Sea of Tranquillity

by Paul Russell

Book Overview

Critically acclaimed writer Paul Russell portrays a complex family drama filled with the full-range of emotions. Astronaut Allen Cloud suffers from post-lunar trauma, his earthbound wife's search for happiness takes her from the bottom of a bottle to a mountainside in Turkey, and their son Jonathan is a gay man on a voyage of self- discovery. With immense skill Russell tells their three different stories, probing deep into the heart of a family torn...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452273110
• ISBN13: 9780452273115
• Release Date: November 1995
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A fine and complex novel, definitely worth reading

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!

Paul Russell's finest? Read it. You'll Agree.

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 writer is amazing.

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.

Excellent book!

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.

Sea of Tranquillity has more to offer than most novels.

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