Dept. of Speculation

A couple's relationship is explored in Dept. of Speculation, a witty and wise book by John Self. It is a story of love, parenthood, and the challenges of a modern marriage, featuring dark humor, surprising insights, and references to Keats, Kafka, Einstein, and 1897 advice for housewives.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 17 August 2023
Publisher: Granta Books

From the Women's Prize Shortlisted author of Weather, an electrifying, funny, and wise account of a couple falling out of one another's orbit. It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who don't quite understand, until they give in and read it too.

John Self, Guardian

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.

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

Weight: 140g
Dimension: 198 x 128 x 11 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783789344