Take a photo of a barcode or cover
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Station Eleven made me feel intensely homesick because one of the characters had a very similar childhood to me on an island in BC Canada. Because the author is also from there she evokes it very vividly, the trees, the hippies, the stairs down to the sea, building dens in the woods. However it turned out to be just a bit of backstory and the rest of the story didn't make me feel much of anything. The challenge of any post apocalyptic fiction is whether it makes the survival of the human race seem worthwhile and this cast of luvies, cultists and suspicious midwesterners did not convince me of this. Maybe the rest of the world was faring better or maybe the octopuses should have their chance at being the dominant species.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a wonderful book. I am very glad I read it, one I could read many times and always find something new in it, though it will never be the same as reading it the first time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault
Minor: Confinement, Violence, Blood
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness
Minor: Gun violence, Rape, Religious bigotry
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"I stood looking over my damaged home and tried to forget the sweetness of life on Earth."
I don't usually read post-apocalyptic fiction, and I didn't really know much before reading this book, so I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that the whole premise of this book was exploring society after a devastating pandemic. Nevertheless, I read on, and honestly this book was not what I expected. The moments of tension were interrupted with chapters of character study, which I found a little strange. The plot seemed to go nowhere, and the climax of the book fell a little flat.
But I don't think the point of the book was to deliver a gripping plot. To me, the point seemed to be to explore what humanity really is. It's interesting to see how the individual character studies of the pre-pandemic world compare to the more sweeping generalizations about the post-apocalyptic human society. Both are done really well–in both cases, I got the sense that humans have the capacity for terrible evil as well as kindness.
Even though this book wasn't what I was expecting at all, I loved it. The language is beautiful, and I especially loved the character of Miranda, who I think is written the best out of all of them. This was a wonderful, interesting story.
I don't usually read post-apocalyptic fiction, and I didn't really know much before reading this book, so I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that the whole premise of this book was exploring society after a devastating pandemic. Nevertheless, I read on, and honestly this book was not what I expected. The moments of tension were interrupted with chapters of character study, which I found a little strange. The plot seemed to go nowhere, and the climax of the book fell a little flat.
But I don't think the point of the book was to deliver a gripping plot. To me, the point seemed to be to explore what humanity really is. It's interesting to see how the individual character studies of the pre-pandemic world compare to the more sweeping generalizations about the post-apocalyptic human society. Both are done really well–in both cases, I got the sense that humans have the capacity for terrible evil as well as kindness.
Even though this book wasn't what I was expecting at all, I loved it. The language is beautiful, and I especially loved the character of Miranda, who I think is written the best out of all of them. This was a wonderful, interesting story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Medical content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Violence
Minor: Mental illness
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a beautiful, poignant novel! It's, at its core, a love letter to the power of the arts and the bonds and love between total strangers who are just as scared and lonely as you. All in all, a lovely book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Violence
Minor: Child abuse
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
No es secreto que en estos últimos meses aumentaron las ventas de libros sobre pandemias e historias apocalípticas, La Peste de Albert Camus siendo uno de los ejemplos más populares. Uno podría preguntarse por qué en una situación mundial como la que estamos viviendo, tanta gente busca libros, series o películas que en lugar de ser una forma de escape, se acercan más a la realidad actual y presentan escenarios bastante desesperantes; creo que la respuesta es: para sentirse acompañados y comprendidos, así como cuando estamos tristes y escuchamos música que expresa eso mismo que estamos sintiendo. Si bien nuestras vidas están determinadas por las condiciones materiales, la cultura que nos rodea permite darle sentido a dichas vidas y a nuestras experiencias, es decir, a través de esos libros y esas series que consumimos también interpretamos nuestra realidad y le damos un sentido a lo que nos pasa. Por eso hay ocasiones en las que si nos sentimos ansiosos o abrumados recurrimos, por ejemplo, a un libro que nos ayude a lidiar con lo que nos ocurre y a entender que no estamos solos, que alguien más está pasando por lo mismo.
Hace unos días, arranqué a leer Station Eleven (Estación Once), una novela de ciencia ficción escrita por la canadiense Emily St. John Mandel que me deslumbró por completo. En términos generales, el libro toma dos líneas temporales: por un lado, el momento en el que se desata una pandemia brutal que acaba con el 99% de la población mundial y, por otro, la realidad de los sobrevivientes veinte años después del colapso de la civilización tal cual como la conocían. La novela fue publicada hace seis años, pero por razones obvias ha vuelto a ser bastante popular en lo que va del 2020. Cuando empecé a ver que la recomendaban en internet, algo que me llamó la atención fue el hecho de que los protagonistas fueran actores y músicos que viajaban por pueblitos post-apocalípticos montando obras de Shakespeare y tocando música clásica; no sé, me pareció una idea original y además me encantan las historias en las que hay artistas.
