Reviews

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

luna_with_love's review against another edition

5.0

When I heard the synopsis of this book I was immediately sold. Theatre and dystopia??? Two of my favorite things. But this is not like any dystopia I have ever read. The world post flu is not a destructive wasteland but a new beginning full of hope and a new appreciation for life. I loved seeing this take on an end of the world scenario. It left me feeling less fearful of a painful future and more appreciative of the world I have. I found myself leaning against the brick wall of my apartment, just listening to the heater run and feel the light of my lamp. I watched cars drive through the streets outside my window and hear the sounds of groups of people. I smelled my coffee this morning as I waited for the elevator, just enjoying the heat caressing my fingertips. This book is here to teach you about life, and what a miracle it is for all of us to live it.
This is my second five star read in a row. A rare thing for me. Let's hope this keeps to a trend of good books for 2018!

marstz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

amjammi's review against another edition

3.0

Epidemiologically, I'm not sure a virus can be that lethal and spread that efficiently with such a short latency period?

piaolofsson's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

ayanaph's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

livres_de_bloss's review

2.0

I just knew I wouldn’t like this. Despite having this recommended to me so many times, I just had a bad feeling and prevaricated for years. Well, I was right. Somehow this author has managed to make dystopian fiction both pretentious and insufferably boring. Ick!

bloomerism's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

 Rating: 4.75

But these thoughts broke apart in his head and were replaced by strange fragments: This is my soul and the world unwinding, this is my heart in the still winter air.

I don't really know how to talk about this book without giving away what should be discovered on its own, so I won't. The only way I can describe it is by relaying this text exchange that happened between me and my friend Amanda (who will probably read this, hi Amanda!) when I was 91% through with the book:

Me: Humanity is a spiderweb and I feel like a fly stuck in it
Amanda: You're the fly and the spider and the web!!!!!

That's really how this book feels. I almost gave it 4 stars because after it was over, I had a feeling that I originally thought was mild unsatisfaction at a story unfinished. After sitting with the feeling for a little while, I realized that it was actually the knowledge that the story continues past what the reader can see. The characters are continuing their journey over the horizon of where the book ends, meandering in and out of each other's lives in a new awakening world.

I knew this was a story about art and the immortality of the artist. What I didn't know was that this is also a story about collections. Fellow enjoyers of knick-knacks and trinkets will understand this. A comic book. A paperweight. The everyday objects, trademarks of an ordinary life lived, things that don't have monetary value but are heavy with the memories of their journey. Yesterday I looked through my trinket box and found a little metal collapsible cup that my mom used when she was in the Girl Scouts. It's been sitting in my trinket box for years and I've never used it, because the last time it was used, my mother was a child.

This isn't really a book review anymore (sorry for getting philosophical) but I just wanted to impress the fact that this is a book that made me glad to be a human living among fellow humans. Survival is insufficient. You are the fly and the spider and the web.

A fragment for my friend--
If your soul left this earth I would follow and find you
Silent, my starship suspended in night

 

kristianawithak's review against another edition

4.0

Yes, it's about the end of the modern world. Yes, we've read books like this before. But it's different, and it's good. I didn't know where the book was going at its opening, but I loved seeing everything unfold and merge into one clear engaging story. Instead of just the survival of story, Station Eleven looks at the survival of art in a demolished world. It's beautiful. The characters are well developed and multifaceted and there's really so much to consider and think about.

ruthrebecca's review

reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.0

This is a major mashed potatoe book for me and unfortunately it just didn't do it for me. I had to force myself to pick it up and if it wasn't for the book club I might have DNFed. I just felt bored in parts. When we meet the prophet and there's this huge build up of tension it dissipates so quickly. Also, I don't think pandemic books are for me, which isn't necessarily the books fault. But it was a factor that made me avoid picking it up. I don't really get the hype around this book either. Yes it's cool to see how all the characters are loosely connected and how events in the past can shape the future. That came in the last third of the book and was the most interesting. But even still, I don't care about any of the characters (apart from elderly Clark, because he's an old man and I hate the idea of frail old men in an apocalypse). Anyway, I finally read it, it's been on my Goodreads TBR since 2016, so it's finally read! 

book_bound's review against another edition

5.0

"Survival is insufficient"

Honestly, what a fantastic speculative dystopian novel. It's my all time favorite of this genre thus far.
The pacing of this novel was phenomenal. I loved how nothing was linear, but everything connected. It made each moment satisfying. Because she organized this way, it seemed as if each chapter had a climatic feel. It was refreshing to be so absorbed in these pages
Each character meant something to me as well. Their lives, no matter how insignificant in the scheme of time, actually impacted history in some way.

And another thing, some quotes in here fully resonated with me (like the opening quote above).

What would we really miss if humankind seemed to vanish? We don't think about the under appreciated things like insulin or the Internet. Mandel asked these questions a lot, and it reminded how much I take for granted in my life. What would I do without electricity? Air conditioning? A mode of transportation? She really forced me to reflect every tool or gadget that make my life easier.