Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

11 reviews

zillareaper's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.5

I was surprised how much I liked this book. I’m leaving a review several days from finishing it and the more I reflect, the better I thought it was. It’s a relatively slow book, but I didn’t feel like I was dragging through, but instead just enjoying it at its own pace. And then watching the horrible storytelling of the HBO series after reading, it made me realize how well-webbed this book was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Stalking, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

parfait52's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

It took me several months to get through this book, which is saying something because it's fairly short. Every time I picked it up, I was interested enough. Once I put it down, though, I didn't feel the need to pick it back up. This book doesn't really have a plot so much as it has a story. And once you figure out how the story is forming and the author is doing, it's very easy to know where it's going to go. At times, I found the writing to be beautiful and profound. I found the concept fascinating, but the execution was stifling at points. There were several parts of the book that I personally found very boring and wanted to get past immediately. Overall, not a bad read. There are just books I've enjoyed more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Stalking, Gun violence, and Blood

Minor: Pregnancy, Child death, Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, and Sexual assault

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

krispy_reading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

The way people grieve and reflect on the old world was my favorite part. You can’t help but be grateful that the 2020 DID NOT end up as bad as what these characters went through.

 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. 

I wish there was more interaction between the Prophet and Kirsten (or even Clark). To really play up the 180 transformation of Tyler. To see if meeting someone who knew his Dad would freak him out (Kirsten). I was hoping to see Kirsten meet Jeevan. Their reunion would have been wholesome. I loved Clark’s Museum. Omg when the plane landed and it was just completely still…. forever. Broke my heart. I enjoyed the appreciation of the Arts in a post-apocalyptic world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Stalking, Violence, and Gun violence

Minor: Blood, Physical abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Alcohol

juliahendrickson's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Murder, Suicide, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Stalking

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Murder, and Blood

Minor: Death of parent, Addiction, Stalking, Rape, and Pedophilia

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Pedophilia, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Minor: Rape, Suicide, Child death, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking

billyjepma's review against another edition

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.

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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

mondovertigo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Child death, Animal death, Violence, Suicide, Stalking, Rape, Pedophilia, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence

nanabee23's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, Stalking, and Violence