In contrast, later sections of the novel falter Mandel’s description of a futuristic world of moon colonies and holograms is ungrounded and vague. Mandel’s quiet, understated prose excels at capturing the quiet wilderness in which Edwin finds himself. The first section of “Sea of Tranquility” is undeniably the highlight of the novel. Throughout the novel, Gaspery time travels to the past to interview and observe characters from the previous three time periods. In 2401, detective Gaspery Roberts investigates a mysterious anomaly in a Canadian forest that features in the previous three timelines this anomaly, when witnessed, allows one to momentarily travel through time. In 2203, a novelist named Olive Llewellyn travels from the moon colonies to Earth on a book tour to promote her newly released novel amid a devastating pandemic. In 2020, a woman named Mirella learns of the death of her estranged friend Vincent. Andrew travels from Britain to Canada, where he lives in exile. “Sea of Tranquility” is a novel composed of multiple overlapping storylines, marked by four distinct time periods. Nevertheless, “Sea of Tranquility” poses intriguing questions about human nature and the meaning of life over which I found myself ruminating long after finishing the book. While earlier sections of the novel excel, I was ultimately disappointed by its worldbuilding and character arcs.
John Mandel’s third novel “Sea of Tranquility” is expansive and complex, sweeping through huge swathes of time and space - from the Canadian wilderness in 1912 to moon colonies in 2401 - as it explores art, human morality and disease.
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