Sea of Tranquility
As seen:
By Emily St. John Mandel
avg rating
1 review
The instant Sunday Times bestseller, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel investigates the idea of parallel worlds and possibilities, and plays with the very line along which time should run.
‘So wise, so graceful, so rich’ – Naomi Alderman, author of The Power
‘Ingenious’ – Guardian
Lives separated by time and space have collided, and an exiled Englishman, a writer trapped far from home, and a girl destined to die too young, have each glimpsed a world that is not their own. Travelling through the centuries, between colonies on the moon and an ever-changing Earth, together their lives will solve a mystery that will make you question everything you thought you knew to be true.
From the award-winning author of Station Eleven.
A Best Book of 2022 – Oprah Daily, Barack Obama, Glamour, LA Times
‘Brilliant and fiercely original’ – Observer
‘One of her finest novels’ – New York Times
‘Transcendent’ – Wall Street Journal
Reviews
Whitley Bay Book Group discussed Sea of Tranquility in May 2023.
This is the latest book by the author of Station 11, which we all loved. There are different strands to this plot which follows characters in different time periods who are linked by the time-travelling investigator Gaspery, and the connections become apparent in the course of the book. There is 23rd century novelist Olive, whose book tour is interrupted by a deadly pandemic, Edwin in 1912 Canada, and a reappearance of Vincent from The Glass Hotel.
All of the group love her style of writing, her humour and imagination. But we were divided about the time twists: some thought it was clever and poignant and thought-provoking but some found the time travel and science fiction aspects confusing or over complicated.
It was a good book club choice though as it raised a lot of big issues in the discussion, such as reality vs simulation, humanity vs authority.
We gave it between 2 and 4.5 stars, with an average of 3.5.
