Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel

I am becoming a seasoned Emily St. John Mandel reader. I have now read her three most recent novels: Station Eleven (2014), The Glass Hotel (2020), and finally Sea of Tranquility (2022). And let me tell you, being a fan of hers pays off. I feel so spoiled.

Summary

What links Edwin St. John Andrew, a young aristocrat of the twentieth century, Vincent (who we know from The Glass Hotel), from the 21st century, and a violinist in an airport, from the 23rd century? These three characters have experienced the same phenomenon: a sudden episode of darkness, like a temporary blindness or a solar eclipse, an impression of being in a very large place and violin notes followed by an incomprehensible sound.

Another important element: these three characters crossed the path of a certain Gaspery Roberts. Always the same Gaspery Roberts, who comes from the beginning of the 25th century, and who is charged by the Institute of Time to discover what this strange phenomenon was. Could it be a kind of bug? Would we finally have the proof that life as we know it is a simulation?

Impressions

In terms of time travel stories, nothing new under the sun. I am currently watching Doctor Who, and after 11 complete seasons of following someone who does nothing but travel in time, a little novel has little chance of surprising me.

And of course, that's not the point. Besides, we won't know if the world is indeed a simulation or not. As with her other novels, Emily St. John Mandel builds with Sea of Tranquility a quiet and gentle story, where the narrative arc is a pretext to explore our humanity. What would it mean for us if we lived in a simulation?

There is of course a suspense, a reason that keeps us turning the pages eagerly. It is also the reason why I felt so pampered as a reader. The three characters from different times, I recognized them. I had seen them, directly or indirectly, in The Glass Hotel or in Station Eleven. When I realized that all these books were linked, even though these three books are not a trilogy at all, I wanted to know why. And even though it's not at all necessary to have read the other books to understand this one, I saw it as a little gift to the fans. A little gift for me.

A very beautiful book, like all the others of this excellent author.