Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

from goodreads

4 stars

Every year at the end of April I wait with bated breath to find out what will be the One Book One Community read for Waterloo Region. Sometimes the books are excellent. Sometimes they make me wonder what the selection committee was thinking. All in all I know it will be a book that I will read and that will give me something to think about.

I wonder what it is about reading a book that lots of other people are reading. There is a kind of excitement about it. Will they like it the same way you do? Even if you never discuss it with the community at large it still feels unifying knowing that you are participating in something that is larger than just you.

Well this year Station Eleven was the pick, which was great since it was already on my book club list. (That's right my book club is cutting edge ;)

Synopsis

This is a hard book to sum up in my own words so I am taking the first paragraph from the synopsis on goodreads.

"An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be saviour, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity."

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this. It turned out not to be anything like I thought it was going to be. All I knew was that it was sort of a kind of post-apocalyptical tale and so I guess I was expecting more violence and I guess it being sort of zombiesque without the zombies. 

What I got instead was a really interesting tale with interwoven story lines and timelines all with a central character who is really only part of the main tale for the first few pages. 

It was interesting to see how different groups dealt with the decline in population and society. Some people built their own communities and were quite happy with their life. Others took on a more vigil-anti approach and caused terror and fear. The same circumstances but vastly different results. 

I loved the story line of the comic book. I almost hope the author finishes its story and does a graphic novel because it has piqued my interest and I would love to find out what happened.

There was only one thing that bugged me about the book and this is what made me not give it 5 stars. So the population is decimated and there are not enough people to keep different services going like the electrical systems etc. But, you would think that with books still around they would have been able to figure out how to get these things working a little faster. It's like 15 years or so later and they still don't have electricity and they have to scavenge for any goods they get? Wouldn't there be some sort of industry. It just seemed a bit slow for me and just bugged me that no one who was still living had the curiosity and the tenacity to get the lights on again. I know it is a silly thing to get hung up on but it bugged me all the way through. Perhaps she is talking to our dependence on technology and google and that when it goes we may not know what to do. But still, it was irksome.

So if you like multiple story lines and differing timelines this is definitely the book for you. If it's not your cup of tea, you may want to pass but then again, it may be worth the effort.