From one dystopia to another. Look I’ll be honest, I am cheating a little here – Station Eleven was only a finalist for the National Book Awards. I struggled to find anything that looked interesting to me on the list of winners. They are all pretty heavy literary type tomes and for once I decided not to push myself and instead read something with an amazing concept that I knew would be entertaining.
I’ve got a special place in my heart for superflu epidemic dystopia. The idea that a flu could kill you is not a new one, but it is one that I’ve always found deliciously thrilling mainly it forces writers to focus on the aftermath rather than the actual plague itself. The Stand by Stephen King is my all time favourite book because of its amazing epic approach to the dystopian novel. Station Eleven takes a smaller view to a similar tragedy but its central theme of ‘survival is insufficient’ is just as interesting.
Summary (From Jacket)
One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve.
Moving back and forth in time—from the actor’s early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as The Travelling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.
The Good
The Not So Good
(5 / 5)
15 comments
I really enjoyed Station Eleven too – my review here. I did get a bit weary of Arthur’s pre-pandemic storyline, but loved Mandel’s imagining of the After world.
I actually enjoyed Arthur. I thought it made a nice counterpoint. I love your review! Thanks for sharing 😀
I don’t read much dystopian but really enjoyed this one! Great review 🙂
#TalkoftheTown
Great review! I loved this book and agree that is so beautifully written! I went back and read her earlier books after this one and they are also good, especially Last Night in Montreal — highly recommended!!
oooh I will definitely go look for that one – thanks!
It’s amazing when a story does that to you isn’t it Tory!
I haven’t read this Station Eleven but haven’t heard anything negative from reviewers.
Fab review.
#TalkoftheTown
It’s so rare to find a story that does it nowadays, but you’re right – it’s the best feeling!
This book has been on my TBR for several months. Several friends have read it and all have had differing views that fall everywhere on the spectrum. I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Have a good one!
I think it would be a bit polarising. If you went into it looking at the ‘apocalypse’ part you might expect something very different to what it is.
Wow! That’s a hell of a good rating.
I admit it … I had to look up dystopia …
Thanks for joining the Lovin’ Life Linky!
I’ve actually re-read it twice since I wrote this review. It’s just such a pretty book.
5 outa 5! Wow. Must check this one out. X
oh please do! Come back and tell me what you think 😀
Sounds like an great read. I think I would like this genre.
It really was fantastic. It’s one of those novels that crosses genres. Sci-fi without being really techy techy and alienating.