Finding My Wings

Mermaids, tarot cards and an antique book

IN A NUTSHELL Unknown - Version 2

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler (St. Martin’s Press, June 2015)
In 40 words or less: An enchanting debut novel of families past and present, shaped by magic, tarot and traveling circuses. A mysterious antique book and young librarian enrich the story.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Locale: USA East Coast
Time: Now and 1780’s
Book Group Potential: An unusual story with an interesting construction. Good for those interested in structural analysis as well as plot.
Extra: Indiebound.org has made this title one of its Indie Next Great Reads!

Erika Swyler’s debut, The Book of Speculation (St. Martin’s Press), is the latest novel featuring carnival mermaids, psychics and freaks. Just last year Alice Hoffman had The Museum of Extraordinary Things about a freak show in Coney Island at the turn of the 20th century. The Book of Speculation has many appealing features that set it apart from many carnival stories.

In the present, Simon Watson is hanging on by his fingernails to the disintegrating family home on the edge of Long Island Sound and his job as a research librarian in the local library. The son of a traveling circus mermaid who drowned in the Sound and a father who fell into a deep depression and died, Simon was left to care as a teen for his sensitive younger sister, Enola. With Enola off in parts unknown, a book from an 18th century traveling circus arrives at his door, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who believes it related to Simon’s family.

An omniscient narrator tells the story of Hermelius H. Peabody’s 1780’s traveling show. Entrepreneurial, but with great affection for his company, Peabody takes in a young, mute boy with unusual skills who appears one night. Alternately serving as a surrogate father and putting him to work as the “Wild Boy”, Peabody recognizes the boy’s intelligence and has the tarot card reader teach him the secrets of the cards and elevate him to her assistant. Amos, as he is named by the troupe, is a favorite of all until a young woman with an unknown past joins the circus as a mermaid. And from there, as the cards will tell, bad things continue to happen.

Back in the present, Enola and her tattooed, electric boyfriend arrive at the house just as it is about to fall over the cliff. They are part of a traveling show where Enola reads cards. Simon’s early reading of the antique journal leads him to believe his mother’s drowning may be familial and Enola is likely at risk within the next few seeks. Using his research skills, Simon tries to connect the 18th century volume to the current history of his family. In the process he discovers disturbing truths about his family and the neighbor family who play such a significant role in his life.

Swyler tells a wonderful story, painting vivid pictures of the characters and surroundings. Each major character is well-drawn and consistent within his/her time. Since the local library and Simon’s librarian contacts figure in the unveiling of connections, the reader is reminded of the tenuous nature of library funding in the present economy.

Many recent novels have suffered from great length and abrupt endings. The Book of Speculation continues naturally to its end in less than 350 pages. If you prefer visiting traveling shows between the pages of a book to walking the midway, this may be the book for you. I enjoyed it far more than I had expected.

So here’s what YOU are reading

Summer is halfway done and my to-be-read pile is still growing. Thanks to those of you who offered up the titles you’ve been reading this summer. It is a very eclectic list, as you can see below. Seeing what others are enjoying encourages me to expand my horizons. Here are some of your choices:

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
While the Gods Were Sleeping by Enslin
The Seven Good Years by Etgar Keret
My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege
Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America
My Father and Myself by J.R. Ackerley
Mindset by Carol Dweck
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
From Frazzled to Focused by Rivka Caroline and Amy Sweetny

And what have I been reading? Well, I’ve finished The Girl on the Train, The Seven Good Years and Alice Hoffman’s new book, The Marriage of Opposites. The review of Hoffman’s book will post on Monday and look for a write-up on the Keret essays soon. Oops, I forgot about The Book of Speculation, Erica Swyler’s book released last month. Watch for my thoughts on that in a few days.

If you were a big Gone Girl fan, The Girl on the Train may be perfect for any trips this summer. Next up is House of Thieves, Charles Belfoure’s new book scheduled for September release. I posted about his first book, The Paris Architect, and the book group conversations several months ago. I’m hoping to finish Safekeeping by Jessamyn Hope. I started reading it in an electronic Advance Copy which expired before I had a chance to finish. It was one of my buys while on the road.

