Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Station Eleven

I'd known of the HBO show but I hadn't ever watched it, and I'm glad I haven't. This book is so engaging, beautiful, and made me think so much about what makes humanity.

It's simultaneously an easy read because of how well-written it is, but also so hard to read in a post-2020 world where COVID fundamentally changed so many things. So much of the book was familiar; Mandel has a keen understanding of how we as a society react to things. Some of the standouts include a dedication to theater and the arts, a dedication to preservation, and relying on religion to the point of madness. All of these things were seen in our pandemic as well as in this book.

I cannot recommend it enough, and I will probably be thinking about it for a long time after reading.

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musicalpopcorn's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

When a plague strikes the world, the people who survive are left to survive as best they can.

I quite enjoyed this book. Emily St John Mandel is fast becoming my favourite author. I like the way she weaves her stories and ties things together with neat but emotional little bows. I quite liked how this was a little different than a standard post-apocalyptic book in that it was based more on relationships and less on the nitty-gritty of survival. I also liked how there was a lot of speculation about how people would reminisce and find different memories of technology to fixate on.

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indigosl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious medium-paced

3.75

The post-pandemic context was exciting and the world building was interesting. I thought it brought up some fascinating ideas of cultism, community, and the arts. However, key observations of the implications of this new-world and the associated themes seemed to, at times, fall flat. Nonetheless an enjoyable read.

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danajoy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense

4.5

This feels like a story that demands revisiting. I don't know that I appreciated the nuances the first time around.

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective medium-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? No

3.0

Title: Station Eleven
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: September 9, 2014

T H R E E • W O R D S

Evocative • Ambitious • Eerie

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.

Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Despite hearing (and reading) so many glowing reviews from my bookish community for Station Eleven, I had no plan to pick it up... until it landed on the 2023 Canada Reads shortlist. Since 2021, I've made a point of reading as many books from the longlist as possible, with a particular focus on the five shortlisted titles. And so, despite knowing this wasn't likely to be my cup of tea, I borrowed a digital copy from my library.

I'll start by saying, I truly appreciated the dystopian Canadian content. Emily St. John Mandel has carefully constructed a realistic (eerily so) and reflective tale of post-apocalyptic survival. And of course, it's incredibly well written. While I know the ambiguous ending has been a point of contention between readers, for me it actually seemed the most fitting.

Despite that, I just wasn't a fan of the story or the structure. It's told in three different timelines from several points of view, and I definitely liked certain section a lot more than others. At times, I found myself disappointed to reach the end of a chapter only to find out I'd be ripped from what was happening in that storyline. Additionally, the plot just held very little interest for me. I'll admit coming out of a pandemic was probably not the right time to read this book, and it's quite possible the past three years impacted my reading experience.

I completely understand why so many readers love Emily St. John Mandel's descriptive and poetic writing style, yet Station Eleven was not a book for me. I don't think it's surprising it landed on this years Canada Reads list, as it definitely stimulates thought and discussion. I am looking forward to seeing how it'll fair on the panel, but in my opinion it doesn't necessarily fit the theme of shifting one's perspective.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Emily St. John Mandel enthusiasts
• readers looking for pandemic fiction

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you've lost."

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krispy_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

The way people grieve and reflect on the old world was my favorite part. You can’t help but be grateful that the 2020 DID NOT end up as bad as what these characters went through.

All of current life’s simplicities and technology, gone faster than you could process what’s happening to the world. What would you miss the most? What would you bring with you?

Yes, the book is post-apocalyptic but not in a The Walking Dead kind of way. There is more character reflection and adaptation with less violent elements.

There is a broad cast. If you can’t keep track of all Symphony members? It’s fine, just go along for the ride.

There are frequent time jumps in multiple directions. I would have appreciated the chapter titles named after the time period & character name as opposed to basic numerical order.

Ending was ok.

Spoiler

I wish there was more interaction between the Prophet and Kirsten (or even Clark). To really play up the 180 transformation of Tyler. To see if meeting someone who knew his Dad would freak him out (Kirsten). I was hoping to see Kirsten meet Jeevan. Their reunion would have been wholesome. I loved Clark’s Museum. Omg when the plane landed and it was just completely still…. forever. Broke my heart. I enjoyed the appreciation of the Arts in a post-apocalyptic world.

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undecidedpersonality's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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