Sea of Tranquillity [Paperback]

Paul Russell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2003

Paul Russell's delicately layered, richly textured novels have won him widespread acclaim as one of the finest contemporary American novelists. Sea of Tranquillity, possibly his most ambitious and rewarding novel, traces a disintegrating nuclear family across two tumultuous decades of American life - from the early '60s to the '80s - and is told in a quartet of voices: astronaut Allen Cloud, his wife, their gay son, Jonathan, and his friend/lover. Ranging in time and emotion from the optimism of the first moon shot to the dark landscape of the age of AIDS, Sea of Tranquillity is an extraordinary and compelling novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Russell's third novel (after Boys of Life), a transplanetary sexual fantasia that chronicles the life of an astronaut's family in the age of AIDS, is so humongous in its attempted scope that it succeeds at a lot of things, among them confounding the reader. Told by four different characters in alternating sections, the book charts the lives of numerous people in such varied locations as Florida, Turkey, Africa, Washington, D.C., and the moon. There are characters who succeed entirely, like Allen Cloud, repressed astronaut, who goes into mental orbit when he discovers that his son, Jonathan, is dying of AIDS, and whose story is well realized through tight, realist writing. Yet the novel suffers from a plethora of imagery and a glut of metaphor: a grove of sycamores that die by the saw; the moon; various seas of tranquillity. The book's center, depicting Jonathan's sexual exploits and illness, is clouded by long-winded surrealist riffs and disjointed meditations on outer space. The fascinated speculation particular to Russell's writing works best when it's hitched to real-life objects-like Cloud's rocket-and not left free-floating in space. We are left dazed and tingly at the end, as if we had just witnessed an abortive moon mission.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In 1970, astronaut Allen Cloud is about to begin training for an Apollo moon mission when his personal life crumbles. He separates from his wife, Joan, and discovers that his mercurial son Jonathan is gay. Joan and Jonathan depart Houston for Tennessee, where Jonathan meets Stayton Voegli, a shy preacher's son who becomes his lover. Events then shift to 1990 when Allen's life has soured as a result of a bad business deal and Jonathan is dying of AIDS. This far-from-tranquil tale of voyages-both geographical and emotional-weaves together the alternating voices of its four main characters. Though Russell sometimes seems unsure whether it is Allen's or Jonathan's story he is trying to tell, he presents a compelling chronicle of the fracturing of an American family. For general collections.
Lawrence Rungren, Bedford Free P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (August 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312303726
• ISBN-13: 978-0312303723
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #761,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine and complex novel, definitely worth reading, August 29, 2003

By 

gac1003 "gac1003" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sea of Tranquillity (Paperback)

In the early 1970s, Astronaut Allen Cloud returns to his Houston, TX, home from a mission in Florida to find his wife Joan sitting on their bed, drunk and toying with a pistol. He calmly takes the gun from her, which she swears isn't loaded. She lays back on the bed and, before passing out, says, "You should know, your son is a homosexual."

"Sea of Tranquility" relates the story of the Cloud family in the aftermath of that singular statement. Allen Cloud, astronaut and father who tries to cope with his mixed feelings about the son he never really knew. Not that he ever really knew anyone or would allow anyone to get close to him. Joan Cloud, finally feeling free of the loneliness of being an astronaut's wife, moves with her son to her hometown of Minerva, TN. Coninuously drinking, her life centers around her son whom she loves but feels more of an equal to than a mother. Jonathan Cloud, her son who wears tie-dye shirts and eyeliner to enhance his dark eyes. Very much a free spirit with a vivid imagination and who doesn't care much for what others think about him. Stayton Voegli, the son of a Baptist preacher and missionary, who falls for Jonathan after sneaking out to a club, watching him dance, and is then partnered with him in a high school science class.

Each chapter is told from one of their points of view, all in the first person, allowing us access to the inner workings of their brains. Stayton's hesitation at this new relationship he's forming and trying to reconcile it with his strng religious upbringing. Jonathan's vivid world, filled with the names of all the stars and planets and galaxies. But, Allen's chapters are told in the third person, revealing much more about his character's feelings of being cut off and closed to those around him.

This is a wonderful book, full of marvelous imagery and a unique glimpse into the characters. Definitely a must-read!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paul Russell's most moving novel..., December 9, 2004

By 

V. C. R. "Vincent - TarotCharioteer - mr|don|... (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sea of Tranquillity (Paperback)

Much has been written about the latest two novels by Russell (War Against the Animals and The Coming Storm) but, in my opinion, Sea of Tranquillity is his best work.

I've read some of the other editorial & customer reviews and I can understand some of the criticism with regard to some of the more fantastical parts of the plot, but I believe that they are overshadowed by the beautiful, lyrical prose- aware of running the risk of sounding corny and trite, I really did feel the emotions of the characters.

Personally I loved the way Russell tells the story through four different narrators, each chapter being told by one of them. The chapters by Johnny Cloud and Stayton Voegli are amazing and complement each other by the "opposites attract" principle: Johnny's lyrical, somewhat free-form dazzling thoughts and feelings juxtaposed with Stayton's careful, at first longing and repressed conscience that evolves into love and acceptance.

Put simply, this is one of my all-time favorite books; whether "gay" or "mainstream" fiction, this book will touch you with its quiet beauty.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paul Russell's finest? Read it. You'll Agree., August 6, 2001

By 

Rick Russell (Bowling Green, oh United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sea of Tranquillity (Hardcover)

While Boys of Life and the Coming Storm are both excellent literary works, Sea of Tranquillity has to be Paul Russell's finest work to date. This novel is truely a masterpiece. Vivid and complex characters who live on in the readers mind long after the book is over. I read this book on a trip to San Francisco several years ago, and I still find myself moved by the voice of the characters. Nothing I've read has come close to reaching into my soul like this book did. It is a terrible shame that this book is out of print. If you can get it, do so, you won't be disappointed.