Review: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good book, but challenging to review - it feels like anything I say about it, it will be a spoiler! So be warned!

The story is non-linear, and somewhat convoluted. The book blends historical fiction and sci-fi to tell a mystery unravelling across centuries. It also blends both classic sci-fi (e.g. time-travel), with the more recent themes, such as living in a simulation. But it's also a book about the pandemic, or actually, different pandemics in the past and in the future, talking about our current pandemic, complete with discussions about safety, isolation, homeschooling, and zoom meetings (holographic, of course). It's just missing the crazy anti-vax/anti-mask element and rise of fascism, which is unfortunate, since to me those are the most striking elements of our pandemic.

It has a weird start, going all the back to the start of the 20th century, where it touches on themes of colonization and manifest destiny (although it takes place in Canada, not the US). It is well told, with elements that did not feel like cliches. It then unspools slowly into an intriguing mystery, telling the stories of several people in different centuries, until it reveals their connection. The main strength of the book is definitely the story-telling, not the sci-fi nor the world-building. The end is semi-satisfying - the solution to the mystery is satisfying, but not the end of the story, I actually would like to know more about what happened to some of the supporting characters.

I liked the story of one of the main characters, Olive, an author who wrote about a fictional pandemic right before a real-life pandemic struck. The book tells about her experience in the book circuit (before the pandemic) and the life as an "expert" (but not really) during the pandemic, going on virtual interviews and lectures - I wondered how much of it was autobiographical! (a lot of it mirrors Emily St. John Mandel, this book's author)


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