A review by bhnmt61
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

5.0

I've read this three times now--once on my own, once for book club, and then just now because I want to watch the TV adaptation, which I've heard is really good. But apparently this is the first time I've written a review. The plot is covered well enough in the blurb, so I won't go into detail. A swifly lethal, highly contagious version of the flu takes out 99% of the population of the earth in a matter of weeks. Those who remain are plunged into a dark time of fear and brutality, but slowly, over many years, civilization begins to return. I've loved it each time I've read it, and each time I've read it, I've appreciated its subtlety a little more-- it doesn't hit you over the head with violence and gore, the way so many post-apocalyptic/dystopian novels do, although there is plenty of violence, and many people use the situation to turn into their worst selves. It's more nuanced than that, and (I hope) probably more realistic about the way things might actually happen.

The only thing I will pass along is something that one of the guys in our book club said that made me laugh, something to the effect of-- she's spent all her time hanging out in writing workshops with humanities majors. My brother and I would have rigged up a hydroelectric power source in no time! There are engineers and scientists everywhere. --ha! He didn't dislike the book-- in fact, he really liked it. And so do I. Highly recommended.