Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Station Eleven

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

68 reviews

cpoersch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-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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bookishplantmom's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

I was curious about this book after reading How High We Go in The Dark - I had heard they were similar. And in some ways they are but in many they are quite different. This is also a pandemic story told in a series of vignettes from a range of characters lives across a period of time. Somehow this story feels particularly surreal despite it being closer to reality than HHWGITD. It reminded me more of Butler’s Parable of The Sower actually. It isn’t nearly as good in my opinion but it does take an unflinching look at some of the worst parts of humanity while also thinking through the meaning of community and civilization. The writing was not particularly impactful to me but I did enjoy how the various vignettes fit together. None of the characters stood out to me or clicked for me. Reading this I found myself reflecting a lot about how things *actually* are going two years into a pandemic vs how the author imagined it might go. A fascinating experience reading this now.

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glacialis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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iamnita's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book hooked me from the writing alone. The way in which Emily Mandel writes is just so beautiful you feel as though you're there, but you also appreciate how much work she put into setting all the scenes. While I anticipated I might get lost in the various points in time, and the POVs of various groups of characters, I found the way she wrote helped remind me who I was following. I never felt like I left characters too soon, or stayed with them too long. While the overall story is gripping, it's not shocking and can really be an easy read for someone who wants to explore a world in which 95% of the population is gone.
Lastly, the larger issues this story tackles are just beautiful. I find myself thinking back on this book often, and may do a re-read to highlight some of the beautiful passages and experience them again for their life lessons. Emily Mandel's notes after you're finished reading are just awesome.

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective 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? No

4.5

I've had this book since Christmas 2017 and have been meaning to get to it for years, but the hype often put me off because I didn't know if it would live up to my expectations. And then the last time I considered reading it was at the start of 2020 and I soon decided I didn't want to read a pandemic novel during a pandemic. However I'm so glad I finally got to it. It was so brilliant and I read it in two sittings. I often really enjoy a book with interwoven plots so I loved that it follows different characters and I found them all fascinating. At first I wasn't sure if I would feel more invested in some of the storylines than others but luckily that wasn't the case and I was never waiting to get back to a more interesting part. Mandel has created a fascinating world and I'll be thinking about it for a while.

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