Sea of Tranquility

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, 2022. This is the new novel from the Canadian author of Station Eleven which I read in early 2015 shortly after it was published. I recently also watched the HBO Max television miniseries of the book which was released in December 2021. I loved the book and thought the show was very well done. I was excited when I heard she had a new book being released in early April. I checked the public library and when it became available I placed a hold. I was surprised when I was able to download the ebook within a week after it's release. I saw that there were six people waiting for my copy so I read it quickly since I knew I wouldn't have another chance anytime soon.

However, this new novel was so good and so interesting I had no problem reading it in a few days even though part of that time we were still in Philly with Katie and the kids. It was a great thought provoking science fiction story about time travel and the fascinating experiences of a group of people. 

This novel was written during the outbreak of Covid-19 and the theme of pandemics their effects on humanity over the centuries runs throughout the book. I've have recently read several books that have a pandemic as part of the plot but they were written before the current pandemic. This book was written while the author was in lockdown and I wonder how many novels we will be seeing that takes place during this pandemic either as the main driving plot or in the background as a new way of life. It also makes me wonder about the literature of the 1918-1920 pandemic. I don't recall it being a theme of novels written at the time. Since I've been lately doing the family history research I've been wondering about how my grandparents and great-grandparents dealt with their pandemic.

Station Eleven TV Series  

Station Eleven Novel