The Book of Speculation

April 6, 2015
In Swyler’s whimsically dark debut, a damaged journal kept by the owner of a traveling freak show in the 18th century finds its way to Simon Watson, a Long Island librarian in the present with a family history that seems to be tied up in the mysterious tome. Simon’s mother, Paulina, a former carnival mermaid, intentionally drowned herself, leaving Simon to care for his sister, Enola, after their father eventually died from heartache. At the book’s outset, Enola, who also joined a traveling show, returns to the decaying family home where Simon still lives, fraught with worry over a series of bad tarot readings. As Enola’s behavior continues to concern him, Simon finds out from the book that women in his family all drown on July 24. As this date draws closer, Swyler alternates chapters of Simon’s narrative with the story that unfolds from the show’s log: it details how “Wild Boy” and tarot apprentice Amos came to be cared for like a son by proprietor Hermelius Peabody and fortune teller Madame Ryzhkova. The trouble begins once Amos falls for the mermaid Evangeline, who reminds Madame Ryzhkova too much of the woman she blames for the death of her father. The carnival chapters aren’t as engaging or convincing as they could be, particularly at key moments, although for the most part Swyler does a commendable job of juggling the various loose ends, and eventually weaving them together. A good deal of time is spent in Simon’s head, but Enola isn’t fleshed out enough. The author does get kudos for fabricating a fully formed mythos chock full of curses, omens,
and coincidences, all of which help make up for the story’s weak points. Agent: Michelle Brower, Folio Literary Management.

Narrator Ari Fliakos has complete control over this tale of magical realism as he underplays the drama and makes the outlandish seem plausible. The story jumps in time between narratives--one set in the present day, in which first-person narrator Simon finds his life falling apart, and the other set amid the eighteenth-century traveling "menagerie" of Simon's ancestors. Fliakos delivers the present-day sections with a tone of resignation. Simon is an exhausted man, strained almost to the breaking point, and his sighs are frequent. The people of the menagerie are big and bold and brassy. Fliakos's performance enhances a terrific book. Listeners will enjoy letting him guide them through the surreal elements of Swyler's story. G.D. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

September 15, 2015

Swyler's debut demonstrates an ability to craft interesting characters as well as juggle two major plotlines: one in the present, as librarian Simon Watson receives a mysterious book inscribed with his grandmother's name from a bookseller he has no relationship with, and one from the past that is revealed in the book. As an ominous anniversary approaches, the story ties an 18th-century traveling carnival to Simon and his sister, Enola. Reader Ari Fliakos helps listeners keep track of the shifting time periods as he captures the pomposity of the carnival owner and his entertaining crew in the past and the more sedate Simon. VERDICT Much of Swyler's language is musical and poetic, making this a book to recommend for literary and general fiction listeners. ["Fans of historical novels, especially titles with circus themes or touched with a hint of the supernatural...won't want to leave this festival": LJ 4/15/15 review of the St. Martin's hc.]--Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo

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