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amsswim's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book, wow. This is the 20th book I have read this year and my favorite one so far. A multiperspective book on a fast acting pandemic with time jumps before and after this apocalypse. That basic intro into the book alone would've had me by the chokehold, I knew it had to do with a post-apocalyptic society but nothing more. It was the little moments for me though, that really made this. WHile the plot overall I found very interesting, the environment and motivations were all very realistic to me which made the small moments in this world all the more meaningful. I must read from me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Terminal illness, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia
Minor: Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual assault
annaofjesup's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Car accident, Cursing, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Confinement, Pregnancy, and Rape
amberelizabeth7's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Mainly reviewing to preserve the quote I’d bookmarked but have to return the library book!
This was a recommendation and while slightly slow to get into, turned out magnificently and I already kind of want to reread for stuff I likely missed.
I would say defo check trigger warnings, and don’t read if it’s too soon to read vividly your worst fears for how the recent pandemic could’ve gone….
This was a recommendation and while slightly slow to get into, turned out magnificently and I already kind of want to reread for stuff I likely missed.
I would say defo check trigger warnings, and don’t read if it’s too soon to read vividly your worst fears for how the recent pandemic could’ve gone….
“I’m talking about these people who’ve ended up in one life instead of another and they are just so disappointed. Do you know what I mean? They’ve done what’s expected of them they want to do something different but that’s impossible now, there’s a mortgage, kids, whatever, they’re trapped. Dan’s like that.” …. “….high functioning sleepwalkers, essentially” … “… I think people like him think work is supposed to be drudgery punctuated by very occasional moments of happiness, but when I say happiness, I mostly mean distraction. You know what I mean?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infidelity, and Animal death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Gun violence
startjpw23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is an adult dystopian novel. Early in the book a very contagious, very virulent version of the flu overtakes the world. Most of the earth's population is wiped out. The story is told from multiple perspectives. It bounces back and forth between various time periods. It goes as far forward as 20 years after the onset of the flu. It does a great job with what would happen with civilization in situations like this. If that was the only focus of the story, it would be a great book. What makes it exceptional is it goes way back in time (long before the flu) for some of the characters. It shows them early on and how their lives progressed. It shows their successes and failures. Not all of the characters survive the flu.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault
bookb1itch's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was my second read of this book and i enjoyed it even more, possibly because i watched and was disappointed by, the Amazon (?) series. Now i really understand why our English teachers warm kids studying the text not to watch the series. They are so very different.
I read this whilst on holiday overseas and was haunted by the airport scenes when I was coming home - imagine being stuck without your medicine, because you KNEW you were only a few hours away from home and your next dose. The beauty and devastation of this story will remain with me for a long time.
I read this whilst on holiday overseas and was haunted by the airport scenes when I was coming home - imagine being stuck without your medicine, because you KNEW you were only a few hours away from home and your next dose. The beauty and devastation of this story will remain with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Suicide and Sexual assault
muffmacguff's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read this because I LOVED the miniseries. Ultimately, I prefer the miniseries to the book - the ways the stories diverged I almost always preferred the show’s choices to the book’s. Maybe it’s because I saw the show first, who knows? But the book is still terrific. It’s also more melancholy, I think - you get more of a sense of how hard the years between when the story starts (year zero or whatever) and the “present” (year twenty) have been. The book also has more of an interest in recreating society and bringing back what’s been lost, a theme the show diverged from a lot I think. Anyway I look forward eagerly to reading more Emily St. John Mandel in the near future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Child death, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
astridrv's review against another edition
Exquisite writing, a real page turner, neatly done. The author successfully made me marvel at the wonderful improbability of our lives. And the theme of fame and what remains of the narrative of our lives was a smart choice too. A well executed book that was a delight to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Death, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Suicide, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexual assault
kelly_e's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
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? No
3.0
Title: Station Eleven
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: September 9, 2014
T H R E E • W O R D S
Evocative • Ambitious • Eerie
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.
Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Despite hearing (and reading) so many glowing reviews from my bookish community for Station Eleven, I had no plan to pick it up... until it landed on the 2023 Canada Reads shortlist. Since 2021, I've made a point of reading as many books from the longlist as possible, with a particular focus on the five shortlisted titles. And so, despite knowing this wasn't likely to be my cup of tea, I borrowed a digital copy from my library.
I'll start by saying, I truly appreciated the dystopian Canadian content. Emily St. John Mandel has carefully constructed a realistic (eerily so) and reflective tale of post-apocalyptic survival. And of course, it's incredibly well written. While I know the ambiguous ending has been a point of contention between readers, for me it actually seemed the most fitting.
Despite that, I just wasn't a fan of the story or the structure. It's told in three different timelines from several points of view, and I definitely liked certain section a lot more than others. At times, I found myself disappointed to reach the end of a chapter only to find out I'd be ripped from what was happening in that storyline. Additionally, the plot just held very little interest for me. I'll admit coming out of a pandemic was probably not the right time to read this book, and it's quite possible the past three years impacted my reading experience.
I completely understand why so many readers love Emily St. John Mandel's descriptive and poetic writing style, yet Station Eleven was not a book for me. I don't think it's surprising it landed on this years Canada Reads list, as it definitely stimulates thought and discussion. I am looking forward to seeing how it'll fair on the panel, but in my opinion it doesn't necessarily fit the theme of shifting one's perspective.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Emily St. John Mandel enthusiasts
• readers looking for pandemic fiction
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you've lost."
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: September 9, 2014
T H R E E • W O R D S
Evocative • Ambitious • Eerie
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.
Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Despite hearing (and reading) so many glowing reviews from my bookish community for Station Eleven, I had no plan to pick it up... until it landed on the 2023 Canada Reads shortlist. Since 2021, I've made a point of reading as many books from the longlist as possible, with a particular focus on the five shortlisted titles. And so, despite knowing this wasn't likely to be my cup of tea, I borrowed a digital copy from my library.
I'll start by saying, I truly appreciated the dystopian Canadian content. Emily St. John Mandel has carefully constructed a realistic (eerily so) and reflective tale of post-apocalyptic survival. And of course, it's incredibly well written. While I know the ambiguous ending has been a point of contention between readers, for me it actually seemed the most fitting.
Despite that, I just wasn't a fan of the story or the structure. It's told in three different timelines from several points of view, and I definitely liked certain section a lot more than others. At times, I found myself disappointed to reach the end of a chapter only to find out I'd be ripped from what was happening in that storyline. Additionally, the plot just held very little interest for me. I'll admit coming out of a pandemic was probably not the right time to read this book, and it's quite possible the past three years impacted my reading experience.
I completely understand why so many readers love Emily St. John Mandel's descriptive and poetic writing style, yet Station Eleven was not a book for me. I don't think it's surprising it landed on this years Canada Reads list, as it definitely stimulates thought and discussion. I am looking forward to seeing how it'll fair on the panel, but in my opinion it doesn't necessarily fit the theme of shifting one's perspective.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Emily St. John Mandel enthusiasts
• readers looking for pandemic fiction
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you've lost."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Murder, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Blood, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
birchjilguero's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Violence
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
stripedstone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual assault