Time Travel discussion

Come join us to discuss this book by the author of Station Eleven. I'm trying to go into it cold, myself, but I do expect it likely to be literary SF.

In a couple of weeks, Heather(Gibby) will be posting a question or two to start off the discussion.

FYI There is a giveaway for this book for people who live in the US

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/en...

Excellent note, thanks!

good catch! Hoping someone from the group wins! Great timing for a giveaway!

Thinking I may pick this one up as an audiobook. Anyone who has already read have any impression of audio vs book experience?

I listened to it in audio and I was able to follow the story, I have a hold on print copy at the library to help me lead the discussion

Prereading quetions:
1. Have you read any other books by Emily St. John Mandel. If Yes, how does this affect your expectations for reading Sea of Tranquility

2. Emily St. John Mandel wrote this book during the Covid pandemic and commented in an interview that the pandemic has drastically changed everyone's lives directly and indirectly. Has living through a pandemic changed the way you read dystopian, or apocalyptical fiction?

I read Station Eleven and enjoyed it, but wasn't blown away by it.

I'd agree that Covid changed the world in many ways. We have become much more casual, good or bad, in the way we dress as a society, what we accept socially. Customer service has deteriorated drastically. Large companies have gotten greedier. Dystopian fiction is less fun for me to read, especially the really bleak stuff, because it feels closer to home.

I loved Station Eleven. I dnf'd The Glass Hotel. I'm leery of this, hopefully it meets my relatively low expectations.

I've never been a fan of dystopian or apocalyptic fiction. Post-apoc. is what I like and what I think we need now. We need to learn how to rebuild our world better. So much does seem so much worse... but I'm not sure I can blame it on Covid; the pandemic wasn't really all that bad, if you look at the numbers and look at history.

I also read Station Eleven and enjoyed it's style. That's currently my only reference for the author, so I am going into SoT anticipating similar non-linear storytelling and character-focused narratives.

I am looking forward to this one!

I read The Glass Hotel and quite liked it, but felt that Station Eleven was superior.

I recently read Greenwood which isn't really a a dystopian novel, but part of it takes place in the future, and it really struck home to me how fragile the planet and our life upon it are. I find I enjoy the simple things in life a lot more now, especially time with family.

Heather(Gibby) wrote: "...I find I enjoy the simple things in life a lot more now, especially time with family...."

Yes, I have seen that reaction around me, apparently due in part to Covid.

And it's July! Yay, I hope to read this soon (but it's quite the month for me for BotM's, so I don't know if I can prioritize it).

Please do put spoilers behind tags for people who are not reading right away!

Not sure if anyone has started reading this yet, but here are some general questions to consider as you read. Feel free to answer one or as many as you like.

source for questions is wearebeautifulwords.ca

1. What part of the story really sticks with you
2. At what moment did you feel you couldn't put the book down
3. What issues did you have with the book
4. Were there any passages or quotes that resonated with you?
5. Has the story changed your perspective about anything
6. Do you think this book would make a great movie or series?

Please be mindful of spoilers at this early stage of the discussion

Just coming in to say I finished this just now, in less than 24 hours, even though I tried to slow down and savor it. Just beautifully written. So many characters... but each had a distinct name, role and 'voice' and so it was not difficult to keep track of them.

I'll come back for the questions later, thank you Heather(Gibby), they look interesting.

1. I keep thinking about how every major character was kinda lost, kinda seeking. Some wanted their lives to mean something more, some didn't know who they were.

2. I knew from the beginning that I was going to do my darndest to finish it, but it was really hard to wait for the ending when I saw the predictions that even hundreds of years in the future we'd have problems with sexism and with 'graffiti and garbage' in the moon colonies. Those details really bother me, actually.

3. The preachiness of the warning that we'll have more and worse pandemics. I agree that we will, that Covid-19 is just a warning, but I think Mandel could have toned it down a bit. Otoh, she apparently thinks we're going to survive climate change just fine, and as if by magic (the way of life doesn't seem changed much).

4. So many. Edwin in Halifax. Talia Anderson as a child. The violinist's performance in the subway. The almost poetic language in general.

5. Somehow the author's made me feel a bit more optimistic that we will survive climate change. No idea why I now feel that way, or what she did, but there you go.

6. Can't answer, don't watch movies or tv.

Another reviewer says that characters from the author's other novels show up here. What! Who?

From marmaladeandmustardseed.com

"Four of the characters, Mirella Kessler, Vincent Alkatis Smith, Jonathan Alkatis, and Paul James Smith all appear in both The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility."

Honestly I didn't catch this on my own, and I have read both of those novels

Ah, well, I dnf'd Glass Hotel. Maybe I should give it another go.

Maybe it'll be better on the second try knowing you can connect characters back to SoT. At least, I'm banking on that crutch when I get around to Glass Hotel.

Almost done with SoT!

Finished over the weekend. Still processing everything.

In response to #6, found out SoT is already greenlit for a series, as is Glass Hotel, by same production company that made Station Eleven. I haven't finished watching it yet, but I'm impressed so far!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadline...

Oh, people, I hope you haven't decided you don't have time to read this! It really is worthy....

I agree. I think there were a few too many big ideas discussed that didn't seem to go anywhere, but it's really the writing style that is worth showing up for one of her books. Every word feels carefully selected and optimized.

I finished listening to it yesterday and, although it seemed rather aimless at the outset, everything came together beautifully at the end and I ended up really enjoying it. This is how that that wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey stuff should be written.
I was also fascinated by the idea that here was an author who made a name for herself writing a book about a pandemic who then finds herself living through an actual pandemic and spending her time writing about an author who made a name for herself writing a book about a pandemic who then finds herself living through an actual pandemic. [brain goes kerpow!]

The author must be an awful lot smarter than I am to keep all that stuff in order. I mean, she probably has charts or something, but, still, I couldn't do it. ;)

So, here's another discussion question: The title? What is the connection between the author's themes and the place where Apollo 11 landed?

Actually, ok, what are the author's themes? What does she hope we'll think about or take away from reading this?

I am not sure about the first question Cheryl. However in this multilayered complicated story, I thinks its basic theme is the resiliency of mankind and its capacity for adaptation and survival.

I suspect the character of Olive is quite autobiographical. I have read that the questions put to Olive in her book tour were all actual questions she had been asked on her own book tours.

Maybe that's one of the reasons a lot of readers love this book - we need to reminded that humans are resourceful and resilient.

What do the rest of you think?

So even though not too many read this months selection, I enjoyed discussing this book with the group- if you didnt get a chance to read it yet, it really is a very well written thought provoking novel, and I encourage you to add your thoughts in this thread once you get a chance to enjoy it.

I'd love to read others' answers to the questions you posted in msg. 13, including yours. Yes, anyone, please post any time. I'll be rereading this for another group in a couple of months so I might have more to add then.

This finally came in from the library. I listened to it in 2 days. The writing style is great, intelligent and engaging. I liked that each story spanned different centuries and that the characters were voiced by different actors. It helped differentiate them. At first I thought the story was going to be about the son who wouldn't inherit his father's estate struggling through the countryside and time travel somehow impacting his fate. Then as each story began I realized that their personal issues, like the second character's pain at losing her husband and her friend, had nothing to do with the overarching plot, but that I cared about those stories anyway. I would recommend this book, although the ending was slightly disappointing. It felt appropriate given the rest of the narrative.