anika_bush's review against another edition
3.0
One reviewer of this book compared it to The Night Circus and Geek Love...but the only similarity for me was the fact that they are all "circus" books. I loved The Night Circus, could not make myself like Geek Love, and this one fell somewhere between those two.
The narrative is split between two stories: a traveling circus in the 1790s and a librarian living in a crumbling house that is perched on the edge of a cliff in the modern day.
Simon, the librarian, receives an ancient, water-damaged book in the mail from an antiquarian bookseller. The bookseller states that one of Simon's ancestor's names is in the book and that is why he sent it to him. This book is what ties the two different story lines together. It is also the crux of a curse that haunts his family, especially the women in his family--"mermaids" in the circus who can hold their breath for over ten minutes...yet all end up drowning before they turn 30 and always on July 24th. July 24th is fast approaching and Simon's sister, Enola, is back in town after years away (working as a fortune teller in yet another traveling circus) and he fears that she is destined to drown.
I read the first half of the book on my kindle and listened to the last half (when my library hold finally came through). I really liked the first half, the last half seemed rushed to get to the ending she wanted. Maybe, though, that was because I was listening while cleaning the house (which I don't love--does anyone?) and I didn't love the reader of the book--I'm afraid those two things may have colored my perception of the last half.
The narrative is split between two stories: a traveling circus in the 1790s and a librarian living in a crumbling house that is perched on the edge of a cliff in the modern day.
Simon, the librarian, receives an ancient, water-damaged book in the mail from an antiquarian bookseller. The bookseller states that one of Simon's ancestor's names is in the book and that is why he sent it to him. This book is what ties the two different story lines together. It is also the crux of a curse that haunts his family, especially the women in his family--"mermaids" in the circus who can hold their breath for over ten minutes...yet all end up drowning before they turn 30 and always on July 24th. July 24th is fast approaching and Simon's sister, Enola, is back in town after years away (working as a fortune teller in yet another traveling circus) and he fears that she is destined to drown.
I read the first half of the book on my kindle and listened to the last half (when my library hold finally came through). I really liked the first half, the last half seemed rushed to get to the ending she wanted. Maybe, though, that was because I was listening while cleaning the house (which I don't love--does anyone?) and I didn't love the reader of the book--I'm afraid those two things may have colored my perception of the last half.
k8lynl3wis's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this so badly but man, so duuuulllllllll
g_a_denholm's review against another edition
3.0
An excellently woven story! I feel like if I knew about tarot I would have caught more in the storytelling, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment.
Gives me vibes like [b:The Night Circus|9361589|The Night Circus|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387124618l/9361589._SY75_.jpg|14245059]
Gives me vibes like [b:The Night Circus|9361589|The Night Circus|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387124618l/9361589._SY75_.jpg|14245059]
alisarae's review against another edition
I gave this book two tries. The first time was an ARC and the second an audiobook from the library. I had thought that the first time I didn’t want to read it because sometimes I dislike reading pdfs. I really enjoy audiobooks and I still could not get into it. Too bad; the premise seemed interesting.
lachelle45's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
rain_97's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
sweddy65's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the nightmarish quality of this. My summer reading = nightmarish writing, dragging you into unsettled depths of the human psyche.
sjj169's review against another edition
3.0
The story of the Book of Speculation takes place in two time periods. Modern day and a setting in the 1700's.
Simon is our present day main character. A lonely research librarian that lives in his family home due to the fact that he can't bare to leave it. His mother walked into the water one day and killed herself and his father grieved himself to death. Simon raised his younger sister Enola and then she left.
Simon's family is a special family. All the women in it have been able to hold their breath for long periods of time but they all have died at an early age. From drowning.
Simon receives a book from a collector that unlocks links to his families past. He becomes obsessed with breaking the curse of the mermaids (carnival mermaids) that haunts his family.
Then you have the rest of the story. Amos was the "wild boy" in a carnival. He then was trained in reading the cards even though he is mute. He falls in love with Evangeline, who shows up at the show one day distraught with a special gift of being able to hold her breath under water.
The stories weave themselves together and then for me just flop. I wanted better characters for such a interesting concept of a book.
You have a guy with tentacle tattoos that can light up light-bulbs in his hands for crying out loud!
Disclosure:I picked up this book at the library. For free.
Simon is our present day main character. A lonely research librarian that lives in his family home due to the fact that he can't bare to leave it. His mother walked into the water one day and killed herself and his father grieved himself to death. Simon raised his younger sister Enola and then she left.
Simon's family is a special family. All the women in it have been able to hold their breath for long periods of time but they all have died at an early age. From drowning.
Simon receives a book from a collector that unlocks links to his families past. He becomes obsessed with breaking the curse of the mermaids (carnival mermaids) that haunts his family.
Then you have the rest of the story. Amos was the "wild boy" in a carnival. He then was trained in reading the cards even though he is mute. He falls in love with Evangeline, who shows up at the show one day distraught with a special gift of being able to hold her breath under water.
The stories weave themselves together and then for me just flop. I wanted better characters for such a interesting concept of a book.
You have a guy with tentacle tattoos that can light up light-bulbs in his hands for crying out loud!
Disclosure:I picked up this book at the library. For free.
feliciar33ds's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to love this book. I think the concept is great and I like the story going back into family history and then the current date, and carnival life, and "mermaids". And the metaphor of the house crumbling....BUT, alas, it was kinda boring. Downright snoozirific. It just plodded on and on and really the only thing that kept me going was that I loved the Audible narrator (Ari Fliakos) - he was GREAT. Maybe it will be made into a really fantastic movie.
missamandamae's review against another edition
5.0
A marvelous book! I LOVE books that have parallel stories to them - one in the past, one in the present or near present, and as you charge through the book the stories begin to intertwine, and then ending is somehow more satisfying because of it. Definitely a great read for fans of Morgenstern's The Night Circus, or Kostova's The Historian.
This details a librarian at a struggling library who is presented with an old, old book from a past traveling circus that sparks his interest, all the while he develops a new relationship and reconnects with his mostly estranged sister. We're transported back to the late 18th century, and learn about the lives of curious characters with a kind of mystical aura about them. The whole book pulls you in, but the last third will keep you pressing forward until the end.
A great read for anyone who likes reading about librarians, circuses, or likes a good family mystery.
This details a librarian at a struggling library who is presented with an old, old book from a past traveling circus that sparks his interest, all the while he develops a new relationship and reconnects with his mostly estranged sister. We're transported back to the late 18th century, and learn about the lives of curious characters with a kind of mystical aura about them. The whole book pulls you in, but the last third will keep you pressing forward until the end.
A great read for anyone who likes reading about librarians, circuses, or likes a good family mystery.