"Sea of Tranquility" by Emily St. John Mandel

A short and very satisfying story about time travel. It was never Gaspery-Jacques Roberts’ plan to work for the Time Institute, but through a casual combination of circumstances, that’s exactly what he finds himself doing - investigating an anomaly that spans centuries and touches several people’s lives.

What I liked most about this book is the delicate and thoughtful writing of the characters. Emily St. John Mandel has such a light touch with her characters, that each seems to have an authentic emotional presence. I especially liked Olive Llewellyn, whose presence was a gentle foundation for some of the plot.

The plot was intriguing, and well supported by the structure of the book, which pivots around the central chapter, making the second half of the book into a satisfying and drawn out resolution of the first half.

This is a short book that touches on a number of ideas - and for me that left a few things that needed a little more explanation or exploration. And for stalwarts of the time-travel subgenre of science fiction, the reveal at the end won’t come as a particular surprise. These are the only things that prevented me giving a 5-star review. This is the first Emily St. John Mandel book that I’ve read, and I will certainly be putting her others on my to-be-read list.

My rating: ★★★★☆

"Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller

Deeply moving. Unrelentingly hopeless.

My rating: ★★★★★

"Doppelganger" by Naomi Klein

For me, this is a difficult book to review. The author has some important, insightful and well researched observations about the behaviour of significant sections of the population that I have previously found bewildering and difficult to comprehend: conspiracy theorists, deniers of various kinds, and those that would liken minor lifestyle inconveniences with the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis. However, the book felt in places like a disjointed ragbag of ideas that were loosely (sometimes very loosely) tied together by the Doppelgänger theme - a theme that often felt slightly forced, or crowbarred in to justify talking about a particular topic in the context of the book.

Given the disjoint nature of the book, I was also left unsatisfied regarding any overall conclusion. The suggestion that we should work together, rather than as individuals, to address many of the problems we are currently facing seems shallow and weak - especially compared to the depth and strength of some of the issues covered, and the detail with which they have clearly been researched.

After reading this book, I do feel like I have more insight behind what might be driving some mass behaviours that I otherwise found incomprehensible - but I don’t know where that leaves me. I certainly don’t feel any better equipped, nor more hopeful - so I feel I may have missed something.

Thank you #NetGalley and Penguin Press UK for the free review copy of #Doppelganger in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

NetGalley Review

"This is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And with a reveal near the end that absolutely floored me. Still numb from the emotional aftermath of finishing it.

My rating: ★★★★★