The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

I hated this book, partly because it took me about two third of the way in to realize I hated it, and by then I had passed the point of no return.  I'm not the kind of person who HAS to finish a book once started, but at that point I had gotten so far into it that I felt compelled to hate read it to the end.

The Book of Speculation tells the twin tales of Simon, an unemployed librarian who is randomly gifted a book that contains the business journal of a travelling circus from the late 1700s, and the people who make up that circus, some of whom have a mysterious connection to Simon and his family.  It also turns out that they're all cursed, which Simon must defeat before it's too late.

The problem is that most of the drama in the book feels unearned.  No spoilers, but every time something tragic befalls the characters, it's hard not to wonder why they didn't take a totally obvious and easy different course of action.  In order for any of the second half of the book to make sense, we also have to believe in curses.  Not mystical curses, this isn't a fantasy or anything, but more like bad vibes.  Deus ex tarot deck, basically.  As a side note, the relationships are shallow.  Why does Alice put up with any of Simon's nonsense?  What is the point of Doyle other than to tell Simon and Enola that they're worried about each other?  Why is Churchwarry so blase about the revelations at the end of the book?  It doesn't make any sense.  Don't read this book.