If you signed up to receive these posts via email I will be sending you a message tomorrow to see if the announcements of the posts are arriving consistently. I’ve been hearing some people have not been receiving them regularly. Please reach out through the comments or by email if you have any thoughts.

Not a lot of staying in this “stay-cation”

There is nothing like out of town visitors, especially those with children, to give you a completely new perspective on your hometown. Last week was jam-packed with favorite haunts and new surprises in the DC area.

It had been way too long since my niece had visited. She and her wonderful husband brought their two boys for their first introduction to the nation’s capital. As a dutiful great-aunt, I spent lots of time beforehand pouring over maps and articles about the latest and greatest activities for visitors to DC. Fortunately all that prep time was well spent and made the visit a lot smoother and more fun for all. While they did some exploration on their own, I was very happy to be included on most excursions. Continue reading Not a lot of staying in this “stay-cation”

David Liss’ The Day of Atonement – Audiobook review

David Liss has created a special niche in historical fiction. His books provide a rich portrait of difficult business and social interactions at pivotal points in commercial history. My first exposure to his work was The Coffee Trader which takes place in 1659 in Amsterdam at the beginning of coffee as an international commodity. In each of his novels the main protagonist is Jewish, well-versed in the different business and social customs of the times and often at odds with those governing Jewish communal norms in the city. Liss is expert at describing the look of the city, its clothing and foods, taverns and houses of worship, elite and servant classes.

In The Day of Atonement, Liss brings a young man, Sebastian, back to Lisbon from London in 1755, during the latter days of the Inquisition. Sebastiao Raposa was smuggled out of Lisbon a decade earlier just as his family was taken by Inquisition. While in London he had been mentored by a man with a keen eye for business and conspiracies as well as great fighting skills. As Sebastian Foxx he returns to Lisbon with the intention of seeking retribution against those that destroyed his family, killed his father and separated him from his first love.

Every aspect of the story is seen through Sebastian’s eyes. Characteristically, the priests of the Inquisition pitted neighbor against neighbor and were ever vigilant to any inkling of Judaization among New Christians, those Jews who were forcibly converted to Catholicism more than 200 years earlier. Lisbon was at the nexus of international trade and English Protestants were major traders, forming an alliance for their own protection. Both New Christians and Protestants were at peril of being imprisoned by the Inquisition at any time for almost any reason. Continue reading David Liss’ The Day of Atonement – Audiobook review

Learning history, South Carolina style

After my parents moved to Hilton Head I started taking a greater interest in South Carolina. Charleston is one of the loveliest cities in the country with gracious modern Southern sensibilities. Hilton Head has many things going on beyond the beach, including big city calibre cultural events and a well-established set of volunteer institutions that help address unmet needs of the area population. But I’ve found the politics baffling and frustrating.

We arrived in Hilton Head after the funerals in Charleston of those murdered at Emanuel AME Church and left just before the historic discussions and votes in the South Carolina legislature to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the capital in Columbia. At home in the DC area, politics is a three meals a day diet with local, national and international issues vying for constant attention, most with spin-doctors looking for a leg up in the next round. The attack in Charleston was taken as an assault on the entire community and the subsequent responses were equally personal. As the entire nation watched, civic leaders and legislators laid bare family history to argue for or against the removal of the Confederate flag.

As we headed north from Hilton Head en route home, we saw a road sign for the Tuskegee Airmen Monument in Walterboro, SC. Walterboro is a picturesque 200 year old small southern city. I had seen the historic downtown before with its antique shops and discovered the home to the South Carolina Artisan Center. But a monument to the Tuskegee airmen? Having always associated these heroic airmen with Alabama, I had to see what it was all about.

During WWII the small local airport became Walterboro Army Airfield. In addition to the monument pictured below, there are several displays documenting the history of the airfield and area during the war. It was a training ground for pilots, and in the latter stages of the war, an advanced training center for 500 Tuskegee airmen. While taking pride in serving as home to the airmen for this training, the materials point out the poor treatment the Tuskegee airman often received once the day’s training was over. The local area also housed a German POW center. It was surprising to see the number of visitors within the previous week to this relatively remote testament to history.

I still have problems with many political pronouncements and policies in South Carolina and might not choose to live there. But attitudes can and do change. It is important to know and understand history so that past mistakes are not repeated.

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