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Melissa ~ Bantering Books's Reviews > Sea of Tranquility
Sea of Tranquility
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“… what she found at that moment, as the lights of yet another ambulance flickered over the ceiling, was that it was possible to smile back. This is the strange lesson of living in a pandemic: life can be tranquil in the face of death.”
Emily St. John Mandel brought me out of a writing slump. This is the first book review I’ve written in months, and not only do I want to share my thoughts regarding her latest novel, Sea of Tranquility, but I feel compelled. Leave it to her to be the one to breathe life back into my words.
Because I’m a huge fan. Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel sit high upon my favorites shelf, and now I will be placing Sea of Tranquility beside them. My very own St. John Mandel literary trifecta.
Sea of Tranquility takes us on a trip through time and space. In typical St. John Mandel fashion, the narrative leaps back and forth across centuries, from Earth to colonies on the moon, and the story touches on the always mind-bending topics of time travel and metaphysics. Your head will not hurt, though, not in her hands, as she never allows the science to overwhelm the story.
Pandemics also run rife throughout the narrative, and it, surprisingly, feels incredibly validating. St. John Mandel really gets it and is able to put onto the page what the whole of humanity has experienced these last few COVID-filled years with great acuity. It’s comforting, even.
To be honest, however, the novel was *only* a four-star read up until the very end. The ingenious final act is what did it. The way St. John Mandel finally threads all the pieces of the story together is not only shocking but, in hindsight, brilliantly inevitable.
I cannot recommend Sea of Tranquility highly enough. Or Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel, for that matter. Just go ahead, read all three, and be done with it.
My sincerest appreciation to Emily St. John Mandel and Knopf for the physical Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
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“… what she found at that moment, as the lights of yet another ambulance flickered over the ceiling, was that it was possible to smile back. This is the strange lesson of living in a pandemic: life can be tranquil in the face of death.”
Emily St. John Mandel brought me out of a writing slump. This is the first book review I’ve written in months, and not only do I want to share my thoughts regarding her latest novel, Sea of Tranquility, but I feel compelled. Leave it to her to be the one to breathe life back into my words.
Because I’m a huge fan. Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel sit high upon my favorites shelf, and now I will be placing Sea of Tranquility beside them. My very own St. John Mandel literary trifecta.
Sea of Tranquility takes us on a trip through time and space. In typical St. John Mandel fashion, the narrative leaps back and forth across centuries, from Earth to colonies on the moon, and the story touches on the always mind-bending topics of time travel and metaphysics. Your head will not hurt, though, not in her hands, as she never allows the science to overwhelm the story.
Pandemics also run rife throughout the narrative, and it, surprisingly, feels incredibly validating. St. John Mandel really gets it and is able to put onto the page what the whole of humanity has experienced these last few COVID-filled years with great acuity. It’s comforting, even.
To be honest, however, the novel was *only* a four-star read up until the very end. The ingenious final act is what did it. The way St. John Mandel finally threads all the pieces of the story together is not only shocking but, in hindsight, brilliantly inevitable.
I cannot recommend Sea of Tranquility highly enough. Or Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel, for that matter. Just go ahead, read all three, and be done with it.
My sincerest appreciation to Emily St. John Mandel and Knopf for the physical Advance Review Copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
Bantering Books
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Reading Progress
October 13, 2021
– Shelved
October 13, 2021
– Shelved as:
to-read
January 8, 2022
– Shelved as:
arc-physical-copy
March 28, 2022
–
Started Reading
March 28, 2022
–
0.0%
"So excited to start this. Thank you Knopf Publishing for the physical ARC.!"
page
0
April 3, 2022
–
Finished Reading
April 4, 2022
– Shelved as:
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Apr 03, 2022 06:23PM
Outstanding review! I need to read this one!❤
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Wonderful review! Glad you felt compelled to share your thoughts with us! 💖
So happy this book broke your writing slump. Incredible review. I need to read this one, and her previous two, which I own.
I can’t wait for this! Station Eleven was so great. If you haven’t read it already, I recommend Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Is our Canadian girl's new book this good? All right, Melissa! I look forward to reading them all. I might go bargain shopping Tuesday. Carolyn (never "C" to friends).
The Glass Hotel is on my all time favorites list and I have this on hold. I’m delighted to see your review and that you loved this one.Fantastic review Melissa! You were missed 💕
Beautiful review, Melissa, and so glad this book was the medicine that drew you out of your writing slump! I will definitely be adding this one to my TBR♥️
Terrific review Melissa 🌺
Fabulous review, Melissa! I know I need to give this author a try.
beautiful review, melissa! what an honor for this author to know someone has loved their work so much that it can breathe words back and give you that step forward to write reviews again. “station eleven” was recommended to me last year but i never got to read it. definitely gonna re think that now.
Such a wonderful review, Melissa! I'm glad you found a book you loved enough to get you out of your writing slump. :)
Awesome review Melissa! This author is definitely on my tbr list 😊.
![©hrissie ❁ [1st week on campus-somewhat run-down]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1610034740p1/49071166.jpg)
So thrilled to be reading one of your very distinctive reviews again, Melissa! ♥️ I love love love the phrase 'literary trifecta'. :)Thanks for sharing.
Melissa, I'm so glad that this read was the encouragement needed to continue writing your expert reviews! Keep 'um coming! 💜
So wonderful to read one of your incredible reviews again, Melissa! I might hold off on this for now if it relates to much to pandemics, but I will surely get to it at some point. I’m glad St. Mandel lived up to her previous works and you’ve certainly convinced me to give her a try! 😊
I am so happy to hear that you are three for three with St. Mandel's work. That's impressive. Superb review, Melissa! 💖
You've made me curious about the ending! So happy to see this review Melissa!
