I love St John Mandel's writing! I read a book of hers every year and every year it always ends up being one of my favourites. And what you said about her respecting her readers really hit me. I feel like so many authors don't trust their audience to be smart enough to figure things out, to develop opinion on the character, so they spell it out for them. I hate that. Feels like I'm being robbed out of something as a reader. And I adore her attention to detail. Sea of Tranquillity could have been such a mess if it wasn't planned correctly, there have been so many places where mistakes could have been made. And there isn't a single one! Can only imagine how hard it must have been to write it.
Willow’s review already sold me on the books but your comment, specifically the 2nd paragraph, sealed the deal. I dislike authors who condescend to their readers and dumb down their novels
Something else I really loved about Sea of Tranquility is that in some aspects it felt like it was almost in conversation with Station 11, particularly in the section about the writer. As a writer herself who had found a lot of success writing a dystopian pandemic book, this came across to me as a response after having lived through a pandemic herself, and how her ideas and feelings have changed as a result of this. Looking at the publication date, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this was written in lockdown. Absolutely loved it! Though I think my favourite of hers is still Last Night in Montreal
I love Mandel and I actually loved Station Eleven, it's probably my favourite book! I translated Sea of Tranquility into Spanish and it was an amazing experience. Her writting is brilliant.
Just finished reading "The glass hotel" and LOVED it. Cannot wait to read "Station 11" and "Sea of Tranquility". Thank you for your thoughts on this, Will. Always appreciate your insights.
Mandel is such an amazing author! I had never thought of Station Eleven that way, and I love that take. Her first threes books are amazing, too - I highly recommend them.
I was going to start sea of tranquility today. But then I watched this video and ordered the glass hotel to start with first. Thanks for the insights! I never would have known
I’m a huge Mandel fan, I’ve read 4 so far (Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel, The Singers Gun and Sea Of Tranquility). I literally finished Sea Of Tranquility yesterday and unfortunately it wasn’t my favourite. I found it a bit too on the nose, especially the stuff with Olive Llewelyn, who has clearly been modelled after Mandel herself, and it pulled me out of the story. The ending was great however and I loved the links with The Glass Hotel, it felt almost like a love letter to her fans. Her writing is exquisite, I can’t wait to finish her backlog and then sit twiddling my thumbs waiting for her next release. 😂 great video❤
I am completely enamored with Emily St John Mandel. Have read Station Eleven five times, Glass Hotel, Sea of Tranquility (also my favorite!), and just finished Last Might in Montreal (breathtaking). Started Singer’s Gun, I can’t get enough! I agree with what you’ve said here! I love to discover new things about characters while reading. Her storytelling art is incredibly delicious! I read SoT before GH and it was a really fun surprise to find the connections! Still enjoyable out of order. 😊
Its interesting to me that Emily St. John Mandel started out writing crime fiction, then she went in a different direction and hit her stride with Station Eleven. My personal favourite of her last 3 novels is "The Glass Hotel", then Sea, then Station. I love hearing your perspective and agree. She is a genius.
I’ve only read Station 11 but I have The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility on my shelves. Very excited to get to them. Thank you for this video, it really helped me think more about what Mandel is doing. I’m going to come back and watch the bit about Sea of Tranquility after reading the two as I want to approach it fresh at first and see what I think.
I'd written off St John Mandel cos hopeful dystopian fiction like Station 11 is not my cup of tea, and i was leery of the hype around her. But you make TGH and SoT sound soooooo good, i'm adding them to my tbr. I especially love non-linear narratives with intricate plotting so these two are right up my alley 👌
I just finished glass hotel and sea of tranquility.. read in that order. I love your review and thoughts on both books. I love her way of writing about something like a pandemic but keeping hope alive in the human spirit. It’s such a beautiful thing that is woven in everyone’s life since the beginning. Have you watched the tv series for station eleven yet? If you have I’d love your opinion on it.
