A quick, pleasant read, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel follows a handful of characters throughout time and history as they find themselves connected by a strange phenomenon. The plot mainly follows Gaspery Roberts as he investigates an anomaly in time and ponders what it means to be human. It is a science.
The one thread that connects all the meetings/investigations is the sound of a violin piece. The story poses several questions: is life, in fact, a simulation? And, if you were able to travel back in time and lengthen someone’s life by warning them of imminent danger, would you?