Remittance / 1912
Mirella and Vincent / 2020
Last Book Tour on Earth / 2203
Bad Chickens / 2401
Last Book Tour on Earth / 2203
Mirella and Vincent / File Contamination
Remittances / 1918, 1990, 2008
unusual phenomenon

Acknowledgements
Translator's Note
Recommendation

Emily St. John Mandel, one of today's most notable science fiction writers
A beautiful masterpiece with a unique lyricism

Recommended by writer Da-hye Lee and film director Bo-ra Kim
Published in 24 languages ​​worldwide, selling approximately 500,000 copies
Barack Obama's book, selected by major media outlets including the New York Times and the Washington Post, was named Book of the Year.

Emily St. John Mandel, who has established herself as one of today's most notable science fiction writers, has published her sixth full-length novel, "In the Silent Sea," through Open Books.
This work, shining with a unique lyricism and a quiet affection for the world, delicately weaves together characters living in different eras, spanning five hundred years from the 20th to the 25th centuries.
Edwin, a young man from the early 20th century who was kicked out of his home and left for a faraway land; Vincent, a girl from the late 20th century who walks through the forest near her home with a camcorder; Olive, a writer from the late 22nd century who crosses a crowded airship terminal—they all experience a moment when time and space are shaken and mixed.
And just as the 25th century dawns, Gaspery embarks on a journey through time to uncover the mystery of this strange phenomenon.
"In the Silent Sea," beautifully woven with this vast time and colorful characters, calmly and profoundly asks us what is truly important in life and what choices we should make in the face of a near-apocalyptic crisis.
The work has been published in 24 languages ​​around the world, has become an international bestseller, has been named a Book of the Year by Barack Obama and various media outlets, and has been adapted into an HBO series.


A fleeting moment that pierces through 500 years
A human gesture that causes a rupture in the flow of time

… … A moment of darkness, a strange and sudden light… … .
… … the forest, the fresh air, the trees sprouting up all around,
A fleeting illusion of a summer day… (page 180)

Born into an upper-class family in 1912 and well-educated, but lacking both practical skills and practical experience, Edwin is kicked out of his home in England and wanders until he ends up in Cayette, a small island town in Canada.
In 1994, thirteen-year-old Vincent, who lost everything when her husband was later revealed to be a Ponzi scheme accomplice, walks alone through the forest of Cayet and records the sights she sees on her camcorder.
In 2195, Olive, a bestselling author living on the Moon Colony, stops by Earth on a book tour and hurries across the terminal to board her airship.
There is a moment that passes through these three people who seem to have nothing in common.
A moment of sudden blackout, followed by flashes of light, a towering giant tree, the sound of a violin, and an unknown noise.

In 2401, researchers at the [Time Research Institute], whose goal is to study the flow of time, detect a strange moment that occurs identically in different times and spaces and begin to investigate.
Tired of working a series of unsatisfactory jobs, Gaspery volunteers for the dangerous mission of time travel to uncover the [singular phenomenon].
The first point in time he visits is in 2203, when author Olive was on a book tour on Earth.
Time traveler Gaspery poses as a reporter to interview Olive, and the small rupture that results from their brief conversation spreads uncontrollably through the past and future.
Like a virus that has invaded a computer file or our body.

In a life that has an end, in a world that is about to end
What choices will you make in life?

No star burns forever. (p. 151)

In "In the Sea of ​​Silence," signs of the end, big and small, spread naturally through everyday life like a virus, regardless of the era.
Even in the 1910s when the story begins, in the 2020s we know so well, and in the near future of the 2200s, pandemics sweep the world, taking countless lives.
Meanwhile, humanity, realizing that life on Earth will become impossible for whatever reason, establishes [Moon Colonies] and [Distant Colonies] beyond, living in domes where all aspects of the climate are controlled.
The repeated phrase, “No star burns forever,” emphasizes the fact that even the sun, which has shone for billions of years, will eventually come to an end. This resonates with the line, “Is this the end foretold?” written by Shakespeare in King Lear hundreds of years ago, revealing that this novel is keenly aware of the [end] of our lives and the world.


Moreover, this work also talks about the possibility that the reality we live in is a simulation.
[If we live in a simulation, how would we know it is a simulation?] (p. 190) There is probably no way to know while we are alive whether reality is a simulation or not.
But Gaspery says:
[Life is life even if you live in a simulation.] (p. 347) Emily St. John Mandel said in an interview.
Does living in a simulation make our lives less realistic? No, it doesn't.
I think what matters is the choices we make and how we live.] (Literary Hub)

A thoughtful love letter to humanity caught in the cracks of life.
The story of those who live in the present with all their might.

"I'll do it again," said Gasperley.
"I won't hesitate." (page 321)

Even if the world ends, even if reality may be nothing more than a simulation, the fact remains that we must live the life before us.
In a world of vastness and uncertainty, the way of life chosen by the characters in 『In the Sea of ​​Silence』 is to live in the present with all one's might.
In the story, we witness the choices they make, big and small, as they travel with us for hundreds of years, and while they may sometimes seem weak or reckless, they reveal [human, all too human] (author Dahye Lee) characteristics, which have the power to make us reflect on ourselves and evoke empathy and support.
And it also allows us to calmly observe the landscape of seemingly different emotions that arise from that choice.
Things like hesitation and regret, resentment and love, silence and fullness.
Emily St. John Mandel creates a story where they coexist naturally, like the ebb and flow of the tides, and if we look at life from a little more distance, we might see something similar.
Recognizing such possibilities, this novel, which [transparently captures the beauty and sadness of the world], will touch the hearts of readers as if it were [a thoughtful love letter from the author to humanity caught in the cracks of life] (film director Kim Bo-ra).


A word from the translator

In the double-slit experiment, one of the famous experiments in quantum physics, there is something called the observer effect.
When an observer observes, light moves like a particle, and when an observer is not observing, it moves like a wave.
Common sense tells us that we can influence reality simply by observing.
But that might be the fundamental condition of the world we live in, simulation or not.
Whether reading a book, playing a game, or simply living in what is commonly called reality, the moment when “I” enter into it as an observer with a certain subjectivity, that reality is “created.”