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adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Big thank you to my sister-in-law for gifting me this book! đ Itâs almost hard to believe this was written pre-pandemic; itâs so on the nose. At times it almost hit a little too close to home and made me sad for the things weâve lost, but I also gained some perspective. In no way would I minimize the effects of COVID, but at least we still have electricity and running water. I guess things could always be worse? The most important perspective though is the importance of art (in ALL its forms) during crisis. As a creative outlet, as a distraction, as a social setting, and as a message to the future of how life felt at the moment of its creation, art is extremely powerful. I love the connection drawn between our modern pandemic times and Shakespeareâs plague era. There were moments all the disparate storylines felt confusing, but I do think St. John Mandel is a talented writer, if based on nothing else but that stellar opening chapter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Medical content
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape
Minor: Suicide
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
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:
Yes
What a book! I was slightly wary reading a book about a pandemic that ends the world in this good year of 2022, but I'm so incredibly glad I did because it was genuinely absolutely phenomenal. It's been a couple of days since I finished it and I keep randomly finding myself thinking about it, which is always an excellent sign.
Station Eleven opens onstage at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, where waning actor Arthur Leander has a heart attack and dies in the middle of a scene playing King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paramedic-in-training who used to be a paparazzo, attempts to save his life but fails; child actress Kirsten witnesses and is profoundly moved by the actor's death. This alone would be an absolutely fascinating concept for a book to explore, but it turns out that Arthur's shocking demise is the least newsworthy thing to happen that day. Later that night, Toronto and the rest of the world are hit by the Georgia Flu, a deadly virus with no cure that kills within a matter of hours and absolutely decimates the world.
I guess I expected Station Eleven to be your typical post-apocalyptic novel, detailing the spread of the pandemic, the ways people managed to survive, the gritty and harsh reality of a world without civilisation... and it does do those things, but just not in any way you'd expect. Much of the book is taken up with flashbacks to Arthur Leander's life, from his first marriage to Miranda, an insular and somewhat naĂŻve woman unprepared for the fame attached to her husband, to his final moments at the age of fifty-one, dating a woman half his age after three failed marriages and disconnected from his only son. This should have been annoying when on the face of it the present-day pandemic was so much more pressing, but I found myself absolutely enthralled by Arthur's character. Throughout the novel we see him through the eyes of his first wife, his best friend Clark, a journalist interviewing him - we only see his own perspective right at the very end.
Interspersed with these flashbacks are flashforwards - twenty years after the pandemic, an adult Kirsten traverses North America with the Travelling Symphony, a theatre troupe and orchestra performing Shakespeare in the various towns and settlements that have sprung up in the wake of the Georgia Flu. The Symphony run into a man calling himself a prophet, and find themselves in unexpected danger.
I'm explaining this really badly, because there's actually no way of describing the fascinating wonder that is Station Eleven. Every time I try I feel like I make it sound like something it isn't, when really what it is is a careful and intricate exploration of fame and civilisation, what's left behind when everything you're used to is gone. People who don't like post-apocalyptic storylines will enjoy this novel. I absolutely loved it, and I'll be searching out other books by the same author.
Station Eleven opens onstage at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, where waning actor Arthur Leander has a heart attack and dies in the middle of a scene playing King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paramedic-in-training who used to be a paparazzo, attempts to save his life but fails; child actress Kirsten witnesses and is profoundly moved by the actor's death. This alone would be an absolutely fascinating concept for a book to explore, but it turns out that Arthur's shocking demise is the least newsworthy thing to happen that day. Later that night, Toronto and the rest of the world are hit by the Georgia Flu, a deadly virus with no cure that kills within a matter of hours and absolutely decimates the world.
I guess I expected Station Eleven to be your typical post-apocalyptic novel, detailing the spread of the pandemic, the ways people managed to survive, the gritty and harsh reality of a world without civilisation... and it does do those things, but just not in any way you'd expect. Much of the book is taken up with flashbacks to Arthur Leander's life, from his first marriage to Miranda, an insular and somewhat naĂŻve woman unprepared for the fame attached to her husband, to his final moments at the age of fifty-one, dating a woman half his age after three failed marriages and disconnected from his only son. This should have been annoying when on the face of it the present-day pandemic was so much more pressing, but I found myself absolutely enthralled by Arthur's character. Throughout the novel we see him through the eyes of his first wife, his best friend Clark, a journalist interviewing him - we only see his own perspective right at the very end.
