Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

6 reviews

monalyisha's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Swyler describes her own book as being “difficult to explain: a dual narrative in two time periods, an abundance of plot threads, circus, tarot, drowning, horseshoe crabs, a house falling off a cliff, all as told by a reclusive librarian.” 
 
I know this book isn’t for everyone but it was absolutely for me. I love Erika Swyler’s writing, her sensibilities. Others have complained about the pacing and I could see how that might be an issue for readers less taken with the whole of the reading experience; it was definitely slower in certain parts (an ungenerous sort might say “uneven”). Personally, I cannot say how much I enjoyed this heartbreaking and salt-stained novel.
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jen_b's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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erinbrenner's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A magical realism tale that  centers around several generations of a circus family. The characters were interesting, but the story kind of loses its way about two-thirds of the way in. It should've been 100 pages shorter to keep the story sharp and concise, and it needed a cleaner ending. 

I'm also going to echo another reviewer and say that Simon shouldn't have been the main character. The main character should've been a woman who worried about her family's past and her own future.

It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. I got for $1.25, so I can't really complain. 
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jesakeita's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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malloryfitz's review against another edition

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  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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