Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Synopsis

Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled from polite society following an ill-conceived diatribe at a dinner party. He enters the forest, spellbound by the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, and suddenly hears the notes of a violin echoing in an airship terminal–an experience that shocks him to his core.

Two centuries later a famous writer named Olive Llewellyn is on a book tour. She’s traveling all over Earth, but her home is the second moon colony, a place of white stone, spired towers, and artificial beauty. Within the text of Olive’s bestselling pandemic novel lies a strange passage: a man plays his violin for change in the echoing corridor of an airship terminal as the trees of a forest rise around him.

When Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a detective in the Night City, is hired to investigate an anomaly in the North American wilderness, he uncovers a series of lives upended: The exiled son of an earl driven to madness, a writer trapped far from home as a pandemic ravages Earth, and a childhood friend from the Night City who, like Gaspery himself, has glimpsed the chance to do something extraordinary that will disrupt the timeline of the universe.

A virtuoso performance that is as human and tender as it is intellectually playful, Sea of Tranquility is a novel of time travel and metaphysics that precisely captures the reality of our current moment.

Rating

Review

“Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel swept me into its orbit from the first page. This isn’t just a story; it’s a journey through time and space that somehow feels intensely personal. When I picked up this book, chosen by my book club Chapter & Verse for our May 2024 read, I didn’t expect to be so thoroughly captivated. After all, sci-fi isn’t usually my go-to genre, but Mandel’s narrative pulled me in with its deep human insights and intricate weaving of past, present, and future.

The book introduces us to Edwin St. Andrew, 18 years old and banished from England, who steps into the Canadian wilderness only to encounter a haunting melody that seems almost out of place. Fast forward two centuries, and we meet Olive Llewellyn, an author from a moon colony who’s touring Earth. Her life echoes through her writings in ways that blur the lines between fiction and reality. Then there’s Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a detective whose investigation into an anomaly ties these disparate threads into a compelling tapestry of lives intertwined.

Mandel has a way of making the complex feel approachable, weaving themes of simulation theory and existential questions into the characters’ lives without ever making it feel like a lecture. Instead, it’s all part of their natural progression, their struggles and realizations, which are as much about the human condition as they are about time travel or technological advances. It’s heartwarming to see that no matter the era or advancements, the essence of being human—our love, jealousy, and need for connection—doesn’t change.

I must admit, the parts about the pandemic didn’t hit me as hard as I might have expected. Maybe it’s because, having lived through one, the descriptions of masks and social distancing felt too familiar, too close to home without offering new emotional insights.

But that’s just a minor note in what was otherwise a richly rewarding read. The way everything tied together at the end was beautiful, although one lingering question still teases my mind—a testament to the story’s depth and its ability to provoke ongoing thought.

Overall, I’m giving “Sea of Tranquility” a hearty 4.5 stars. It’s more than just a good book; it’s a reflection on our times and a reminder of what binds us across any distance: our shared humanity. Emily St. John Mandel has outdone herself again, and I’m left eagerly awaiting whatever world she chooses to transport us to next.