Friday, November 20, 2015

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

I very much enjoyed Station Eleven and had no trouble following the many character threads across the years as the timeline moved back and forth.

The situation  - a pandemic that kills 99% of the world’s population in a few days - feels so very possible, and that certainly increased my interest in the plot. What might happen after such a pandemic also felt plausible. And I am wholeheartedly in support of the Traveling Symphony, a group of actors and musicians trying to keep the arts alive “Because survival is insufficient.” (I’m also happy to see a Star Trek Voyager reference in a book, as Voyager is my favorite Star Trek spin-off.)

Most of the main characters were well drawn. One thread (Jeevan’s) felt somewhat pointless, but I suppose was necessary to convey what it was like immediately after the catastrophe.

I did feel the ending fell a little flat. I expected a few more connections and explanations than were made.  Still, I definitely recommend Station Eleven to readers of dystopia and science fiction.

The Galesburg Public Library has Station Eleven in regular print and large print, as an audiobook, and as an ebook.

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