Review: Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have this habit of not reading blurbs properly, or reading them, buying the book and then promptly forgetting the blurb, so I totally went into this not realising it revolves around a pandemic that wipes out over half the world's population.

Tell ya what though: if you want an immersive reading experience, I highly recommend reading this during a global pandemic. *nervous laughter*

The main reason I picked this one up is because I read The Glass Hotel and loved it so now I want to read everything by this author, and I knew this one was quite popular.

Happily, I loved this one for all the same reasons I loved The Glass Hotel and more. It's one of those stories where it's less about the action and more about where it takes your thoughts. Normally I prefer action but Mandel's writing has a way of drawing me in, getting me invested in the characters while at the same time making me question how I'd react if it was me in these situations (Spoiler alert: I am highly unlikely to survive a pandemic of the magnitude described in this book).

This isn't a story about the apocalypse, or even really about the characters. It's a story of human nature, and learning to appreciate the diversity of life and all it encompasses. It gets you thinking about the things you consider important, and the insignificant things you overlook every day. There is a gentle appreciation for life here, and it's soft and poetic and warm.

They'd all seen the post-apocalyptic movies with the dangerous stragglers fighting it out for the last few scraps. Although actually when she thought about it, Annette said, the post-apocalyptic movies she'd seen had all involved zombies. "I'm just saying," she said, "it could be much worse."

This quote spoke to me, and is so much of why I loved this story. I HATE the 'stragglers fighting over scraps' and I HATE the zombies and the fact that this book had neither was such a blessing. It's not about the hardships. It's about finding unity, and life beyond basic survival.

This is one of those books that's so fancy it has 'Discussion Questions' in the back. That's how you know there's a lot of subtext to absorb. Normally I spurn these sections but I just really enjoyed the places this story took my mind so I genuinely did mull a few of these over. In particular, I loved dwelling on the concept of 'survival is insufficient' and how it relates to this story, to other stories, and to life in general. I love it. I love the way it's used.

There's also the beautiful weaving of the storylines, with fragments drawing everyone together slowly and gracefully. The characters are connected in unique ways that never feel contrived, and it adds such a great layer to the story. Particularly as we also weave through time; learning about the lives of these characters both before and after the pandemic.

I still have a lot of questions, but that's part of the beauty of the story. It leaves you thinking about it long after you've finished, but not in an unsatisfied way. It's just ... enjoyable. It makes me feel rather contemplative, and whimsical.

It was a genuine pleasure to read, and I'd highly recommend it to all book lovers.

However, if you do find yourself a little anxious over the current pandemic running rampant worldwide, maybe save this one for a few months.

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