Station Eleven

by

333 pages

English language

Published Feb. 21, 2014 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

ISBN:
978-0-385-35330-4
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Goodreads:
20170404

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5 stars (6 reviews)

Station Eleven is a novel by the Canadian writer Emily St. John Mandel. It takes place in the Great Lakes region before and after a fictional swine flu pandemic, known as the "Georgia Flu", has devastated the world, killing most of the population. The book was published in 2014, and won the Arthur C. Clarke Award the following year.The novel was well received by critics, with the understated nature of Mandel's writing receiving particular praise. It appeared on several best-of-year lists. As of 2020, it had sold 1.5 million copies.A ten-part television adaptation of the same name premiered on HBO Max in December 2021. The book was selected for the 2023 edition of Canada Reads, where it will be championed by Michael Greyeyes.

9 editions

reviewed Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Read almost in one go

4 stars

If not for food-, sleep- and toilet breaks I almost read this in one go. Harrowing and layered story that gives a surprising entanglement of characters.

Even days after finishing I still had ah-ha moments when I suddenly understood how and why some things happened and who was connected to whom.

Wish there was a sequel where you learn more about the characters. Some parts are eerily recognizable now we had a real pandemic.

Mind you; the book is not sci-fi! It is our world after a pandemic; no fancy, crazy tech is used or invented in the book.

reviewed Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

A superb novel

5 stars

I have read many post-apocalypse novels, and this is one of the best. Where it differs from the others is that it includes a lot of contemplative ideas about memory and loss, about what we value in our lives. There are parallel narratives from before and after the apocalypse. The "disaster porn" element of it, where you imagine what it would be like to be one of the survivors, is superbly done. But the accounts of the everyday life of the characters beforehand are also compelling . Emily is just a great writer, she has that way with words that creates an internal voice you just can't stop listening to.

Like Margaret Attwood and Kazuo Ishiguro, this author is one of those writers who denies they are SF authors. I am an unashamed genre tribalist - conventions, cosplay, the lot. But it doesn't matter in the end. This is just …

reviewed Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Gripping Read

5 stars

This was recommended to me and I went in knowing very little about it.

I found it to be a really gripping novel; hard to put down. I was really excited to see how the characters lives intersected and how they handled the trauma of the devastating pandemic.

The book tells the story of the characters at various stages of their lives ranging from many years before the pandemic, to around 20 years after. This gives a really interesting perspective on the characters, and keeps the pace of the book fast and interesting.

Highly recommended!

reviewed Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Review of 'Station Eleven' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Enjoyable thought experiment on what the world might be like after a colossal epidemic. Unfortunately, my reading was a bit disjointed, due to no fault of the author, because my copy had 20 pages ripped out of it at the very end. I had to wait for a library copy to continue. So my review is not coherent and a result... But I can say it is beautifully written and if you need a captivating sci-fi read, you'll enjoy this book.

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rated it

5 stars
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rated it

5 stars