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A review by blueup
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.75
<3
It's a look at an ensemble of characters who have in one way or another, for the main ones, have a link to this one actor in the book, and how their lives intersect and connect thanks to this person they have in common.
It makes you think of the butterfly effect, really, the unknown effects we have on people we meet for a short or long time. And this, set in a pre+during a society collapse.
Something I didn't expect is that half the book is flashbacks, context for all the connections to make sense to us. It's not written in chronological order, you get pieces of context as you go, even up to the end. So it's quite cool to figure out where the links are as the story progresses and you go back and forth in time.
It's a soft and realistic look at what a collapse could be like. It's about community, people being there for each other, and also not. Loss in big and small ways. It's very very rich in detail in these characters' lives so you feel for each of them.
I went in for the pandemic content, was confused as to why we were spending so much time on one guy at the beginning, then started to understand as the book made its direction clearer. I wasn't disappointed, in the end.
It's the kind of book that's a little heartbreaking, but in a soft way. In a "we've lived through painful times, but we're still here, and there still exists beauty in the world somehow. People to hold on to, memories to share and cherish, and the future to meet, and make."
It's truly a beautiful story about humans in relationship to each other. A little gem.
It's a look at an ensemble of characters who have in one way or another, for the main ones, have a link to this one actor in the book, and how their lives intersect and connect thanks to this person they have in common.
It makes you think of the butterfly effect, really, the unknown effects we have on people we meet for a short or long time. And this, set in a pre+during a society collapse.
Something I didn't expect is that half the book is flashbacks, context for all the connections to make sense to us. It's not written in chronological order, you get pieces of context as you go, even up to the end. So it's quite cool to figure out where the links are as the story progresses and you go back and forth in time.
It's a soft and realistic look at what a collapse could be like. It's about community, people being there for each other, and also not. Loss in big and small ways. It's very very rich in detail in these characters' lives so you feel for each of them.
I went in for the pandemic content, was confused as to why we were spending so much time on one guy at the beginning, then started to understand as the book made its direction clearer. I wasn't disappointed, in the end.
It's the kind of book that's a little heartbreaking, but in a soft way. In a "we've lived through painful times, but we're still here, and there still exists beauty in the world somehow. People to hold on to, memories to share and cherish, and the future to meet, and make."
It's truly a beautiful story about humans in relationship to each other. A little gem.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Grief
Minor: Rape
There's a cult/cult leader and enacted by them.