#30 [2025/CBR17] Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill

CBR17Bingo: "Family" - because the main story is the story of a small family.

I had not heard of Dept. of Speculation, (2014) and I'd never read anything by Jenny Offill, the book's author. But my husband was reading Dept. of Speculation, and he recommended it to me. I forget exactly what he told me, but it was something about it being very readable and a page turner. This piqued my interest, and I almost immediately checked it out. It turns out that my husband and I have very different definitions of "readable." Although this book was well written, and there were moments and sentences I found interesting, it is very meandering and plot-less, which made it more difficult for me to keep reading.

This book is written in a stream of consciousness manner with lots of little insights, commentary and philosophy thrown in. In addition, we slowly learn about the life of the narrator, who is called "the wife."

The various blurbs that extol this book say that it is a "portrait of a marriage" and "a rumination on trust, intimacy, faith, and knowledge." They say that the book is about first-time motherhood, a cheating husband, and a writer's loneliness.

Honestly, though, I remember very little of this book. I do remember when "the wife" discovered that her husband was cheating, and her feelings were gut wrenching. 

"There is nowhere to cry in this city. But the wife has an idea one day. There is a cemetery half a mile from their apartment. Perhaps one could wander through it sobbing without unnerving anyone. Perhaps one could flap one's hands even."

However, I don't even remember the particulars of that section of the book. The only other thing I remember was that I was impressed at how Offill took us from that betrayal where I couldn't imagine how the wife could go on, to eventual forgiveness and a new normalcy. After many years, they were able to build their family back up again. And because it was done so slowly and thoughtfully, it felt very real.

Many people have very much enjoyed this book, and I can appreciate that it was well written. However, stream-of-consciousness writing is usually not for me, so this was not one of my favorites this year.