Thomas's Reviews > Station Eleven

Get this one for Christmas, guys. Station Eleven pulls together three compelling characters - Arthur Leander, a famous actor reminiscent of Cole from Maggie Stiefvater's Linger, Jeevan, a paparazzo-turned EMT, and Kirsten, an actress in a group of nomads - and places them in a quiet, dark, post-apocalyptic world. Civilization has collapsed due to the Georgia flu, and Emily St. John Mandel moves back and forth in time to describe the world before, during, and after the illness's onset. We see Arthur grappling with his first, second, and third marriage; we view Jeevan sitting in a hotel room with his brother, watching the newscasters fade away; we witness Kirsten perform with the Traveling Symphony as they try to escape the clutches of a crazed prophet. Mandel connects these disparate story lines and shows us the world we live in in a way that encompasses all we have to lose and all we have yet to gain.

What a glittering end to the world. In Station Eleven, Mandel reels us into her story with her developed characterizations and strong, specific details. She uses its science-fiction, post-apocalyptic nature as the framework of the novel instead of the focal point; she focuses on fleshing out all of the voices in the story. Each of the characters moved through space and time with nuanced motivations, and Mandel wields flashbacks with enough grace to tie all of their tales together in a riveting, seamless way. The diversity of the perspectives enhanced the freshness of the plot, as the book draws its power from its authentic paradigms just as much as its fascinating setting. This small passage showcases a tidbit of Mandel's writing style:

They slept under a tree near the overpass, side by side on top of August's plastic sheet. Kirsten slept fitfully, aware each time she woke of the emptiness of the landscape, the lack of people and animals and caravans around her. Hell is the absence of the people you long for.

Mandel's writing style reminded me of the "Safari," a short story by Jennifer Egan, the author of the novel A Visit from the Goon Squad. The novel jumps in time throughout its entirety, but Mandel grounds each section in rich, physical detail. Jessie Burton captures the novel's effect in her praise "Station Eleven left me wistful for a world where I still live." Even as the story escalated in suspense, several sections left me in awe as I took in the beauty of a world we do not live in, as well as the world we do live in now.

Overall, a book that draws eyes due to its presence and packs a punch with its voice. Mandel navigates all of the complex elements in this novel - its setting, its multifaceted characters, its overarching themes - and steers Station Eleven into lucid, luminous waters.