ALL THE WORLD CAN HOLD

Yun’s third novel is set on the Sonata, a stand-in for television’s “Love Boat” of the 1970s and ’80s, here hosting a themed cruise where passengers can hobnob with former cast members of the show, renamed Starlight Voyages. The five-day cruise begins on Sept. 16, switched at the last minute to embark from Boston instead of New York, sailing round-trip to the Bahamas. The discomfort of trying to take a lighthearted vacation at this point in time causes some passengers to try to back out, but the insurance policy specifically excludes refunds due to “acts of war.” The three main characters include Doug, a white erstwhile hottie who played the show’s bartender, sober after years of debauchery and with little memory of his supposed heyday—though the cold treatment he receives from a female cast member suggests he was even worse than he remembers. Franny is a successful Korean American estate lawyer who has brought her family to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday, but her generosity has no impact on the tension and coldness of the group. Lucy is a Black MIT senior in the middle of recruiting season whose white roommate invited her to join her family trip at the last minute, all expenses paid; soon she can’t imagine why she accepted. Putting the Love Boat and 9/11 in the same sentence, much less the same novel, seems a risky business, but Yun makes it work by embracing the awkwardness and absurdity of the fact that life must go on, even the bizarrely amped-up version of life lived on a cruise ship, with its ice sculptures and food garnishes and ridiculous “traditions.” In the liminal space between the “before” and “after” of unfathomable tragedy, each of her nuanced characters will have an opportunity to move past some of their self-imposed limitations. Yun’s sensitivity to the subtle and not-so-subtle operation of race, sexuality, gender, and privilege adds texture, and a final section previewing the aftermath of 9/11 widens and clarifies the novel’s perspective.