Review: The Book of Speculation

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For starters, Swyler masters the difficult business of finding two solid stories to weave together. Convention tells us from the start that the contemporary story of Simon will tie into the 18th century story of the circus, the love affair, and the eventual curse of the tarot card reader, but each one separately holds together. In most novels done this way, I find I prefer one or the other of the braids in the woven tale. This time, I was happy to switch from one to the other.

This one also starts with good energy. I felt in good hands from the start. Simon isn’t an especially likeable guy, but that seems to be part of the plan. It doesn’t explain why Alice would fall for him, but it opens up an interesting narrative space. He can feel sorry for himself without derailing the story. That is, in fact, much of the story. I’d even say the novel is at its best when we aren’t certain whether Simon can do anything to change the past.

As a result, the more this becomes a clear dialogue between the two strands of the story, the less compelling it is. I can’t exactly call it a [SPOILER] to say that it does turn out that Simon us using the clues from the long-ago story. Once he stops guessing at clues and leads and instead realizes his sister is at risk of drowning on July 25, it becomes increasingly conventional.

On the plus side, there’s just the right dash of horror here. Particularly in the earlier, stronger parts, the real potential of death hangs over all this without suffocating it. That part is well played.

As this hits the heart of it, though, it simply slows down. As we can increasingly see where it’s going, it pauses to let us anticipate it. It lingers over its own symbols, the borrowed tarot symbolism and the original symbolism of the house perched on the edge of the sea. In other words, it calls attention to the things that made it impressive at the start, and in that way diminishes those early strengths.

There’s an interview in the edition I read (listened to) with Swyler, and she talks of this as a first novel. That likely explains its satisfyingly dense two halves. It also likely explains why it loses the momentum it does.


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