Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Emily St. John Mandel’s latest work, “Sea of Tranquility,” takes readers on a journey across space and time in hopes of understanding a mysterious anomaly. Spanning from the northern reaches of Vancouver Island to the lunar colonies and ranging from 1912 to 2401, this story is a reminder of what things truly matter to us as humans: What principles guide us, what values drive us and what we are willing to sacrifice to those ends.
At the center of “Sea of Tranquility” is the mystery of a time anomaly. In search of answers to that mystery, the plot proceeds in a near chiastic structure, jumping incrementally forward in time, and then receding back along the same path. This progression allows the reader to return to characters met earlier on while bringing fresh insights to these scenes. Unlike many other time jumping works of speculative fiction, “Tranquility” excels at bringing together its various narrative threads to weave a cohesive tale with simplicity and brevity, guiding the reader on a journey across time without the need for flow charts or margin notes to decipher it all in the end.
“Tranquility” (2022) is, like many other recently published works, clearly influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Pre- and post-pandemics loom large in various eras of the plot. While many other works of pandemic-fiction can feel a bit overwrought and trying today, “Tranquility” handles the subject with enough tact and subtlety to keep the reader engaged, rather than triggered or put off.
The protagonists vary era by era; and given the work’s structure, we don’t meet the main protagonist until halfway through the book. But once on the scene, protagonist Gaspery Roberts’ investigation into the anomaly brings order to the disparate vignettes, and a resolution to the work’s arc.
This isn’t a book that ends with resounding deep insight, but rather one that brings moments of joy and insight along the way. “Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel is available in a variety of formats at wcls.org.
Reviewed by Jonathan Jakobitz, Blaine Library branch manager, Whatcom County Library System
(Originally published in The Northern Light, Wednesday, August 2, 2023.)