Si bien el contexto en el que transcurre Station Eleven es el de una pandemia y sus consecuencias, no diría que el libro trata sobre eso, sino más bien sobre los vínculos humanos que se van desarrollando a partir de las circunstancias. Se trata sobre la muerte, el duelo y, por ende, la vida. Es una historia realmente profunda que toca temas universales con los que todos podemos sentirnos identificados o al menos llegar a comprender. Mandel pone el foco en los personajes, en el factor humano: "el infierno es la ausencia de las personas que quieres", escribe la autora, una frase en la que probablemente muchos nos veamos reflejados a causa del aislamiento por el Covid-19. Es cierto que a lo largo de la novela se puede apreciar una nostalgia por la electricidad y la tecnología, el anhelo de ese mundo anterior ya casi ajeno, pero queda claro que lo fundamental son los vínculos, las personas, tenerse el uno al otro.
Otra frase importante dentro de la historia es "sobrevivir no es suficiente", que la autora tomó prestada de la serie Star Trek: Voyager y aquí utiliza como lema para los integrantes de la Traveling Symphony, los artistas que protagonizan Station Eleven. ¿Qué significa esto? Que no alcanza con que nuestro único propósito sea sobrevivir, ni siquiera para estos personajes en circunstancias extremas, sino que otras cosas también son fundamentales, como el arte, la música, un cómic, poder disfrutar a pesar de todo. Inclusive en un mundo que ha sido destrozado es necesario que aquellos músicos y actores se mantengan juntos y sigan compartiendo su arte con los demás, haciendo a los espectadores reír, llorar, bailar... en fin, sentir. Es este sentir y estas cosas, a veces aparentemente pequeñas, lo que nos recuerda que somos humanos, aún en las peores condiciones.
Algo que me encantó del libro es que Mandel no sigue un camino lineal y directo, sino que opta por ir y venir entre las distintas líneas temporales de manera intermitente, intercalando entre diversos personajes, hasta el punto en que a veces no estamos totalmente seguros de lo que está ocurriendo. Es gracias a esta técnica que a lo largo de la historia vamos descubriendo de a poco las respuestas a pequeños misterios e incógnitas para llegar a un final en el que todo se conecta perfectamente, como eslabones formando una cadena que atrapa al lector por completo. La autora construye un rompecabezas narrativo increíble al que no se le ven los hilos, que va mucho más allá de mi brevísimo análisis y que cuenta con alrededor de una docena de personajes.
En fin, Station Eleven me parece una obra maestra, un libro que te transporta totalmente y que tardé diez días en leer porque quería tomarme mi tiempo para poder apreciar cada detalle. En su mundo destruido después del colapso, Mandel le da sentido al caos y crea algo nuevo que surge de las cenizas de lo viejo, a partir del legado de la civilización anterior comienzan a erigirse los cimientos de la nueva.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness
Moderate: Violence
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
** spoiler alert ** I read this at age 15 and I adored it. The book stayed in my thoughts as one of the greatest post-apocalypses I've ever read for 6 long years. I am not the same person I was at age 15, for better or for worse.
Now reading this at 21, it is still one of the most beautiful and thoughtful books I've ever read. But also reading it during the Covid-19 pandemic was especially hard and at times I hated the book. The words that soothed me at 15, haunted me now. 3 million people have lost their lives to a disease that ripped through the world, and a year on we still have not recovered. Whatever happens now, the world will never be the same. As with every apocalypse, we have lost something to this pandemic - lives, innocence, trust.
This review is rambling but I don't know how to look at this book through the lens of fantasy anymore. The Georgia flu is fictional and far more deadly than Covid-19 (thank fuck), but that was never the point of Station Eleven. Station Eleven is about what persists, rather than what we've lost.
Doctor Eleven outlives his creator, Arthur's life is preserved through magazine clippings, the Museum of Civilisation is lovingly preserved, lights begin to turn on in the darkness.
Now reading this at 21, it is still one of the most beautiful and thoughtful books I've ever read. But also reading it during the Covid-19 pandemic was especially hard and at times I hated the book. The words that soothed me at 15, haunted me now. 3 million people have lost their lives to a disease that ripped through the world, and a year on we still have not recovered. Whatever happens now, the world will never be the same. As with every apocalypse, we have lost something to this pandemic - lives, innocence, trust.
This review is rambling but I don't know how to look at this book through the lens of fantasy anymore. The Georgia flu is fictional and far more deadly than Covid-19 (thank fuck), but that was never the point of Station Eleven. Station Eleven is about what persists, rather than what we've lost.
Doctor Eleven outlives his creator, Arthur's life is preserved through magazine clippings, the Museum of Civilisation is lovingly preserved, lights begin to turn on in the darkness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical trauma, Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Torture, Stalking
deals heavily with an infectious, flu-like disease that kills the infected host very quickly. comments about the pandemic. can be very triggering due to real-life parallels to the Covid-19 pandemic