I’m so late to this 😅 Sea of Tranquility was one of my favourite reads of the year, absolutely loved it. I read The Glass Hotel immediately after and kind of hated it. Still haven’t read Station Eleven, but I have high hopes
If you watch the series of Station Eleven, I’d be interested in your review. You’ve completely sold me on The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility. I’m also a big fan of tiny towns in the wilderness of Western Canada. And experiments with form.
Update: just finished sea of tranquility and read glass hotel a few weeks ago. Now, all I want to do is talk with you about these books and nerd out on the themes and connections between the two and like, can you even imagine if she writes more with overlapping narratives and characters in this world… like what that could be???
I haven't read the Glass hotel, but I found a subtle nod to Station Eleven in Sea of Tranquility (or, rather, comments she received after publishing it), and it made me smile. I didn't love the main philosophical question of SoT. It felt disjointed, like she had a cool sci-fi idea separately, and came up with creative narrative framing, but those two didn't click that well in my opinion. I'll still give her other books a shot, but I kinda hope she have her masterpiece still before her. Also, it reminded me a bit How high we go in the dark, and I'm not sure, which one I liked better.
Well...I couöd tell you fow it feels other way around. I started with SoT. I not really want to read Glass Hotel. But I will give the first chapter a go.
Loved this! Great analysis looking at all three novels. 😊 I've been feeling similarly. After reading "Station Eleven" I was kind of okay with it, but didn't really quite get the hype. With each next book I loved her more. 😍 Also really enjoyed this talk with her: th-cam.com/video/DVZtxhFGzX0/w-d-xo.html
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I love St John Mandel's writing! I read a book of hers every year and every year it always ends up being one of my favourites.
And what you said about her respecting her readers really hit me. I feel like so many authors don't trust their audience to be smart enough to figure things out, to develop opinion on the character, so they spell it out for them. I hate that. Feels like I'm being robbed out of something as a reader.
And I adore her attention to detail. Sea of Tranquillity could have been such a mess if it wasn't planned correctly, there have been so many places where mistakes could have been made. And there isn't a single one! Can only imagine how hard it must have been to write it.
Willow’s review already sold me on the books but your comment, specifically the 2nd paragraph, sealed the deal. I dislike authors who condescend to their readers and dumb down their novels
@@lindsaydentonsfringe4934 I'm so glad I could help with that! I'm sure you're gonna have an awesome time reading her books
I really liked Glass Hotel but I Love Station Eleven & more recently Sea of Tranquility. Sea of Tranquility was so brilliant. It's a masterpiece
Something else I really loved about Sea of Tranquility is that in some aspects it felt like it was almost in conversation with Station 11, particularly in the section about the writer. As a writer herself who had found a lot of success writing a dystopian pandemic book, this came across to me as a response after having lived through a pandemic herself, and how her ideas and feelings have changed as a result of this. Looking at the publication date, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this was written in lockdown.
Absolutely loved it! Though I think my favourite of hers is still Last Night in Montreal
I love Mandel and I actually loved Station Eleven, it's probably my favourite book! I translated Sea of Tranquility into Spanish and it was an amazing experience. Her writting is brilliant.
Oh wow, that’s awesome and you’re awesome!
Just finished reading "The glass hotel" and LOVED it. Cannot wait to read "Station 11" and "Sea of Tranquility". Thank you for your thoughts on this, Will. Always appreciate your insights.
I'm halfway through Station Eleven and I love it so much
Mandel is such an amazing author! I had never thought of Station Eleven that way, and I love that take. Her first threes books are amazing, too - I highly recommend them.
I was going to start sea of tranquility today. But then I watched this video and ordered the glass hotel to start with first. Thanks for the insights! I never would have known
I’m a huge Mandel fan, I’ve read 4 so far (Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel, The Singers Gun and Sea Of Tranquility).
I literally finished Sea Of Tranquility yesterday and unfortunately it wasn’t my favourite. I found it a bit too on the nose, especially the stuff with Olive Llewelyn, who has clearly been modelled after Mandel herself, and it pulled me out of the story. The ending was great however and I loved the links with The Glass Hotel, it felt almost like a love letter to her fans.
