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Station Eleven (2014)

by Emily St. John Mandel(Favorite Author)

4.05 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0385353308 (ISBN13: 9780385353304)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Knopf

review 1: Wonderful literary post-apocalyptic story--haunting, heartbreaking, yet hopeful. I'm not a great fan of nonlinear plots, but this worked for me--although sometimes it took me a few lines to be oriented to time and place. Involving, well-drawn characters; complex plot that's character driven and layered; page-turning pace; rich in symbolism. Great frame too with the pandemic and then the troupe of traveling players, carrying civilization along. Like McCarthy's The Road but more upbeat; tonally it reminded me of Peter Heller's Dog Stars which I also loved. It occurs to me that it might also please readers who liked Karen Maitland's Company of Liars about another troupe of players--this time in 1348 during the plague--in England, although I don't remember them being as interc... moreonnected as these or the writing as fine. Just another story of preserving culture in hard times. Kirsten Potter does a great job with the narration, capturing the urgency of the situation, the emotions and thoughts of the character, and the tone of the story. She immerses listeners in the stories and characters and then disappears, allowing us to be drawn into the tale.
review 2: An absolutely marvelous book, in the full meaning of the word. There are many post-apocalyptic novels, most seeming like science fiction fantasies, but this one is plausible, it persuades us that this is really how it could be. There are no cliches of the genre. The story is told through the experiences of a group of people connected in different ways to the Shakespearean actor who dies onstage in the first scene. Music and theater are what sustain the survivors in the years ahead, and a rare comic book kept as a talisman of the lost civilization inspires both good and evil. I was completely immersed in the world of this book and wished it would never end. less

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