Station Eleven
Ratings1,090
Average rating4.1
Enjoyed it enough to continue reading it - some exciting moments, not sure i'd recommend it particularly to anyone else though
After winning this years Arthur C. Clarke Award, and constantly seeing it on Goodreads, I knew I wanted to give this one a shot. I appreciate the storytelling and literary side of this book more than the characters and the story. The narrative jumps time, focusing on a world before a pandemic, then again years into the future. The focus of the story is around a traveling symphony making their way around the Great Lakes. I liked the characters and the post apocalyptic world, and especially how the characters were connected, but was distracted by the Station Eleven storyline – a comic book created by one of the characters – which didn't add much to the story for me beyond it's symbolism.
Een griepje loopt wat uit de hand, en voor je er erg in hebt is de wereld min of meer vergaan. Verhalen van vlak voor de apocalyps en die van de periode erna worden door elkaar gewoven, met als verbindende factor een acteur die als King Lear vlak daarvoor op het toneel komt te overlijden.
Goed voorstelbaar hoe snel de mensheid kan vervallen als er in 1 klap een hoop kennis en kunde is verdwenen, met mooie scenes hoe kinderen die na de apocalyps geboren het soort vragen stelt die je nu al een beetje ziet over cassettebandjes en draaischijftelefoons, maar dan fundamenteler (een vliegtuig?!)
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R191N7SAV0JY40?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl
One cold night in Toronto, in the middle of a presentation of King Lear, Arthur Leandro dies on stage. Jeevan Chaudhary, a member of the audience and a paramedic, attempts to save his life. He meets Kirsten Raymonde, an eight-year-old cast-member. What none of them know is that this is the night that the Georgian Flu begins its death march across the human world. In two weeks, most the human race will be dead. Eventually, 99.9% of the human race will be gone and the old civilization will be over.
The story picks up next with Kirsten now in her early twenties, walking with The Traveling Symphony - a collection of musicians and actors who stage plays for the small remnant communities that dot the region of Michigan and Toronto. They visit a community that has mutated in a strange way as it has come under the control of a religious fanatic. She has a pair of comic books featuring “Dr. Eleven” on “Station Eleven,” which has a storyline about a space station/world that has carried the remnant of humanity into a dark and watery reality.
Then, the story skips back to follow Arthur Leandro's life, his development as an actor, his courtship of Miranda, who spends her life drawing the Station Eleven comics, and the disappointments he creates for himself. Then, it is back to the present of the post-apocalypse as Kirsten and her group deal with the threat of the religious fanatics. And, then, back to follow the story of what happens to Jeevan. And then forward to the present and the fate of a friend of Arthur's. And then back to the past, and further information that sheds light on the characters.
Some might not like the way this story is structured, but I liked the story. What I got was the sense of the world that the author was creating. As a reader who was not confined to a single point of view, I got a sense of the effect and experience of both the collapse of civilization and human life thereafter. Further, the returns to the past and the banalities of the life we take for granted - celebrities, movies, dinner parties, airplane flights, and the rest - creates a sense of melancholy for the world that is lost. This sense informs the scenes of the museum of civilization at the Severn City Airport, where passports and inoperable cell phones are put on display for the edification of people who remember life when they worked and for the younger generation who has no idea of what they are.
The story worked for me. I was drawn along with curiosity to see what developed. The prose was lovely. The characters were nicely developed, particularly that of Arthur Leandro, who, in fact, never makes it into the post-apocalyptic world that is the supposedly what this story is about. The mood and tone of the story are generally somber, but it all makes for a nice change of the frantic cliches of the endless crop of zombie apocalypses.
DNF at 33%
You know what? I'm sad. I really liked the whole concept, the execution, the characters, the plot, ... but something happened 1/3 of the way in that completely lost my interest. I gave up when Arthur's backstory became the focus and just couldn't get past it, even though my friend told me to keep going because the next part would be great.
I'm legit bummed by it, the start was so strong and got me hooked instantly. It's a shame that I couldn't finish it, everything was right up my alley until the narrative started droning on about some washed-up movie star. Bleh.
Got through 13 chapters. Didn't grab me and it was boring. I had a feeling it might get better but I wasn't willing to stick with it.
This book...I wish I would have understood it better, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. Maybe that's just about it, isn't it?
I wanted something light to read, so I started this popular dystopian sci-fi novel. It turned out to be more gripping than I expected, definitely a page-turner. There are plenty of reviews on Goodreads that provide a more in-depth analysis than I intend to do.
