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kelly_e's review against another edition
- 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
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."
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
krispy_reading's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
All of current life’s simplicities and technology, gone faster than you could process what’s happening to the world. What would you miss the most? What would you bring with you?
Yes, the book is post-apocalyptic but not in a The Walking Dead kind of way. There is more character reflection and adaptation with less violent elements.
There is a broad cast. If you can’t keep track of all Symphony members? It’s fine, just go along for the ride.
There are frequent time jumps in multiple directions. I would have appreciated the chapter titles named after the time period & character name as opposed to basic numerical order.
Ending was ok.
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol
tigerproofrock's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Blood
Creepy cult leaderjuliahendrickson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
vita_ayala's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Bittersweet, sometimes amusing, always melancholy and comtemplative, this book does an incredible job of distilling the emotion and humanity behind Shakespeare's work and presenting it in a contemporary, compelling way. (It isn I think obviously, a take on King Lear.) A little like disguising healthy but odd tasting food with spices and sauces.
I wish the comic from inside the book was a thing I could read!
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
It does end up veing hopeful in the end!ewwniamh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape and War
Adult/minor relationship warning is partially for a couple who met when one was a minor. Ableism warning is for the trope of a disabled character dying as part of an abled character's story. Colonisation warning is just in case, for discussion of Israel in a normalized light.larbster90's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol
thehungrylittlebookworm's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
emilia_thereader's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence and Kidnapping