Once before in my reading and blogging journey, I wondered how a debut novelist could come up with a story wonderfully odd and unique and this is the second time I have had that feeling. THE BOOK OF SPECULATION presents a family story intertwined with other carnies and their descendants. It flips back and forth in time which is not my favorite writing technique but might have possibly been the only way to connect the turn of the 18th century to the present. For this novel it was essential.
Simon Watson a librarian in a small town on Long Island. He lives in his family’s home but both of his parents have now passed away and he is alone. The house is falling apart around him and to save this beachfront home would take a great deal of money he does not have. Things head downhill for Simon but a distraction soon arrives. He receives a mysterious old book from a stranger that acquired this book at auction and felt it should be seen by Simon.
Nothing is by accident in this book. One has to read very carefully to catch the clues and the connections of those characters that come in and out of the story. And in a favorite move of mine some of those twists are created by inanimate objects as well.
Lunch Erika? I would like to have lunch with an author that has to tale in her brain. But then I avoid all info about a novel and its background before I read it, that is just my way of experiencing it without any expectations or clues to its path. But you can bet I am going to jump in to find out more about where this story line came from just in case lunch does not work out.
poofbooks 