Scan barcode
iamcortney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, and Grief
Minor: Violence, Child abuse, and Suicide
While the apocalypse is caused by a pandemic, there are no graphic details of the illness and death by it. When described it is in more general terms of flu-like symptoms and delirium. I tagged religious bigotry as graphic because there is a violent cult with "we are the light, you are the darkness" type of mentality, "we are saved/chosen because we survived the plague." The cult references the Christian book of Revelations but otherwise there is no explicit uses of Christianity to oppress/kill others, just out of context quotes. The minor child abuse tag is due to mention of child brides, though there is no graphic descriptions of it.bookswithbethx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Mental illness, Gun violence, Medical content, Pedophilia, Animal death, Blood, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Murder, Sexism, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
brindolyn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, and Murder
samanthaleeshea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Murder and Suicide
Minor: Child abuse and War
musicalpopcorn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I quite enjoyed this book. Emily St John Mandel is fast becoming my favourite author. I like the way she weaves her stories and ties things together with neat but emotional little bows. I quite liked how this was a little different than a standard post-apocalyptic book in that it was based more on relationships and less on the nitty-gritty of survival. I also liked how there was a lot of speculation about how people would reminisce and find different memories of technology to fixate on.
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Medical content, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Minor: Mental illness, Alcohol, Abandonment, Rape, Pedophilia, and Panic attacks/disorders
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: September 9, 2014
T H R E E β’ W O R D S
Evocative β’ Ambitious β’ Eerie
π S Y N O P S I S
Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.
Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny bandβs existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.
π T H O U G H T S
Despite hearing (and reading) so many glowing reviews from my bookish community for Station Eleven, I had no plan to pick it up... until it landed on the 2023 Canada Reads shortlist. Since 2021, I've made a point of reading as many books from the longlist as possible, with a particular focus on the five shortlisted titles. And so, despite knowing this wasn't likely to be my cup of tea, I borrowed a digital copy from my library.
I'll start by saying, I truly appreciated the dystopian Canadian content. Emily St. John Mandel has carefully constructed a realistic (eerily so) and reflective tale of post-apocalyptic survival. And of course, it's incredibly well written. While I know the ambiguous ending has been a point of contention between readers, for me it actually seemed the most fitting.
Despite that, I just wasn't a fan of the story or the structure. It's told in three different timelines from several points of view, and I definitely liked certain section a lot more than others. At times, I found myself disappointed to reach the end of a chapter only to find out I'd be ripped from what was happening in that storyline. Additionally, the plot just held very little interest for me. I'll admit coming out of a pandemic was probably not the right time to read this book, and it's quite possible the past three years impacted my reading experience.
I completely understand why so many readers love Emily St. John Mandel's descriptive and poetic writing style, yet Station Eleven was not a book for me. I don't think it's surprising it landed on this years Canada Reads list, as it definitely stimulates thought and discussion. I am looking forward to seeing how it'll fair on the panel, but in my opinion it doesn't necessarily fit the theme of shifting one's perspective.
π R E C O M M E N D β’ T O
β’ Emily St. John Mandel enthusiasts
β’ readers looking for pandemic fiction
π F A V O U R I T E β’ Q U O T E S
"What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you've lost."
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Murder, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Blood, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
skyarchive's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, and Violence
sidhe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Violence and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
This book deals graphically with the impact of a global pandemic so you may not feel up to it in the current context.black_cat_iiix's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, and Death
Minor: Child abuse
shontellereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse and Murder
Minor: Rape