It all begins an evening in Toronto. A man goes to see King Lear with his girlfriend. A famous actor plays Lear but during the madness scene he collapses on stage. The man, who has medical training rushes to the stage to help but the famous actor dies. He goes out of the theatre. It's night, everyone is gone, his girlfriend didn't wait for him. He starts walking back home when he receives a call on his mobile from one of his friend who works in a hospital. He tells him to stock on food and to lock himself in his flat: a pandemic is spreading.
Station Eleven isn't your usual apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic novel: the focus isn't the pandemic itself. The story isn't a linear one and alternates, without any obvious logic at first, between moments before the pandemic, during the pandemic or after it. The reader realises quite quickly that the focus actually is the characters and the consequences of the pandemic on them. There's no epic tale of survival, but tales of self-discovery and how to find your place in this world.
I have really loved the style: it's beautiful written, sometimes very striking, and Emily St John Mandel varies her narrative choices. Some readers may dislike the absence of linearity: clearly, it's not Flood by Baxter, and it can be frustrating to lose the storyline of one character without knowing if St John Mandel will go back to him or her. But this absence of linearity is actually what makes the beauty of the story: the characters' fate and their choices are examined under an unexpected angle. In a linear story, you wouldn't have felt a single shred of pity for some of them, but with this storytelling choice, they suddenly appear in a completely different light.
The story doesn't really bring anything new to the apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic genre, but it is gripping and sometimes very touching.
It is a remarkably beautiful and emotional novel that left me speechless for a few minutes after having finished it.
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Kundrecensioner
Populäraste recensionerna från andra länder
The Middle Shelf
Not your usual post-apocalyptic novel
Granskad i Storbritannien den 21 april 2017Verifierat köp
Janie U
Enjoyed it much more than expected - gave me lots to think about
Granskad i Storbritannien den 15 juli 2017Verifierat köp
Kelly Lacey
Packed with life lessons and it will leave you searching your own soul.
Granskad i Storbritannien den 9 januari 2021Verifierat köp
Packed with life lessons and it will leave you searching your own soul.
Granskad i Storbritannien den 9 januari 2021
Station Eleven by Emily St John MandelGranskad i Storbritannien den 9 januari 2021
When I bought this book the only thing I knew was that it was about a pandemic. As we are living a real-life pandemic at the time of this book review. I really wanted something to read that was relatable. I wanted to be able to connect to characters and see what they experienced. What I didn’t expect was the carefully constructed path that would make me sit up and consider my own life and what is import to me.
The story is indeed about a pandemic that hits the world but we also get to see and learn about different characters. That old adage that we are all connected in some way, plays throughout the book. It was interesting connecting the dots and seeing the bonds. How one person’s artistic talents last long after the world collapses.
It was hard to imagine what it would have been like for the world to end as we know it and have to begin again. Then the past becomes like a fairy tale to those that weren’t there. Those were the parts I really enjoyed reading. Trying to explain aeroplanes and people addicted to small tiny screens called mobile phones to a new post-pandemic generation. It would all sound so far fetched. I loved the chapter of the house raiding, it reminded me of a scene from the tv show The Walking Dead. No zombie walkers in this book although there are some pretty awful human beings that you could call monsters.
The writing is beautiful and the book is easy to follow allow there seems to be so much to take in and learn. Emily St. John Mandel makes it effortless for the reader.
The book played like a movie in my mind and I had actors picked out for some of the characters. Albert Finney would my Arthur and Stanley Tucci would be my Clark. I struggled to think of who I wanted to be Kirsten she just didn’t have a famous face in my head. Maybe she was just so unique I couldn’t pick one. For Jeevan, I chose Dev Patel he would be absolutely perfect. Ben Foster was my Prophet and last but not least my Miranda was Tea Leoni. That was my full cast for the imaginary movie in my head.
The vulnerability is what is brought to the surface when you read this book. Take away all the luxuries we have in life and we are extremely vulnerable. No electric, no phones, no hot water or supermarkets for food. You can’t help reflect on your own life and suddenly you see how life rich we are and how we take it all for granted.
Right now with the pandemic across our own world, it is disgusting to see how some people are behaving the entitlement oozing from them and me, myself and I attitude that sadly so many people have. So many people have died from our own pandemic and it has made me realise how much I want to change my own life and be more here in the now, in this actual minute. Not waiting for special occasions or holidays etc to be happy. To say how I feel and express my emotions to the people that matter and life with no regrets
So back to Station Eleven and the feelings it brings to the surface. I needed this book in my life, it brought me back to my reading zone and it made me reset and realise I can only control certain things like how I act and how I feel.
Five huge stars for Staton Eleven this book wasn’t just an adventure it was packed with life lessons and it will leave you searching your own soul.
Bilder i den här recensionen
Richard S.
An enjoyable easy-paced book which gets you thinking 'what if...'
Granskad i Storbritannien den 29 april 2019Verifierat köp
Brandon Bloc
War of Attrition
Granskad i Storbritannien den 8 juni 2021Verifierat köp