Swyler, Erika 2015-06 - St. Martin's Press 9781250054807 Check Our Catalog One of BuzzFeed's 24 Best Fiction Books of 2015 "As Simon, a lonely research librarian, searches frantically for the key to a curse that might be killing the women in his family, he learns strange and fascinating secrets about their past. A tale full of magic and family mystery, "The Book of Speculation" will keep you up all night reading." Isaac Fitzgerald, BuzzFeed Simon Watson, a young …More

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