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A review by paperback_cat
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Firstly, what I had heard from people was that this was an anthology of connected short stories following a travelling theatre group in a post-apocalyptic, post-pandemic situation. But that's not really what it was. It is more of a multi-perspective story told non-linearly, primarily following an actor, his ex-wives, and other people with some connection to him. There are some parts set in the post-apocalyptic timeframe, but most of the story is actually pre-pandemic or during the pandemic. Obviously, in our post-covid times, this now reads very differently.
My favourite parts were when the post-apocalyptic characters would reminisce about pre-pandemic things like refrigerators and the internet.
Other than that, there were only a few parts really pulled me in. For the most part, the writing style is very high level, often skipping through characters' lives, and I discovered that I find it very hard to connect to the characters with that writing style.
There was also some action type scenes at the end, which I found quite inconsistent with the pacing and tone of the rest of the book.
My favourite parts were when the post-apocalyptic characters would reminisce about pre-pandemic things like refrigerators and the internet.
Other than that, there were only a few parts really pulled me in. For the most part, the writing style is very high level, often skipping through characters' lives, and I discovered that I find it very hard to connect to the characters with that writing style.
There was also some action type scenes at the end, which I found quite inconsistent with the pacing and tone of the rest of the book.