Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Station Eleven

So hard to decide where to start with the review of this one, published in 2014, the book explores a dystopia world of those who survive a flu that kills 99.6% of the population within 3/4 hours of contracting the virus. So within 20 years young people are unable to know a time when there was electricity, mobile phones, air travel the internet, cars and so forth and how different people react to this change. The book does hop around different times and different characters, of which there are many, my favourites being Kirsten a child actress, who was 8 when the flu hit. There is a travelling symphony that she d part of, which goes from town to town, in a circuit, giving shows of music with their orchestra or plays, including Shakespeare. On their wagons is the slogan, "Survival is inefficient." From Star Trek Voyager. For me, parts of the book were slow, and I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first, although it was a bit of a disappointing ending. But boy, does this book make you think and appreciate all of the things we have. I'm just glad I read this now and not when the global pandemic was at its peak. Interesting, thought-provoking, and well written.

Content Warnings

pagesfromhome's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I picked this book for my book club this month and even though I had read it before, I feel like I had a totally different experience reading it this time.

St. John Mandel does an incredible job of spanning time and characters to build a world that feels realistic and haunting at the same time. Although, I found some characters less “necessary” to the story than others, I rarely regretted the moments spent with them on the page.

I love how she toyed with the timeline of the events in the book and teased growth and hope in the perfect amount throughout the story. I’d been avoiding pandemic/dystopian fiction for a long time (for a pretty obvious reason) but I’m grateful that I dove back in with this one.

Content Warnings

zillareaper's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I was surprised how much I liked this book. I’m leaving a review several days from finishing it and the more I reflect, the better I thought it was. It’s a relatively slow book, but I didn’t feel like I was dragging through, but instead just enjoying it at its own pace. And then watching the horrible storytelling of the HBO series after reading, it made me realize how well-webbed this book was.

Content Warnings

izzyrbell's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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