Dept. of Speculation
by Jenny Offill
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill holds a well received rating of 3.72 out of 5, based on 20.3K reader ratings. First published in 2014. The book spans 179 pages.
About Dept. of Speculation
Dept. of Speculation is a portrait of a marriage. It is also a beguiling rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, trust, faith, knowledge, and the condition of universal shipwreck that unites us all. Jenny Offill's heroine, referred to in these pages as simply "the wife," once exchanged love letters with her husband postmarked Dept. of Speculation, their code name for all the uncertainty that inheres in life and in the strangely fluid confines of a long relationship. As they confront an array of common catastrophes - a colicky baby, a faltering marriage, stalled ambitions - the wife analyzes her predicament, invoking everything from Keats and Kafka to the thought experiments of the Stoics to the lessons of doomed Russian cosmonauts. She muses on the consuming, capacious experience of maternal love, and the near total destruction of the self that ensues from it as she confronts the friction between domestic life and the seductions and demands of art. With cool precision, in language that shimmers with rage and wit and fierce longing, Jenny Offill has crafted an exquisitely suspenseful love story that has the velocity of a train hurtling through the night at top speed. Exceptionally lean and compact, Dept. of Speculation is a novel to be devoured in a single sitting, though its bracing emotional insights and piercing meditations on despair and love will linger long after the last page.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | Jenny Offill |
| Published | 2014 |
| Pages | 179 |
| Genres | Fiction, Fiction, Romance |
| Average Rating | 3.72 / 5.00 |
| Total Ratings | 20,253 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is Dept. of Speculation?
Dept. of Speculation is categorized as Fiction, Fiction, Romance. Its primary genre classification is Romance.
Is Dept. of Speculation worth reading?
Based on 20.3K reader ratings, Dept. of Speculation has an average score of 3.72 out of 5.00, which is considered "Well Received."
How many pages is Dept. of Speculation?
Dept. of Speculation has 179 pages. It is a relatively quick read.
Who wrote Dept. of Speculation?
Dept. of Speculation was written by Jenny Offill. It was first published in 2014.
What is the ISBN for Dept. of Speculation?
The ISBN-13 for Dept. of Speculation is 9780385350820.0.
Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 15, 2026
