Emily St. John Mandel | Fiction, 2014
333 pages
This is a dystopian novel like no other. It will fill you with hope, gratitude for the world around us, and an appreciation for the relationships in your life.
Station Eleven moves back and forth between the current days, 20 years after civilization ends, and the weeks and months just before 99.9% of the world’s population dies of the Georgian Flu. Once infected with the Georgian Flu, people become sick within hours and die in one to two days. The flu arrives in Toronto the same night the famous actor, Arthur Leander, succumbs to a heart attack while performing King Lear at the Elgin theater.
And the stage is set for us to follow the characters who miraculously survive.
Survivors settle in small peaceful bands in abandoned towns near Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, in what was once Michigan. The Traveling Symphony is such a band, but it moves from town to town, playing classical music and performing Shakespeare.
This page-turner of a novel is haunting and melancholy, while simultaneously being captivating, tender, encouraging, and evocative. Emily St. John Mandel is a superb and elegant writer.
I absolutely recommend! Thank you, Carolyn for loaning me this memorable book.
Read this for book club and it was our state-wide Big Read 2-3 years ago. The author was scheduled to tour the state giving book talks, etc. but a new baby changed those plans. So she came to our library via Skype (oh, that seemed so novel then!).
I was reluctant to read this because most dystopian novels are usually so dark and depressing. As you say, this one was hopeful and encouraging. I enjoyed it.
I am so glad you liked it!
I enjoyed this, too! When asked, ” Why do you read about apocolypses?” I answer — this one is about hope.
Yes, this one really is about hope, isn’t it? Love your response!