Dept. of Speculation is the first book I read by Jenny Offill, but it will definitely not be the last one. Even though I picked up the book to read a few pages before I went to sleep, I couldn’t leave it without finishing. Jenny Offill will grab you from the very first pages. It is such a book that you’ll want to underline almost every sentence.
Dept. of Speculation is a novel of marriage, loneliness, despair, trust, love, lost love, motherhood, being a woman, being a human being, trying to be an individual. As a matter of fact, this short book tells you almost everything at once. I have always liked the voices of women authors more. Their sincerity, passions and expressions always felt warmer to me. Jenny Offill quickly became one of the authors I couldn’t get enough of.
I recommend Dept. of Speculation to everyone, but I especially recommend it to women. Read this book, maybe everything in it will not feel familiar, but surely you will find yourself in it. A broken love story, a life spent by marriage and being a wife will tell you a lot. Enjoy!
Dept. of Speculation
They used to send each other letters. The return address was always the same: Dept. of Speculation. They used to be young, brave, and giddy with hopes for their future. They got married, had a child, and skated through all the small calamities of family life. But then, slowly, quietly something changes. As the years rush by, fears creep in and doubts accumulate until finally their life as they know it cracks apart and they find themselves forced to reassess what they have lost, what is left, and what they want now. Written with the dazzling lucidity of poetry, Dept. of Speculation navigates so the jagged edges of a modern marriage to tell a story that is darkly funny, surprising and wise.
Jenny Offill
Jenny Offill is an American novelist and editor. Her novel Dept. of Speculation was name so one of “The 10 Best Books of 2014” by The New York Times Book Review.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
