Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

There’s an eeriness to this Emily St. John Mandel novel, an eeriness that creates a disturbing yet compelling atmosphere as we follow the journey of several different characters, through a period of time that I can only describe as the end of the world.

Disaster strikes when actor Arthur Leander dies on stage mid-performance, and shortly after we’re introduced to what ultimately ends everything: the Georgia Flu. It’s a story that’ll take you on an adventure of a life time and young Kirsten and the Travelling Symphony help carry that journey along. The world has collapsed, but Kirsten and her friends survive, what happens when everything they’ve built gets jeopardised, and what will people do to survive? Who escapes and who dies?And more importantly….what would you do?

St. John Mandel has written a fantastic story that’ll answer just that in her cleverly put together narrative and plot. It’s held together strongly with its well formed non-linear structure, keeping her readers on their toes as they enter each new chapter. And it’s certainly a new read for me. One that put me right out of my comfort zone. One that had me battling every page with all my strength.

Yes, it was one of the books I found harder to get along with. So I think it’s fair to say that this wasn’t my favourite novel of all time. I struggled to get through it but only because it was hard to follow, and not all that exhilarating. Though others may beg to differ, I found it a tiny bit boring. I needed more action and less explanation. Perhaps a little more dialogue too. Don’t get me wrong, there were parts that I absolutely enjoyed and would read again, but they were sandwiched between parts that I didn’t care for, which slowed me down and wore me out.

However, in comparison to Stuart Turton’s ‘The Last Murder at the End of the World’ (a book review I wrote a little while ago - go check it out) this was by far the better novel. The story was stronger, the idea felt a little more realistic, and I was genuinely twice as intrigued to know what will happen to both the characters, and the unexpected journey of the plot than I was with Turton’s novel. I’d pick St. John Mandel’s over ‘The Last Murder at the End of the World’ any day. Which is saying something, because yes, her book was a hard read, but she nailed her writing. She has talent, and that talent wasn’t wasted on me. I saw it and I’ll recognise it. I enjoyed her work, I just didn’t enjoy this story as much as I thought I might (Sci-Fi might not be my thing.)

But, if Sci-Fi, adventure, and apocalyptic novels are you jam, this book is guaranteed to be your new ‘Book of the Year’. It won’t disappoint, I promise. Her interpretation of this concept is great, it was cool and as George R. R. Martin said, “wonderfully elegiac”. I can’t argue with that. It was so popular it became a TV series and I’m yet to watch it. And I will as soon as possible because to see this beautifully developed world live, would be astonishing and extremely engaging. And though I strongly believe in the fact that ‘the books are always better than the movies’, I’ve read the book, but I need and must be enlightened by the live action version too. I want St. John Mandel’s story to come alive and make a little more sense in my head. Her book was intricately and clearly written, but I never said it was easy to follow. I actually found it a little confusing, and I think the TV show would help clear up some of my questions. There were too many characters in too many different places - location and time wise - what a mind boggle. So I’d recommend watching that as well as reading it, especially if you’re someone like me who found it to be a little tricky to get into.

Overall though, I’m glad I read it and I think you should too.

By your copy of the book here:

https://amzn.eu/d/aaa1LV1