Interspersed with these flashbacks are flashforwards - twenty years after the pandemic, an adult Kirsten traverses North America with the Travelling Symphony, a theatre troupe and orchestra performing Shakespeare in the various towns and settlements that have sprung up in the wake of the Georgia Flu. The Symphony run into a man calling himself a prophet, and find themselves in unexpected danger.
I'm explaining this really badly, because there's actually no way of describing the fascinating wonder that is Station Eleven. Every time I try I feel like I make it sound like something it isn't, when really what it is is a careful and intricate exploration of fame and civilisation, what's left behind when everything you're used to is gone. People who don't like post-apocalyptic storylines will enjoy this novel. I absolutely loved it, and I'll be searching out other books by the same author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Station Eleven is set in a post-apocalyptic Canada and America. A virus has swept through the world, taking peopleâs lives at an alarming rate. The world starts shutting down, electricity goes, phone signal goes. It swaps between pre and post pandemic life. Following a cast of characters whoâs lives dramatically change from the life they once knew.
I raced through the beginning of this book. I loved the sections about Arthur and Mirandaâs relationship. Miranda, an introverted artist who just wants to create. She doesnât care if her work is seen it sold by anyone but herself. Arthur is your typical âsuccessful actorâ, several relationships with multiple wives, lots of money, lavish lifestyle. The parts I liked the most of this book were the parts before the pandemic.
The book also focuses on a travelling Shakespearean theatre group, navigating their new world and bringing plays and music they love to audiences all over Canada and America. I think these sections of the book couldâve been a lot more compelling. It felt like nothing was happening then something happened and it was wrapped up too quickly.
This book was hugely out of my comfort zone, so maybe it just wasnât for me.
I raced through the beginning of this book. I loved the sections about Arthur and Mirandaâs relationship. Miranda, an introverted artist who just wants to create. She doesnât care if her work is seen it sold by anyone but herself. Arthur is your typical âsuccessful actorâ, several relationships with multiple wives, lots of money, lavish lifestyle. The parts I liked the most of this book were the parts before the pandemic.
The book also focuses on a travelling Shakespearean theatre group, navigating their new world and bringing plays and music they love to audiences all over Canada and America. I think these sections of the book couldâve been a lot more compelling. It felt like nothing was happening then something happened and it was wrapped up too quickly.
This book was hugely out of my comfort zone, so maybe it just wasnât for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Death, Medical content, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ah Station Eleven. I enjoyed you, but I didnât love you. This is a book club pick through Literati and with the show out, I figured it was a great opportunity to pick it up before I watched it! I regret nothing. While it wasnât what I expected, I did enjoy it. The story was interestingly based around a character who was NOT the main protagonist. And the way Kirstenâs interviews were intermingled with time jumps from before/ during the outbreak and after, I found to really enjoy! It did take me a minute to get the hang of things but once I was in, I was in! And it did a great job wrapping everything up so that it all came together! I can see this doing incredibly well as a tv show (TWD vibes minus the zombies)
Given that weâre in year 2854629 of our own global pandemic, there are elements that are eerily similar and a little triggering. Had I read before March 2020, it wouldnât have been an issue but alas we get something different out of books depending on the experiences weâve had.
Given that weâre in year 2854629 of our own global pandemic, there are elements that are eerily similar and a little triggering. Had I read before March 2020, it wouldnât have been an issue but alas we get something different out of books depending on the experiences weâve had.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide
Global health Pandemic
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I never really understood nor truly appreciated the common phrase âdonât take life for grantedâ until I read Station Eleven. The intricate backstories behind each characterâs regrets, joys, disappointments, and comforts in both their old and new world really exemplify why we should live life to its fullest. The characters were given just enough detail to pull you in and empathize, and I am impressed at how the author managed to intricately weave the plot around seemingly unrelated characters. The entire book made me think about the butterfly effect; one small action can determine a million of other actions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Kidnapping