justin

“If hell is other people, what is a world with almost no people in it?”

I enjoyed this book for its gradual pacing and fascinating setting. Emily St. John Mandel uses beautiful, evocative imagery and the story jumps back and forth through time to make connections between characters and explore repeating ideas about loss, memory, and happenstance.

Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic story that doesn't dwell excessively on the how and why of the apocalypse. The attention is focused mainly on a network of highly coincidental character relationships surrounding the actor Arthur Leander and the fictional graphic novel Station Eleven. Each character finds their own way to cope with loss - of loved ones and of their old world.

???Hell is the absence of the people you long for.???

While I found a lot to enjoy in Dune, I don't disagree with the main points presented by many of the people writing negative reviews. The early chapters are slow and tedious, but they lay the foundation for a lot of interesting things to come. Although the book has a dated writing style that comes across as long-winded and stuffy, I gradually got used to it after a few chapters. To me, Dune excels most in its world-building. While reading, I constantly found myself wanting to know more about this society, where computers are outlawed, yet FTL space travel is still possible. Overall, Dune is an excellent read, featuring a fascinating setting that extends far beyond the bounds of the story contained in the book. If these elements pique your interest and you don't mind the writing style, you'll probably enjoy Dune, as I did.