A review by decaying
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I didn’t have any prior expectations so I entered this book as a blank slate. I went off, not too long ago, on a tangent about a certain craving for a more quiet sci-fi book. Lo and behold, there this book was!

“Sea of Tranquility” sets itself at several different points of time at different places—within and out of Earth. At its core, it is a story about connection; our desire to be connected when we’re apart, when we’ve bid goodbyes with loved ones too soon, or when we crave to find meaning in life that lacks of it. “Sea of Tranquility” is a lonely book. Often, it spends itself through the perspectives of different characters when they’re far removed from their circumstances at different points of their lives. From a man’s who wanders aimlessly after having been isolated by his family, to a writer who finds herself struggling to grasp the reality around her while being separated from her family.

Solitude is fully and thoughtfully realized through Mandel’s writing. It is present in the very lives these characters go through. When the blue sky stretches far too wide they feel overexposed by it. When their thoughts wander in the middle of conversations. When they simply miss the presence of other people. It’s almost always present in some shape or form and consistently so even as we jump between different timelines and narratives. It is the one unifying thing that ties them together.

However, after spending most of the time jumping between different timelines and narratives in “Sea of Tranquility”, I find myself having a difficulty trying to ground myself in these characters. To fully understand them as characters—their desires, their fears, their stories. It solidifies itself in the notion that perhaps we can find meaning in life, regardless whether this was real or not. But I can’t help but think, does the book do that justice? Has it truly believed in its concrete conclusion that life is precious regardless of its unreality? Especially after spending plenty of the book in solitude or, at the very least, feeling lonely?

I don’t know. Honestly, I still find the middle section of the book difficult to sit through. Mostly because of this confusion in what it wants to say. It has reached to a conclusion that I hoped for, but was it something that was thoroughly explored? I’m not so sure. Even so, I still enjoyed this book mostly because of Mandel’s writing especially the way she effectively use structures and style through different perspectives. I appreciate this somewhat quieter lens on science fiction and honestly, the lack of this book only makes me want to explore more of stories like this.

 
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