Scan barcode
A review by luminous
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
4.0
The writing is effortless, comfortable to follow. Having watched the show first made for an interesting comparison. Story wise, the show is miles better. I still enjoyed this journey. Setting and detail wise, the book is way better. For instance, in the show, Jeevan and Kirsten walk across...frozen Lake Michigan. What the? And in the show the symphony circuit goes around Lake Michigan. I remember wondering what they did about Chicago. Well, in the book they specifically mention that they would not go thru Chicago because large cities are more dangerous in the post apocalypse, and the symphony route seems to go back and forth along the lower peninsula lakeshore. Which makes more sense.
LOL these are all small details. But that's what this book comes down to. It tells a lot of stories and it's very ambitious, and it manages to fall short on nearly all of them. Where it shines is in details and observations. An interview Clark does for his corporate psych job, where the person talks about how some people believe work must always be drudgery, resonated. There are a lot of insightful observations.
But the book is so ambitious that there are several loose ends. The book forgets that stories are about people and how and what changes them, but we don't really see anyone change. We do see some people grow into new roles, but there's no indication there were any specific events or personal sacrifices made, beyond the generic apocalyptic reasons. Even Arthur stays the same, even though before he dies he's vowing to change, but we've already seen him make and break these vows several times already.
This book is a story, or a collection of loosely connected stories, but it's not storytelling. Worth a read if you like apocalypse/post apocalypse fiction and keen observations. Just don't expect a satisfying story.
So maybe that's my issue with it. I liked the characters and I really wanted to share their ups and downs, but none of it was immediate. That might be a problem with the structure, which is primarily flashbacks. I mean, what is even the point of book Jeevan? Sure, post pandemic he self actualizes into a doctor, but he was already in medical training before the pandemic hit. He'd already faced his "who do I want to be?" crisis! So what's the point? His brief interactions with Arthur, Miranda, and Kirsten don't add anything, and his time with Frank is pointless as well.
And let's not even get started with the prophet. I think the way his story ended was fine, but it left a lot of loose ends that were never even acknowledged, much less addressed.
Maybe I need to read a summary of King Lear.
LOL these are all small details. But that's what this book comes down to. It tells a lot of stories and it's very ambitious, and it manages to fall short on nearly all of them. Where it shines is in details and observations. An interview Clark does for his corporate psych job, where the person talks about how some people believe work must always be drudgery, resonated. There are a lot of insightful observations.
But the book is so ambitious that there are several loose ends. The book forgets that stories are about people and how and what changes them, but we don't really see anyone change. We do see some people grow into new roles, but there's no indication there were any specific events or personal sacrifices made, beyond the generic apocalyptic reasons. Even Arthur stays the same, even though before he dies he's vowing to change, but we've already seen him make and break these vows several times already.
This book is a story, or a collection of loosely connected stories, but it's not storytelling. Worth a read if you like apocalypse/post apocalypse fiction and keen observations. Just don't expect a satisfying story.
So maybe that's my issue with it. I liked the characters and I really wanted to share their ups and downs, but none of it was immediate. That might be a problem with the structure, which is primarily flashbacks. I mean, what is even the point of book Jeevan? Sure, post pandemic he self actualizes into a doctor, but he was already in medical training before the pandemic hit. He'd already faced his "who do I want to be?" crisis! So what's the point? His brief interactions with Arthur, Miranda, and Kirsten don't add anything, and his time with Frank is pointless as well.
And let's not even get started with the prophet. I think the way his story ended was fine, but it left a lot of loose ends that were never even acknowledged, much less addressed.
Maybe I need to read a summary of King Lear.