Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

4 reviews

mari_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I made the mistake of/ had the fortune to read this book while on a 24hr travel day in 2023 - just three years after our world was changed totally by the pandemic. I had chills for the whole read while on the plane. It’s incredible to read so much of how I’ve felt about the past few years on a page. It was like historical fiction of our present challenges, though obviously COVID didn’t take our society as close to the edge as in the book. I highly recommend for anyone who wants a poetic, challenging reading of society in decay. Lots of trigger warnings for  many dark themes. At the end I was left feeling a deep sense of gratitude for how our world met our pandemic moment despite how deeply flawed, and the miracles of our modern technology. This is not for people who don’t like Shakespeare, this was probably maximum Shakespeare for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Blood, Kidnapping, Slavery, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, and War

cueba's review against another edition

hopeful reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Oh this is a tough one! Personally, I liked it. But you will definitely not like it if you expect this as a dystopian novel with its usual suspense and shebangs. It's calmer than that and the book is more of a slice-of-life which happens to be set in a post-apocalyptic world. Don't expect the book to propose new ideas in the dystopia genre

Very minimal spoiler that details on the antagonist:

The Prophet is not that vital in the plot and it's not really intended to. Don't expect a suspenseful chase of sorts. He's nicely written though! I love the approach on the identity reveal.

The prose is so damn good but it barely has any plot. Some main characters also have not much of personality. Very minimal spoiler that details on the protagonists:

Kirsten (the main protag and the actress) is not that distinct but her narration is nice. I liked Miranda and Clark (since they are arguably the most fleshed-out characters). There's also Jeevan but hmm... there's a big time-skip from pre to post so he's a bit wonky and didn't really mattered—though, his pre-apocalyptic life is nicely written.

On to the prose: it's good. Like so-many-highlights-good. The tone is consistent (that is: slow) and I loved how it's built up—this is a book that seems planned from start to finish. I personally liked how the Prophet is handled but it might not be enough for others. The ending is heartwarming and I think it's such a fitting end! Solid read, and I'll definitely check out the author's other books! :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Rape and Gun violence

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Medical content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Car accident, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence

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.

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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.