Dept. of Speculation

‘Funny, and moving, and true... It tells a profound story of love and parenthood while invoking (among others) Keats, Kafka, Einstein, Russian cosmonauts, and advice for the housewife of 1897‘ - Michael Cunningham In Dept. of Speculation, Jenny Offill crafts a shimmering, fragmentary portrait of a marriage under pressure and a mind wrestling with love, ambition, motherhood, and the stories we tell ourselves to stay afloat. With sharp wit and clarity, Offill captures the inner weather of a woman whose life is both expanding and collapsing, tracing the small moments that accumulate into seismic shifts. This is a novel about uncertainty, devotion, creativity, and the quiet catastrophes that define being human—told with Offill‘s singular blend of humor, lyricism, and emotional precision. Dept. of Speculation was shortlisted for 2015 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and the Folio Prize. It was included on the New York Times‘ list of the 10 best books of 2014. Jenny Offill is an American novelist and editor known for her formally inventive, psychologically incisive fiction. Her work often explores the complexities of domestic life, creativity, and longing, earning widespread critical acclaim and numerous literary honors.