Customer Reviews

Sea of Tranquillity

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

This book was the first I have ever read from this author. It was amazing. His words actually made me feel what the characters were going through. He has an enchanting style. I also liked how the narrative switched to keep up with all angles of the characters' minds. Stayton was the one I liked the most.

I read this book many years ago however it has stuck in my mind as one of the best books I've ever read. The characters and story are facinating. I'm not at all surprised to see that the other reviewers gave it five stars - I unhesitatingly give it five stars as well.

Ignore The Salt Point and his second novel, the bisexual one. This one and The Coming Storm were fantastic, this one being the better of the two.
There were points I had to stop reading because I was so mad at the characters. There were lines that took my breath away and left shivers down my spine. I just got them remembering the line :)
Amazing, one of the best books I've read. It deserves to be republished. I can't wait to read it again.

Sea of Tranquillity by Paul Russell focuses on the relationship between an astronaut and his gay son (you can imagine the dynamics). But it's more. The mother is a bi-polar visionary--Kushneresque in a way. And the gay son's soul mate, from high school throughout his short life, is the son of a Baptist T.V minister. The book has the apocalyptic feel that is an undertone of recent gay literature, and it plays with point-of-view very much like Michael Cunningham's A Home at the End of the World

Living in Houston in 1970, astronaut Allen Cloud is training for a moon mission, his marriage is falling apart, and he discovers his teenage son, Jonathan, is gay. Jonathan is an uninhibited free spirit; he enjoys, in his neighbour's pool and the back of a pick-up tuck, the young black guy who cuts his neighbour's lawn. When Jonathan moves with his mother to Tennessee and starts at a new school he meets Stayton Voegli, shy son of a preacher and vacuum cleaner salesman, and falls in love. Eventually Stayton's father discovers their relationship and events come to a showdown. Stayton and his mother move to Turkey where they make new lives for themselves. The story shifts to 1990, Jonathan has AIDS, he returns seeking Stayton and a new and different relationship transpires, meantime Allen has his own problems resulting from a soured business deal.
I was almost deterred from reading this book by the synopsis on Amazon.com, but how glad I am that I gave it a go. It is so beautifully written, so eminently readable; the characters are so likeable, and in the case of Jonathan, even adorable. This is a captivating story that I so thoroughly enjoyed; it is warm, moving, at times very sad, but never negative. I highly recommend this book.

A sad and moving tale that showcases a lost American family--a depressed astronaut, his wonderfully gay son dying of AIDS and his former wife who opts for the vagabond life. Russell writes with a wonderful imagination and creativity. Good reading!

if your gay or interested in the lifestyle this is the book for you....great book