Her writing is exquisite, I can’t wait to finish her backlog and then sit twiddling my thumbs waiting for her next release. 😂 great video❤
I am completely enamored with Emily St John Mandel. Have read Station Eleven five times, Glass Hotel, Sea of Tranquility (also my favorite!), and just finished Last Might in Montreal (breathtaking). Started Singer’s Gun, I can’t get enough! I agree with what you’ve said here! I love to discover new things about characters while reading. Her storytelling art is incredibly delicious!
I read SoT before GH and it was a really fun surprise to find the connections! Still enjoyable out of order. 😊
I’ve not read any more of her work since Station Eleven which I really loved. Now want to pick up her others. Great analysis and insight! Thanks!
Its interesting to me that Emily St. John Mandel started out writing crime fiction, then she went in a different direction and hit her stride with Station Eleven. My personal favourite of her last 3 novels is "The Glass Hotel", then Sea, then Station. I love hearing your perspective and agree. She is a genius.
A video raving about my favorite author?! 😍stopppp omg
I’ve only read Station 11 but I have The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility on my shelves. Very excited to get to them. Thank you for this video, it really helped me think more about what Mandel is doing. I’m going to come back and watch the bit about Sea of Tranquility after reading the two as I want to approach it fresh at first and see what I think.
I have Sea on my TBR and I can't wait to start it 😍
I'd written off St John Mandel cos hopeful dystopian fiction like Station 11 is not my cup of tea, and i was leery of the hype around her. But you make TGH and SoT sound soooooo good, i'm adding them to my tbr. I especially love non-linear narratives with intricate plotting so these two are right up my alley 👌
I just finished glass hotel and sea of tranquility.. read in that order. I love your review and thoughts on both books. I love her way of writing about something like a pandemic but keeping hope alive in the human spirit. It’s such a beautiful thing that is woven in everyone’s life since the beginning.
Have you watched the tv series for station eleven yet? If you have I’d love your opinion on it.
I’m so late to this 😅 Sea of Tranquility was one of my favourite reads of the year, absolutely loved it. I read The Glass Hotel immediately after and kind of hated it. Still haven’t read Station Eleven, but I have high hopes
Having read both Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel I had "Sea of tranquility" on my radar, guess I'll read it sooner than expected!!
If you watch the series of Station Eleven, I’d be interested in your review. You’ve completely sold me on The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility. I’m also a big fan of tiny towns in the wilderness of Western Canada. And experiments with form.
Update: just finished sea of tranquility and read glass hotel a few weeks ago. Now, all I want to do is talk with you about these books and nerd out on the themes and connections between the two and like, can you even imagine if she writes more with overlapping narratives and characters in this world… like what that could be???
I haven't read the Glass hotel, but I found a subtle nod to Station Eleven in Sea of Tranquility (or, rather, comments she received after publishing it), and it made me smile.
I didn't love the main philosophical question of SoT. It felt disjointed, like she had a cool sci-fi idea separately, and came up with creative narrative framing, but those two didn't click that well in my opinion. I'll still give her other books a shot, but I kinda hope she have her masterpiece still before her.
Also, it reminded me a bit How high we go in the dark, and I'm not sure, which one I liked better.
Well...I couöd tell you fow it feels other way around. I started with SoT. I not really want to read Glass Hotel. But I will give the first chapter a go.
Loved this! Great analysis looking at all three novels. 😊 I've been feeling similarly. After reading "Station Eleven" I was kind of okay with it, but didn't really quite get the hype. With each next book I loved her more. 😍
Also really enjoyed this talk with her: th-cam.com/video/DVZtxhFGzX0/w-d-xo.html
What happens to art? Another take is A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
ok
Emilly St. John Mandel said that book is one of her favorites, actually. I need to check it out.
Thank you for these reviews, you do a wonderful job explaining while not spoiling anything 🩷