"Simon Watson, a young librarian on the verge of losing his job, lives alone on the Long Island Sound in his family home--a house, perched on the edge of a bluff, that is slowly crumbling toward the sea. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, works for a traveling carnival reading tarot cards, and seldom calls. On a day in late June, Simon receives a mysterious package from an antiquarian bookseller. The book tells the story of Amos and Evangeline, doomed lovers who lived and worked in a traveling circus more than two hundred years ago. The paper crackles with age as Simon turns the yellowed pages filled with notes, sketches, and whimsical flourishes; and his best friend and fellow librarian, Alice, looks on in increasing alarm. Why does his grandmother's name, Verona Bonn, appear in this book? Why do so many women in his family drown on July 24? Could there possibly be some kind of curse on his family--and could Enola, who has suddenly turned up at home for the first time in six years, risk the same fate in just a few weeks? In order to save her--and perhaps himself--Simon must try urgently to decode his family history while moving on from the past. The Book of Speculation is Erika Swyler's gorgeous and moving debut, a wondrous novel about the power of books and family and magic"--

Swyler, Erika, author, illustrator

Atlantic Books

London Corvus

Tuskar Rock

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

Main, 2016

obscured text on leaf 3
cut off text on some pages

339 pages : 20 cm
Simon Watson lives alone on the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks. On a day in late June, Simon receives a mysterious book from an antiquarian bookseller; it has been sent to him because it is inscribed with the name of Simon's grandmother. The book tells the story of two doomed lovers who were part of a travelling circus more than two hundred years ago. He is fascinated, yet as he reads Simon becomes increasingly unnerved. Why do so many women in his family drown on 24th July? And could his beloved sister, who has suddenly turned up at home for the first time in years, risk the same terrible fate? As 24th July draws ever closer, Simon must unlock the mysteries of the book, and decode his family history, before it's too late
First published: 2015

Den unge bibliotekaren Simon Watson bor alene i familiehuset på Long Island. Huset holder på å bli tatt av havet. Foreldrene er døde og hans søster Enola stakk av for seks år siden. En dag i juni får han en vannskadet og skjør bok levert på døren. Boken, en journal fra et omreisende sirkus på 1700-tallet, forteller om merkelige og magiske hendelser. Simon finner i boken spor etter slektninger på morssiden. Det viser seg at flere av kvinnene i slekten har druknet seg, på nøyaktig den samme dagen - 24. juli. Simon begynner å frykte for søsteren. Hviler det en forbannelse over kvinnene i familien? Og hva har den med boken å gjøre? Med kun uker til 24. juli, vil han kunne stoppe forbannelsen og redde Enola, og seg selv, før det er for sent? Omtalen er utarbeidet av BS

A sweeping and captivating debut novel about a young librarian who discovers that his family labours under a terrible curse - for generations, the women in his family have died on the same date in July. Simon must set out to unravel the mystery of this curse, before his beloved sister suffers the same fate.

Als Simon Watson, die in een huis woont dat langzaam wordt opgeslokt door de zee, een antiquarisch boek toegestuurd krijgt, probeert hij een familiemysterie te achterhalen en daarmee een drama te voorkomen. NL-ZmNBD

2023-06-28