L.A. wrote: "Outstanding review! I need to read this one!❤"Thank you, L.A. Yes, defiinitely read it when you can. :)
Jayme wrote: "Wonderful review! Glad you felt compelled to share your thoughts with us! 💖"Thanks, Jayme! I am, too. It felt good to get some words down on the screen again. :)
Sheyla ✎ wrote: "Fantastic review, Melissa."Thank you very much, Sheyla! :)
NZLisaM wrote: "So happy this book broke your writing slump. Incredible review. I need to read this one, and her previous two, which I own."Thank you, Lisa! If you can, read the books in order of publication date. They would all work as standalones, but there are overlapping characters. I think it will give you a greater appreciation for what St. John Mandel has accomplished. :)
Creya wrote: "I can’t wait for this! Station Eleven was so great. If you haven’t read it already, I recommend Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton"
"Good Morning, Midnight" has been on my list for a few years, Creya. Thanks for the recommendation.
I love EVERYTHING about this review, Melissa!!!! xoxo
I've been so curious about this one. Excellent review!
You have me pondering ! And now I’m wondering about reading the Glass Hotel as well! Very well done!
C. (Never msg. Just comment! Email if private.) wrote: "Is our Canadian girl's new book this good? All right, Melissa! I look forward to reading them all. I might go bargain shopping Tuesday. Carolyn (never "C" to friends)."Yes, her new book really is THIS good, Carolyn. I hope you find yourself some deals on Tuesday. :)
JanB wrote: "The Glass Hotel is on my all time favorites list and I have this on hold. I’m delighted to see your review and that you loved this one.Fantastic review Melissa! You were missed 💕"
Aww, thanks, Jan. Since you loved "The Glass Hotel" as much as I did, I think you will enjoy "Sea of Tranquility," too. I can't wait for you to read it. :)
Terrie wrote: "Beautiful review, Melissa, and so glad this book was the medicine that drew you out of your writing slump! I will definitely be adding this one to my TBR♥️"Thanks so much, Terrie! I know you didn't have the best luck listening to "Station Eleven" on audio, but I hope you try "Sea of Tranquility" in print. It's wonderful.
Margaret M wrote: "Terrific review Melissa 🌺"Thank you, Margaret! I appreciate it. :)
MarilynW wrote: "Fabulous review, Melissa! I know I need to give this author a try."Thank you, Marilyn! I hope you get around to trying St. John Mandel one of these days. She's fantastic. :)
Terrific review Melissa! I hope your slump is gone for good. Although I haven't read it yet, there's an article about Emily St. John Mandel in this past Saturday's Toronto Globe and Mail.
Melissa wrote: "NZLisaM wrote: "So happy this book broke your writing slump. Incredible review. I need to read this one, and her previous two, which I own."Thank you, Lisa! If you can, read the books in order of..."
Thanks so much. I will.
Wow, such a beautiful review, Melissa!
elena ❀ wrote: "beautiful review, melissa! what an honor for this author to know someone has loved their work so much that it can breathe words back and give you that step forward to write reviews again. “station ..."Thank you very much, Elena! I hope you do reconsider "Station Eleven" and give it a try. It's a terrific read and may be her best. (It's hard for me to choose.)
Michael wrote: "Such a wonderful review, Melissa! I'm glad you found a book you loved enough to get you out of your writing slump. :)"Thank you, Michael! Me too! Me too! It felt lovely to dust off the writing chops. :)
Pat wrote: "Awesome review Melissa! This author is definitely on my tbr list 😊."Thank you, Pat! I'm glad St. John Mandel is on your list. She's fabulous. :)
©hrissie ❁ Wor(l)ds*Of*Wonders [on semi-hiatus] wrote: "So thrilled to be reading one of your very distinctive reviews again, Melissa! ♥️ I love love love the phrase 'literary trifecta'. :)Thanks for sharing."
Aww, thank you, Chrissie. And you're welcome! :)
Fran wrote: "Melissa, I'm so glad that this read was the encouragement needed to continue writing your expert reviews! Keep 'um coming! 💜"Thank you very much, Fran! I'm going to do my best to keep 'em coming. :)
Wonderful review Melissa. Glad you have another one of her books to your favorite shelf!! 💗
Catherine wrote: "So wonderful to read one of your incredible reviews again, Melissa! I might hold off on this for now if it relates to much to pandemics, but I will surely get to it at some point. I’m glad St. Mand..."Thank you very much, Catherine! Yes, "Sea of Tranquility" deals with pandemics, but I didn't find it triggering at all. Definitely hold off on it, though, until you feel ready. :)
Michelle wrote: "I am so happy to hear that you are three for three with St. Mandel's work. That's impressive. Superb review, Melissa! 💖"Thank you, Michelle! Yeah, it's not often I hand out three five-star reviews in a row to the same author. St. John Mandel is pretty special. :)
Holly wrote: "You've made me curious about the ending! So happy to see this review Melissa!"Thank you, Holly! The ending, for sure, is a good one. :)
Regina wrote: "I love EVERYTHING about this review, Melissa!!!! xoxo"Aww, shucks, Regina. Thank you! :)
Excellent review! I haven’t heard of this author but I’ve since looked into all of her books, and everything looks interesting. Adding to the list!
Ceecee wrote: "Great review Melissa ❤️"Thank you, Ceecee! :)
Melissa (In Catch-Up Mode) wrote: "I've been so curious about this one. Excellent review!"Thanks, Melissa! I hope your curiousity brings you to read it. :)
Shaina wrote: "You have me pondering ! And now I’m wondering about reading the Glass Hotel as well! Very well done!"Thanks so much, Shaina! I hope you read both. If you do, I kindly suggest reading "The Glass Hotel" first. Characters from it carry over into "Sea of Tranquility," and I think your reading experience will be enriched if you read them in publication order. :)
