Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mendel
Published by: Knopf on September 9th, 2014
Genre: Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Adult, Dystopia
Pages: 336
Format: eBook
Source: Borrowed from the library

Goodreads | Amazon | BookDepository | Indigo

Summary (from Goodreads): 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.”

Review: I’ve always wanted to read this one but I never got around to it until now. I went into it knowing that some of it took place in Toronto which is near where I am from so I thought it was neat (and Canadian fiction yay!). Then there is a pandemic and I was so excited! I love any books/movie/television show that has to do with a epidemic/pandemic. Sadly, I didn’t get to hear much about it as most of the book took place in the after and the aftermath of it all. (If you have any recommendations I would love to hear them!).

Of all of them there at the bar that night, the bartender was the one who survived the longest. He died three weeks later on the road out of the city.

The writing is beautiful and it is very easy to follow the narrative despite the different points of view. It became a little predictable at times but that was fine. I loved how all the different perspectives were intertwined somehow. I am always amazed at how that happens and can’t imagine the amount of planning that goes into that!

I didn’t really feel for any of the characters. I couldn’t really tell you much about them except for their professions. I like to be able to visualize the characters in my head and I couldn’t with these.

I had originally given this 3 stars but as I am writing this review a month or so later I realized how much I remembered and enjoyed about the book. I think what pulled me back a bit was I don’t really like hearing about theatre or acting in books. I have no idea why. I was even a dancer and would go to different cities and compete so you think I would “get it” but it’s just unappealing to me. Regardless, I will definitely want to pick up another one of her books.

Rating:

FOLLOW ME

• Goodreads
• Instagram (@shelvesofspines)
• Twitter (@shelvesofspines)
• Bloglovin’