See the hottest books publishing this Summer

What do readers think of The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler? Write your own review.

Summary | Reviews | More Information | More Books

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

The Book of Speculation

by Erika Swyler

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (38):
  • Published:
  • Jun 2015, 352 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Reviews

Page 1 of 5
There are currently 38 reader reviews for The Book of Speculation
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

David A.

Enjoyed audiobook
The other reviews in this feed sum up the pros and cons of this book -- all valid points of view!

I'd like to add that the audiobook was beautifully narrated by Ari Fliakos. He's a tremendous actor and found individualized voices for each of the characters (particularly Churchwarry) which brought them alive.

I'm so hooked on audiobooks that I've actually started to choose my reading based on who narrates them. Other favorite narrators:

David Pittu
Kristoffer Tabori
Gary Tiedemann
Susan B. (Hahira, GA)

The Book of Speculation
It is always exciting to find an author that can transport you so thoroughly to another place and time and it's even more exciting when it is a debut novel. The title alone was intriguing and I really had no idea what to expect. For an author to find their voice and make a character interesting is hard enough but Ms.Swyler manages to convincingly find the voice of multiple characters in different times, ages, nationalities and sex. She has made all characters, no matter how prominent in the story, so complete and three dimensional that you can believe them to be real.

As she allows you to peel back the layers,more
Mary B. (St Paul, MN)

Book of Speculation
I enjoyed this book very much. Ms Swyler did a wonderful job of moving the story between past and present times. The world of the traveling carnival in the 1700s was very vivid and interesting. The characters in both time periods were colorful and engaging. The book at the center of the story is as much a character as the people portrayed.
Deborah M. (Chambersburg, PA)

Didn't Expect to Like It--SURPRISE!
Having just finished The Night Circus, which wasn't exactly my cup of tea, my first thought once I got into the first few chapters of The Book of Speculation was: "Oh, crap, another book about circus people with paranormal abilities!" Fortunately, it was a lot more and a lot better than that. The book's chapters alternate between the present day, in which the protagonist, research librarian Simon Watson, is about to be permanently laid off due to budget cuts and his house about to fall into the sea, and the late 1790s, when Peabody's Portable Magic and Miracles, a menagerie of contortionists, clairvoyants, amore
Gary R. (Bolingbrook, IL)

if you breathe up you'll drown
one of the great pleasures of BookBrowse is being introduced to debut authors like Erica Swyler, just a pleasure to read. The story of librarian Simon and his sister Enola who he hasn't seen in some time,though she calls from the road from time to time. The mystery and the fun starts when an ancient book arrives on Simon's doorstep and a message on his answering machine announces the arrival of his sister. Really enjoyed the switch to the late 1700's traveling circus and back to the present. I'm not going to give to much away you'll just have to read the book,hard to believe this is her first novel. I'll bemore
Julie G. (West Hartford, CT)

The Book of Speculation
Wonderful and magical story which switches back and forth in time. The main character is an out of work librarian who receives a mysterious old book in the mail. As he (and we) become engrossed in the book, the connections between the past (in the old book) and the present become eerily real.
Power Reviewer
Lee M. (Creve Coeur, MO)

Up and Down and Around
What a delightful surprise. Remember all the old time carnivals, the booths, the rides, the fat ladies, and the fortune tellers? Oh what fun it all was. This book is all that and more. Did you believe everything you saw and were told. Simon, our hero, does not. We'll sort of, does not. And that's where the fun begins. Ms. Swyler has cleverly juxtaposed a modern carnival family with a written history of a carnival family beginning in 1780. Could one or the other be cursed? Does Simon believe in curses? Do you? Read on and enjoy the RIDE!
Molly K. (San Jose, CA)

Spectacular Speculation
I was excited on the first page, and when the author described language as beginning to knit, I was hooked.

Erika Swyler is a brilliant knitter of words. I enjoyed her writing style as much as I enjoyed the story she created. It's full of mystery, suspense, fantasy, and sorrow. Sometimes dark, sometimes mundane, there is always a surprise.

Although the story is very much plot driven, the characters are not ignored. I left this book, believing I had met some new friends. I look forward to the author's future work.

More Information

Read-Alikes

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Girls of Good Fortune
    by Kristina McMorris
    Brave the Shanghai tunnels in this tale of love, identity, and resilience passed through generations.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Songs of Summer
    by Jane L. Rosen

    A young woman crashes a Fire Island wedding to find her birth mother—and gets more than she bargained for.

  • Book Jacket

    Erased
    by Anna Malaika Tubbs

    In Erased, Anna Malaika Tubbs recovers all that American patriarchy has tried to destroy.

Who Said...

Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

B a L

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.