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miller8d's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
Absolutely loved the storytelling technique, world-building, and flow of descriptive language.
Note: I pictured Richard Ayoade as Jeevan, Jesse Plemons as August, Con O’Neill as Dieter, Andrew Garfield as Sayid, Andre Michaan very faintly as Clark, and a wishy-washy mix of Tom Hiddleston/Brian Cox as Arthur.
Note: I pictured Richard Ayoade as Jeevan, Jesse Plemons as August, Con O’Neill as Dieter, Andrew Garfield as Sayid, Andre Michaan very faintly as Clark, and a wishy-washy mix of Tom Hiddleston/Brian Cox as Arthur.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Kidnapping, Trafficking, and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Religious bigotry, Violence, Pedophilia, Slavery, Genocide, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child death, Death of parent, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
I added lots of content warnings for this book, but as a pretty sensitive person, I can honestly say I didn’t find this book upsetting— moreso realistic in an apocalyptic context. It touches on many serious topics but it does so in a justified and non-shocking way.billyjepma's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"First we only want to be seen, but once we're seen, that's not enough anymore. After that, we want to be remembered."
Emily St. John Mandel taps into something sublime with Station Eleven, something that manages to speak to a particular moment in time while also capturing something universally timeless about living. The narrative and its characters may not have always resonated with me, but Mandel's beautiful writing and thematics quickly and repeatedly struck a nerve with me.
I usually latch onto the characters in a story, so while I liked the casts Mandel shifts between, I never felt as invested in them as I wanted. For example, I kept waiting for the story to peel back layers on specific characters or ideologies in the "present-day" sections, but those insights never really came. After all of the rich character development and exploration of the "flashback" stories—which, while familiar, are written with aching honesty and vulnerability—the present-day sections felt somewhat lacking.
That's not what's going to stick with me, though. The stories of lonely people discovering and fighting for their found families, the enduring hope they create together, the capacity for art and conviction to be what saves our souls in the end—that's what I'll remember about Station Eleven. I don't think the book even says anything profoundly original, but the unique angles it uses to approach those familiar ideas and genres make them feel new. Or, if not new, then timely and maybe even necessary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Grief, and Medical content
Moderate: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Death of parent, Torture, Suicide, Abandonment, Child death, and Vomit
king_taliesin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
5.0
** 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: Death, Child death, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Torture, Stalking, and Sexual assault
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
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