Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: A Review

“Survival is insufficient.” 

Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven

If categories like dystopian or science fiction scare you, please don’t let that turn you away from reading Station Eleven. The novel moves back and forth in time as civilization as we know it dissolves after the outbreak of a deadly flu pandemic. It centers around the experiences of a loosely related group of people, contrasting their lives before and after the outbreak. The world before the outbreak is one we recognize: fame and media and technologies that cushion us from the harshness of the nature (and sometimes each other). The world after is both new and old – electricity, modern communication – all of it has ceased to exist. New cults form, old forms of entertainment, such as the theater troupe known as the Travelling Symphony, perform Shakespeare in the new settlements. St. John Madel never takes us right into the horrors of the collapse, skirting it instead through the days proceeding the pandemic and the eerie years after, as the survivors try to rebuild.

The writing in this novel is beautiful. Despite the difficulties that the new world presents, the characters are largely driven by hope. The characters are connected by one man, the actor Arthur Leander who died onstage on the eve of the outbreak. The author weaves his story into the lives of those who were linked to him, knowingly or not, in the years after. The novel explores the nature of art, fame and ambition while never losing sight of good story-telling. As humanity struggles to pick up the pieces in the wake of what has been lost, the writing takes time to linger on what it means to be human, to be decent and thoughtful when everything familiar is gone.

I really enjoyed Station Eleven and I think that for readers who don’t see themselves as fans of dystopian or speculative fiction, St John Mandel’s writing challenges what the stereotypes of those categories can mean.

I’ve only got a few weeks left to meet the 52 book challenge and while I’ve been reading a lot, the posts are obviously behind so you can expect to see them coming fast and furious in the next couple weeks. Anything you think I should squeeze in before the end? Let me know! Until next time, happy reading!