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

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

4.0

This is a series of individual stories from different timelines that start out unrelated, but end up beautifully and neatly interwoven. The ending leaves you with that "ah ha" moment that's so satisfying. 

The build-up is slow, so don't give up on it. There are unconventional chapter setups and changes of POV that you adjust to. 

I have mixed feelings on how time travel and the future are illustrated in this story. I caught myself being too picky about realism and tiny details (like, why is there an overpopulation problem when that clearly is not where we're trending?) -- but appreciated the focus on pandemics, very clearly inspired by COVID. It's like we progress, but our nature stays the same. 

There's a moment where a character muses in front of an audience why we are so focused on pandemic literature. Our inherent narcissism is brought up, but dismissed quickly. I think that's so funny, given how this story is tied up.

You'll enjoy this if you normally like time travel / futuristic stories, pensive reads.
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