I recommend reading this one from Charles.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I particularly liked the question Charles posed:
"Finally, where did the 'rough paper' come from to print that first newspaper indicating the return of modern civilisation? Large-scale papermaking is a non-trivial manufacturing process."
Having spent nearly my entire working life in the printing industry, I found myself thinking about this as I read the part where a newspaper appeared to the delight of the end of the world as we know it survivors, and recall Charles' question from his review. My best guess is that flat sheets of paper were salvaged from abandoned print shops. Additionally, it’s probable that old-style type from specialist letterpress printers was repurposed as was, say, an old pre electric letterpress that can sometimes be found. Some commercial printers have retained this traditional technology even in todays lithographic/digital age of print.
For example, letterpress printing, once considered obsolete, has seen a resurgence, particularly for high-end projects like wedding invitations. These are often printed on acid-free cotton paper, which lasts for decades longer than standard newsprint.
As for "rough paper," it generally refers to uncoated paper with a textured surface. Unlike coated paper, which has a smooth finish for sharp ink absorption, rough paper retains a natural feel, making it ideal for artistic prints, speciality packaging, and letterpress work. It’s somewhat similar to the standard paper used in personal printers but with more pronounced texture.
Anyway, a good dystopian read and recommended to those that like that kind of read.
I love this book so much. The writing style is beautiful to me and the plot around the pandemic is just so interesting to me. I am so curious to know what happened to Kirsten in Year One but I don't think there's going to be another book sadly. If anyone has any recommendations for similar books I would love to hear it.
STATION ELEVEN is the first book I've read to ask the brave question, what if post-apocalyptic fiction were boring?
I feel like I missed the moment when Station Eleven would have felt realistic to me. I found most characters very samey in thought and speech patterns. For example, dialogue from a 15-year old boy who was born after the end of civilization makes the kid sound like a 35-year old philosophy graduate student. None of the characters came across as distressed as I feel now, February 2025, and I'm not even living in a post-apocalyptic society (yet).
Lately I've been struggling to figure out if the kinds of books I've usually been drawn to have gotten worse or if my taste or standards have changed significantly. Something about living through all of this makes me tired of books about the end of the world, whether realistic or allegorical. Now just want to read weird freak experimental shit. I understand Dadaism way more now.
it???s pretty eerie reading this novel post-pandemic. characters were well developed & easy to engage with. plot was interesting and unravelled nicely despite the time jumps. the ending made me a bit emotional.
listened to a good chunk on audiobook which I definitely recommend.
A rare form of parallel and intersecting stories <spoiler> where the stories don't merge into one story </spoiler>. And a bit disconcerting as the stories move back and forth through time to before, during, and after the two main events. But once you relax into it, it's really quite an enjoyable story, excluding the two main events of course; with interesting takes on how people react to their trauma.
I'd be curious to see how the world and people continue.
Words cannot describe how frustrating this book was. Felt like the first draft was published... Little to no character development, overarching narrative, or stakes. Such a disappointing book.
Was mildly entertaining and I appreciated the originality of the characters/setting. Interesting vignettes - a post-apocalypse traveling symphony, a beautifully awkward artist who spends her waking hours drawing comics, etc. For me, it felt like a lot of words to tell a story without a purpose. I saw potential threads peeking through as I progressed - the paperweight, the comics, the dogs name (Luli)… and was anticipating a grand unfolding of how all the characters’ lives and fates had once been and was intertwined, some weighty connection between the characters that would tie together all the vignettes. There was no such grand reveal. To me, each and every character and plot point fell flat - even though many of the characters were so intricately thought out on an individual basis - I was so disappointed. The only thread between the portraits of the characters was an extremely weak and one dimensional link to a single (truthfully not very interesting) man. The comic just happened to make its way to Kirsten, for no apparent reason. The paperweight handed to her, with no greater meaning. The prophet just killed for reasons unknown but that the boy was crying. This book was said to be emotionally riveting, thought provoking - none of that reached me. I think my disappointment is greater because of the expectations.
Pretty good, ending felt rushed and I thought more stuff would connect but it all still feels disconnected
Kind of a piece of candy, but fun to read. Found a lot of bits beautifully written and I was pretty intrigued by all the main characters. Lot of pandemic and post-apocalypse fatigue tho
DNF at 45%. The idea is there, but the story was extremely boring lmao. I want to like one of her books but I just don't get the hype!!! Love the Canadian context and setting though!