carolinecalvano's reviews
2 reviews

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

We take SO LONG to get to the main juice of the book. I started this book after looking on Reddit for books about

simulation theory

, but this book is more about

time travel

than

simulation theory

, and we go through so many iterations of

people experiencing the anomaly

before getting into any semblance of a cohesive plot. I will say that the characters are compelling and that it is fun to try to solve the puzzle presented by the different components, and that it is objectively well written from a prose standpoint, but I only kept reading because the ending was basically spoiled for me, even though I was misled. I knew it was at least partially compelling because my girlfriend recommended it, and I know that

Vincent’s storyline is explained in another book by the same author

, which feels like a bit of a cop out, especially because I’m not super motivated to read

another book by the same author

anytime soon. The ending feels cheap and both too fast and too slow.

Outside Looking In by T.C. Boyle

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

T. C Boyle is an extremely talented author, and as a history nerd who learns best through fiction, this was the perfect way for me to learn about the Harvard LSD experiments. The characters are extremely flawed and multidimensional, and the vivid descriptions of their psychedelic trips are fascinating to read. I love that it changes location throughout, so that there are distinct sections to help break up the novel. Boyle is mostly successful in managing such a large ensemble of characters, most of whom are intriguing in their own right, though the novel really hones in on Fitz and Joanie’s journeys. Overall, I appreciated the opportunity to read about a topic that intrigued me from a talented author. HOWEVER, I’m not sure Boyle and I would necessarily get along in real life, as the offensive and outdated language and themes of the novel are hard to separate from the author. The main character

sexually harasses an eighteen year old

for the bulk of the final section, which is foreshadowed in the first section when he

describes a character who I believe was a minor at least at the time using an overtly sexual metaphor

. Additionally, when the characters

travel to Mexico (I believe they are all white), they describe themselves as “going native” and seem to see the locals as savage and unrefined

. Fitz additionally

makes a comment about “not knowing how he feels about that sort of thing” in regards to a queer colleague

. So if you can get through all of that, it’s a good read, but as intrigued as I am by what I believe to be the subject matter of the rest of his extensive bibliography, I don’t think I’ll be picking up another Boyle volume for at least another year.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Homophobia

The themes of this book are a bit classist, as, IMHO, the LSD revolution was in and of itself, so I suppose it’s historically accurate, but it can be a bit aggravating at times.