Reviews

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

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ajayw14's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-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

4.25

slvstrlpz's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

hollidayreadswithme's review against another edition

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4.0

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Wow! That was not what I was expecting at all.

Station Eleven popped up as something to read that had a smattering of Shakespeare in it. Something to read for a challenge and move on.

It was so much more than I could have imagined. Mandel uses a comic book to pepper and provide a framework for the metaphors throughout the book.

This book is about a multitude of people, and shifts back and forth between times before and after the Georgia Flu. Mandel doesn’t mince words or go on without purpose. Every part felt deliberate and beautiful. She paired the visualization of utter despair and the myriad of emotions reflected in the actions of our collective characters.

Unlike other end of the world scenarios, Mandel departs from the otherworldly supernatural causes for our destruction and turns it inward and makes it as innocuous as the flu we, as a population, get every year. That is much more real and terrifying than some mythological creatures, undead or otherwise.

What always strikes me as odd is that there are never bicycles in these kinds of stories. But back to the review.

Not a whole lot of diversity in this book especially confusing when planes from all over the world were landing in the seven cities airport. We read about a French woman who is close to Clark and that’s about it.

Other than that, it’s a great story beautifully told. Even though our world now is the before, the way she wraps nostalgia up and packages it for the after, makes me have more appreciation for the present, the circuitry that powers this device I’m typing on now. The ability to reach anyone with phone across the country or the world. To have antibiotics and doctors and food whenever, to connect with people, to read late into the night with electric light.

4 stars.