Reviews

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Only show reviews with written explanations

krumanda's review against another edition

2.0

I read the book quickly because I did not want to be in that world any longer than necessary.
I liked the spider-web effect of humans being connected inadvertently, their stories crossing and combining and influencing one another. It reminded me a bit of Cloud Atlas in that way- life connections, world and civilization over time. I personally just don't like to feel panicked about how I would probably die without my prescription medication and then what would my children do?!

I recommend the book to people who are not like me and can separate themselves from the fiction they read. Now, off to go read something happy & light, in which 99.99% of Earth's population is not dead.

marzipan951's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

jessgburton's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

adammuly's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

bibliobrandie's review against another edition

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4.0

We are reading Station Eleven for Friday Night Book Club in June. What I love most about book club is that I read books I wouldn’t normally pick on my own, like this post-apocalyptic story by Emily St. John Mandel. After a pandemic wipes out most of the humans, you follow the story of a traveling Shakespeare troupe (whose motto is "Survival is insufficient") and others. The past and future are blended together seamlessly and it’s a beautiful look at humanity and resilience. For a post-apocalyptic novel, I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

luminous's review against another edition

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4.0

The writing is effortless, comfortable to follow. Having watched the show first made for an interesting comparison. Story wise, the show is miles better. I still enjoyed this journey. Setting and detail wise, the book is way better. For instance, in the show, Jeevan and Kirsten walk across...frozen Lake Michigan. What the? And in the show the symphony circuit goes around Lake Michigan. I remember wondering what they did about Chicago. Well, in the book they specifically mention that they would not go thru Chicago because large cities are more dangerous in the post apocalypse, and the symphony route seems to go back and forth along the lower peninsula lakeshore. Which makes more sense.

LOL these are all small details. But that's what this book comes down to. It tells a lot of stories and it's very ambitious, and it manages to fall short on nearly all of them. Where it shines is in details and observations. An interview Clark does for his corporate psych job, where the person talks about how some people believe work must always be drudgery, resonated. There are a lot of insightful observations.

But the book is so ambitious that there are several loose ends. The book forgets that stories are about people and how and what changes them, but we don't really see anyone change. We do see some people grow into new roles, but there's no indication there were any specific events or personal sacrifices made, beyond the generic apocalyptic reasons. Even Arthur stays the same, even though before he dies he's vowing to change, but we've already seen him make and break these vows several times already.

This book is a story, or a collection of loosely connected stories, but it's not storytelling. Worth a read if you like apocalypse/post apocalypse fiction and keen observations. Just don't expect a satisfying story.

So maybe that's my issue with it. I liked the characters and I really wanted to share their ups and downs, but none of it was immediate. That might be a problem with the structure, which is primarily flashbacks. I mean, what is even the point of book Jeevan? Sure, post pandemic he self actualizes into a doctor, but he was already in medical training before the pandemic hit. He'd already faced his "who do I want to be?" crisis! So what's the point? His brief interactions with Arthur, Miranda, and Kirsten don't add anything, and his time with Frank is pointless as well.

And let's not even get started with the prophet. I think the way his story ended was fine, but it left a lot of loose ends that were never even acknowledged, much less addressed.

Maybe I need to read a summary of King Lear.