The book of speculation book

Hauntingly beautiful, the book of speculation weaves a spectacular multigenerational story of magic, love, betrayal, and redemption. From erika swyler, author of the book of speculation one of buzzfeeds best fiction books of 2015 a short story of a mermaid who ran away from the circus, and what happened when she started a life on land. Carnivals, curses and mermaids fall slightly flat in. The book of speculation by erika swyler books on books.

The mermaid women, condemned by the curse to drown amongst seething scuttling crabs, are bewitching and irresistible. The book of speculation by erika swyler is an absolutely stunning read. Katherine dunn, author of geek love a good book is magical. The book of speculation goes back and forth, alternating chapters about simons current life on long island with a conjectured narrative from that circus in the past. June 23, 2015 when a young librarian comes into possession of the diary of a traveling circus from more than 200 years ago, he decides the book may hold clues to a family mystery he needs to solve to save his sisters life. When the financial markets crash, whether its in 1929 or 1973 or 2008, people get angry.

Good novels about good books can be even more special, doubling the fun with two tomes to love. Featuring mermaids, swarms of horseshoe crabs, deadly floods, and the silent secrets of an ancient tarot deck, the book of speculation is split like a savory peach between the odd ventures of a traveling carnival in the late 1700s and the modernday discovery by librarian simon watson of an old, handwritten volume containing his grandmothers name. Author erika swylers short fiction has appeared in womenarts quarterly journal, litro and elsewhere, and her work as a playwright has received the jane chambers award. A sweeping and captivating debut novel about a young lib. The book of speculation is told in alternating chapters of the past and the present. The book of speculation book trailer in the tradition of sara gruens water for elephants, erin morgensterns the night circus, and elizabeth kostovas the historian, the book of speculationwith twocolor illustrations by the authoris erika swylers moving debut novel about the power of books, family, and magic. The book of speculation and the mermaid girl indirect. The protagonist of the story, simon, is a lonely librarian that has slowly been watching his life crumble down around him for years. A piece of our heart stays tucked inside its lines when we return the book to its place on our shelf. Instead of turning into a tedious meditation on books for books sake or, even worse, a selfreferential slog, the book of speculation mostly. Watson, i came across this book at auction as part of a larger lot i purchased on speculation. As he and we become engrossed in the book, the connections between the past in the old book and the present become eerily real. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks. The book of speculation is a luscious experiencedark, sweet, and wild.

Books are sensual and powerful objects in the book of speculation, but then so is the tarot, water, the circus, and love and lust themselves. The book of speculation is a luscious experience dark, sweet, and wild. In the book of speculation by erika swyler we follow simon watson who was orphaned along with his sister as a teenager. The book of speculation is an epic saga that hooks instantly and then races forward with lots of plot, more than a little magic realism, and lots of travelling circus and tarot lore. But in your book, how to be a rogue trader, you imply that financial speculation is baked into the human character. Carnivals, curses and mermaids fall slightly flat in speculation. At the books outset, enola, who also joined a traveling show, returns to the decaying family home where simon still lives, fraught with worry. 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. Erika swylers first novel the book of speculation has a lot of things to recommend it.

The damage renders it useless to me, but a name inside it led me to believe it might be of interest to you or your family. His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath. The book of speculation alternates between two plots that are moving toward each other in time. The waterdamaged book may reveal the root of certain. Pdf the book of speculation download ebook for free. This detailed literature summary also contains quotes and a free quiz on the book of speculation by erika swyler.

The book of speculation may 31, 2016 edition open library. In the tradition of sara gruens water for elephants, erin morgensterns the night circus, and elizabeth kostovas the historian, the book of speculationwith twocolor illustrations by the authoris erika swylers moving debut novel about the power of books, family, and magic. Simon, an about to be unemployed librarian, investigates the family history in the hopes of preventing further tragedy. Amos, a mute boy from the 1700s with a special gift. 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.

Now an adult and a librarian, he stumbles upon a mysterious family secret that has plagued the women on his mothers side for generations. Near the end of the book, simon observes, we carry our families like anchors, rooting us in storms, making sure we never drift from where and who we are. Carnivals, curses and mermaids fall slightly flat in speculation erika swylers generous yet somewhat disappointing debut follows a young man and a mysterious book. While this is partly due to a weakness on my part for circus stories. The book of speculation wonderful and magical story which switches back and forth in time. In the tradition of sara gruens water for elephants, erin morgensterns the night circus, and elizabeth kostovas the historian, erika swylers the book of speculationwith twocolor illustrations by the authoris a moving debut novel about the power of books, family, and magic. He receives a book in the mail from martin churchwarry of churchwarry and sons. Narrator simon and his younger sister, enola, grew up in an 18thcentury house on a bluff overlooking long island sound. Before she was a suburban wife and mother, paulina watson was. The book of speculation by erika swyler is available on june 23rd, 2015 visit. The book of speculation one of buzzfeeds 24 best fiction books of 2015includes a bonus short story by erika swyler, the mermaid girlas simon, a lonely research librarian, searches frantically for the key to a curse that might be killing the women in his.

Simon watson, a librarian, continues to mourn the loss of his parents years after their deaths. The book of speculation erika swyler 9781782397649 allen. When a young librarian comes into possession of the diary of a traveling circus from more than 200 years ago, he decides the book may hold clues to a family mystery he needs to solve to save his sisters life. The book of speculation is erika swylers gorgeous and moving debut, a wondrous novel about the power of books, family, and magicmore hardcover, 339 pages published june 23rd 2015 by st. 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.

One june day, an old book arrives on simon\s doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. The book of speculation one of buzzfeeds 24 best fiction books of 2015as 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. When a young librarian comes into possession of the diary of a traveling circus from more than 200 years ago, he decides the book may hold clues to a family. The book of speculation by erika swyler, may 31, 2016, griffin, st. To submit her book to publishers, swyler wanted to mimic for them the feeling simon gets when the old book. The history of the book of speculation also involves a book within a book. Simon watson becomes worried for the welfare of his sister, enola, when he is sent a book that once belonged to a traveling carnival and learns that many of his ancestors have died on the same day july 24th in the same way drowning, which is. The book of speculation is a haunting, poetic story that shows how wants, heartache, and wishes can breathe intent into actions that were done simply out of love, how generations can fall into those same cycles until someone tries to break the curse. We carry our families within us the way we carry our breath underwater, keeping us afloat, keeping us alive. Simon watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is. The main character is an out of work librarian who receives a mysterious old book in the mail. But it soon becomes apparent that the events and circumstances in the tale are founded on the intertwined lives of people stretching back hundreds of years. In studying the book churchwarry sent him, simon is working out his family history backwards.

Simon watson, a young librarian on the verge of losing his job, lives alone on the long island sound in his family homea house, perched on the edge of a bluff, that is slowly crumbling toward the sea. The book of speculation king county library system. A tale full of magic and family mystery, the book of speculation will keep you up all night reading. The story follows simon, a young librarian and the descendant of circus mermaids, whose family is steeped in loss. In the tradition of sara gruens water for elephants, erin morgensterns the night circus, and elizabeth kostovas the historian, the book of speculation with twocolor illustrations by the authoris erika swylers moving debut novel about the power of books, family, and magic. A strikingly written debut, the book of speculation is reminiscent of the night circus, but with more grit and darkness. The book of speculation is one of the best books ive had the privilege to read. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Packed with everything i love in a novel, from a strong sea theme to sideshow entertainers and a loveable but slightly exasperating protagonist, it is pure perfection. The book of speculation by erika swyler is an interesting book.