Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

29 reviews

sar_willow's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

parissummerreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Blood, and Abandonment

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

It's interesting to read a post pandemic apocalypse after the whole actual pandemic. It's well written, and I always like split perspective and split timelines. I feel like some of the plot points could have been tied up clearer, for a book that so deliberately makes sure all the characters have oelverlapping lives, we sort of miss out on what happens with Elizabeth. It just feels like that plot line was left unconcerned, while everyone else had their loose ends tied up.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Rape, and Excrement

avoticat's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful sad fast-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

Thoroughly enjoyed this read. I enjoyed the non-linear storytelling and all of the characters and how they all felt connected through one specific character. The writing was good, a little clunky in some places but not so much to spoil the overall feel.

I personally would have preferred the Prophet to have played a bigger role or presented as a bigger threat overall but regardless, this is still a very enjoyable book.

I would recommend to anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic speculative fiction.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Racism, Violence, Death of parent, and Abandonment

A lot of these things are not focused or dwelled on, apart from the pandemic of the Georgia Flu. I have noted racism mostly due to the naming of the Georgia Flu.

chelly_reads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jillianselene's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal death, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence, Rape, Medical content, and Pregnancy

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This is the third book by this author I have read, and I’ve loved all three of them. She tells stories that are truly unique. No template or formula but simply well woven stories of multiple (dis)connected lives. And just when I was thinking this would be a great script, I found out it was actually made into a TV series. I must add that to my watch list!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Abandonment

bookboi56's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I really wanted to enjoy this book, having heard good things about it for a long while. But whilst the premise is very interesting, and the opening chapters are very intriguing given their close resemblance to the COVID-19 outbreak, I found the rest of the story a trudge to get through. 

Maybe 20% of the book unfolds with the present characters in mind. The rest constantly flips back and forth between any one of about 12 characters all vaguely related to each other at greater and greater tangents, whilst moving from present to past in short fitful chapters.

As someone who is not great with names, having only a quick description for each person is not sufficient to keep up with a dozen similarly traumatised apocalypse survivors. This may be an effect of listening to the book rather than reading it. But for the last 2 thirds I found myself just going along and trying to enjoy what I was hearing with no context as to who anyone was. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

amberelizabeth7's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Mainly reviewing to preserve the quote I’d bookmarked but have to return the library book! 

This was a recommendation and while slightly slow to get into, turned out magnificently and I already kind of want to reread for stuff I likely missed.

I would say defo check trigger warnings, and don’t read if it’s too soon to read vividly your worst fears for how the recent pandemic could’ve gone….

“I’m talking about these people who’ve ended up in one life instead of another and they are just so disappointed. Do you know what I mean? They’ve done what’s expected of them they want to do something different but that’s impossible now, there’s a mortgage, kids, whatever, they’re trapped. Dan’s like that.” …. “….high functioning sleepwalkers, essentially” … “… I think people like him think work is supposed to be drudgery punctuated by very occasional moments of happiness, but when I say happiness, I mostly mean distraction. You know what I mean?”

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence