A Magical Evening with the Book of Speculation

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was absolutely pulled into this book from the first page. For me, this book helped me to reach that zone of living in an alternate universe, which is what all the best books do. I did not want to come up for air!

First, the main character, Simon, the librarian, who naturally, loves books (I really liked Simon). Right there, I'm hooked. Then, he receives a beautiful, old, mysterious volume in the mail from a bookseller he doesn't even know. And thus the mystery begins. It is a fantastic mystery--by that I mean that the events recorded in the book, and the events surrounding his ancestors are rather fantastic and out of the realm of belief. But, you believe them, they are part of the story of Simon's life.

You will weave in and out of Simon's life as he digs into the book's mystery. Sometimes you will be in present time (Simon's time), and sometimes you will be in his ancestor's times. I know this can be annoying to some people, but it really worked well in The Book of Speculation.

I love when debut novels are so good, but feel bad for the author, because now I will expect her next book to be just as enthralling.

As always, it's not just the story, but the language used that draws me in. Here are some tidbits for you to consider:

"at night the lights from Connecticut shine across the harbor like they're crying."

"We carry our families like anchors, rooting us in storms, making sure we never drift from where and who we are."

          "Perhaps the book opened a door; books have a way of causing ripples." (love this!)

I borrowed this book from my local library, read it in an evening, and am now re-reading bits of it. It pulled me in like The Thirteenth Tale did years ago. I highly recommend it.



View all my reviews