Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Station Eleven

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….

Spoiler
“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

tremayna's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Infidelity

Moderate: Violence, Domestic abuse, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Religious bigotry, Death, and Gun violence

Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, Confinement, Rape, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Medical content, and Pedophilia

Written before the 2020 pandemic, this book about a fictional global viral event was disorienting to read in the year 2023, so closely following the eerily parallel events that came to pass in real life. Much of the real life pandemic is still in progress; its effects continue to leave their mark; the process of compartmentalizing memories of things surreal and too big to process without a biweekly therapy plan is still happening. Picking up this book jolted me back into the thick of pandemic thinking, creating a literal sense of disorientation where I was looking around me wondering how people could be sitting so close, maskless, touching everything without thought, when I hadn't seen the world that way in at least a year and a half. For that reason alone, I have to commend the writing. And at the same time, the author's delicate touch and the many moments of human normalcy, in both pre-event and post-event scenes, prevented the complete despair that could have pervaded this story. I felt St John Mandel balanced total devastation with enough possibility to keep the reader believing in the likelihood of meaningful survival without overdoing it and allowing the story to devolve into purely a feel good fantasy.

Spoiler

My one remaining frustration by the end was how little of Jeevan's growth we got to see. It was thankfully alluded to in enough detail to let the reader form a picture. But as the first point of view character, he was the one that had my investment from the start, and I slightly resented Arthur's story for edging it out, especially since Jeevan's story could also have neatly covered Tyler and Elizabeth's character development.

the_tridentarii's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

spineofthesaurus's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

bdingz's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

From what I’d previously heard about this book, I was expecting more horror or thriller elements. Once I realized that wasn’t accurate, I had to set those expectations aside and enjoy the story for what it was. I liked how the stories all intertwined, although I liked reading about some characters more than others. I would’ve liked a bit more focus on Kristen and the Symphony.

Annoying trope of

Spoiler

disabled people killing themselves because they’re a burden—not once, but twice.

Still, I loved the writing style. I hope to read more from Emily St. John Mandel.

Content Warnings