Dept. of Speculation

by Jenny Offill

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 the jagged edges of a modern marriage to tell a story that is darkly funny, surprising and wise.

• ISBN10: 0385350813
• ISBN13: 9780385350815
• Publish Date: 28 January 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Knopf Publishing Group
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 179
• Language: English

Reviews

[lovelybookshelf]

I just didn't feel very enthusiastic about this one. It has a distinctly surreal feel, but I couldn’t help but think, “Murakami pulls this kind of thing off so much better...” (Unfair comparison, I know.)

There were a lot of spot-on quotes about love, marriage, parenthood...the kind of sentences that make you feel like someone out there gets it. But I still needed something to tie it all together for me -- maybe for the main character to feel more tangible? -- and that element wasn’t there.

That being said, I loved the book’s quirky format and the lovely way Offill writes. I’d definitely be open to reading something else by her in the future.

More of my thoughts on this title can be found on my blog at Lovely Bookshelf.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill tells the story of an unnamed narrator known only as The Wife. This novella charts the narrator through all her uncertainties, as she overanalyses everything in her head from the small things to big things like her marriage. The analysis can invoke anything from Kafka to doomed Russian cosmonauts. The title comes from the letters the wife exchanged with her husband which are postmarked as Dept. of Speculation; the letters were a way to voice her uncertainties. However as the two drifts further apart she starts to lose this outlet, which could be her inherit downfall.

This novella offers a very real look at a person’s life who overanalyses everything. Now I am not going to tell you whether or not this narrator is unreliable or anything like that. I think this is something the reader needs to determine for himself or herself. It doesn’t matter either way, this book takes something intensely real and, at times, this can be a little too real. The way Offill has captured this character’s thoughts and emotions is what makes this book both deep and meaningful.

There is however a huge flaw in this novel, something that was pointed out by a friend before I went into this book. In the edition I read there was a huge amount of italicised text and not all of it was referenced. There are times that the author states who said the quotes and then for the most part leaves quotes unreferenced. While normally I have no problem with no referencing within fiction, but when it takes up a large chunk of the writing, it starts to become a problem. Especially when you find text that speaks to you but it is italicised. Was it a famous quote and was she trying to pass this off as her own words?

There is great beauty within this novella and there is a lot to love about it. This large flow I found with the novel really caused a problem which is a shame. I love books that explore complex human emotions and thoughts, Julian Barnes does this really well and Jenny Offill is just as good. I wanted to love this book and jump on the bandwagon but I couldn’t. I try to wonder if I would have the same problem if it wasn’t pointed out to me before I started this novel, I like to think I would but this friend always puts me to shame when it comes to critical analysis.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2014/10/03/dept-of-speculation-by-jenny-offill/