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An exceptionally well rendered portrait of Elvis on a magnificent black velvet background.
Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel’s 2014 novel is the "Velvet Elvis" of post-apocalyptic books, a surprisingly different form than usual with a style all its own.
“Post-apocalyptic literary science fiction” was one way I have heard it described, and also “pastoral science fiction” and I here adopt both descriptions. Mandel has certainly softened the Mad Max edges off her story and provided a ponderous, m ...more
Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel’s 2014 novel is the "Velvet Elvis" of post-apocalyptic books, a surprisingly different form than usual with a style all its own.
“Post-apocalyptic literary science fiction” was one way I have heard it described, and also “pastoral science fiction” and I here adopt both descriptions. Mandel has certainly softened the Mad Max edges off her story and provided a ponderous, m ...more
“What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you’ve lost.”
There’s a fragile, evocative beauty in what is lost to you forever; things that once seemed so omnipresent and permanent and yet slipped away, ”gradually, and then suddenly.” The fragile beauty of the world and people and the smallest things, and the bittersweet memories of what once was. The watershed between “before” and “after”, the time when everything can never go back to how it used to be.
There’s a fragile, evocative beauty in what is lost to you forever; things that once seemed so omnipresent and permanent and yet slipped away, ”gradually, and then suddenly.” The fragile beauty of the world and people and the smallest things, and the bittersweet memories of what once was. The watershed between “before” and “after”, the time when everything can never go back to how it used to be.
“I stood looking over my damaged...more
This tale is mild. It's the first thing that comes to my mind.
Almost all of the potential and possibly striking conflicts are glossed over or avoided entirely, given up in favor of character study and an exploration of memory; its faults and its joys. This is also what sets the novel apart from so many other dystopian SF, but unfortunately for me, I still would have enjoyed a bit of the grit.
Fortunately for us, the readers, the novel is first and foremost character driven. Plot is not even remot ...more
Almost all of the potential and possibly striking conflicts are glossed over or avoided entirely, given up in favor of character study and an exploration of memory; its faults and its joys. This is also what sets the novel apart from so many other dystopian SF, but unfortunately for me, I still would have enjoyed a bit of the grit.
Fortunately for us, the readers, the novel is first and foremost character driven. Plot is not even remot ...more
This is my kind of book. I love the multiple interweaving stories and POVs. I hadn’t remembered (or never knew?), that this was a post-apocalyptic pandemic story. Well, parts of it. At any rate, I really enjoyed how seemingly inconsequential things perpetuated themselves to create the story of how the world pretty much ended and yet continued on. I think it’s a really beautiful (and also terrifying!) rumination on how humanity might continue after such a calamity. And I am also so happy that our
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Reread 11/2015 for book club. Still 5 stars!
Wow this book! I'm a pretty big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction but most of them have at least one element that just doesn't work for me. Not the case with this one. This book is horrifying and beautiful. Horrifying because it could so easily be reality and beautiful because of what it says about humanity. It is both hopeful and depressing, it's beautifully written and will most likely end up in my top five favorites for the year. ...more
Wow this book! I'm a pretty big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction but most of them have at least one element that just doesn't work for me. Not the case with this one. This book is horrifying and beautiful. Horrifying because it could so easily be reality and beautiful because of what it says about humanity. It is both hopeful and depressing, it's beautifully written and will most likely end up in my top five favorites for the year. ...more
This is a wonderful book. It is a beautifully written depiction of a world before and after a deadly flu virus wipes out 99% of the population. Although there are bleak scenes (as you would expect) I have come away from this feeling uplifted and appreciative and really quite emotionally moved.
I stood looking over my damaged home and tried to forget the sweetness of life on Planet Earth.
Because survival is insufficient
That, my friends, pretty much sums up this book.
No shambling zombies, no former military spec-ops characters with ultra-survival skills. In fact the book never really goes into the basic survival efforts most PA authors use as a staple of storytelling. Now I must admit that I don't read a ton of PA so this type of book may be out there but if it is I haven't read it yet, as a result this was a bit of pleasant surprise for me.
A virulent strain of flu out of the Rep ...more
That, my friends, pretty much sums up this book.
No shambling zombies, no former military spec-ops characters with ultra-survival skills. In fact the book never really goes into the basic survival efforts most PA authors use as a staple of storytelling. Now I must admit that I don't read a ton of PA so this type of book may be out there but if it is I haven't read it yet, as a result this was a bit of pleasant surprise for me.
A virulent strain of flu out of the Rep ...more
Feb 13, 2015
Veronique
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
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read2015
Wow - my head is reeling! The first time this book appeared in my radar, I hadn't wanted to read it, too many post-apocalyptic stories roaming around already. This one however had an original and interesting angle, focusing on the importance of arts and artefacts in a destroyed world. I loved the line 'Survival is insufficient" (absolutely brilliant that this is taken from Star Trek Voyager) and how this Travelling Symphony would bring music and Shakespeare to survivors. Ultimately, I am in awe
...more
I liked, but didn't love this book and I'm really waffling between 3 and 4 stars (so I may change that later). I thought it was well written and it really set a nostalgic mood. There is a lot of skipping between time and characters, and I thought that was well done (although I don't personally like all the skipping around). In particular (view spoiler) I didn't grow super attached to any of the
...more
Station Eleven for me was a breathe of fresh air in the midst of so many other post-apocalyptic stories I have read lately (especially in the YA genre). While it did a great job of describing details of what the world might look and function like after a deadly virus wipes out 99% of the population, it didn’t rely on over the top action sequences and unbelievable “hero” characters.
Instead if focused on group of characters who survive and must come to terms with what life will be like for them i ...more
Instead if focused on group of characters who survive and must come to terms with what life will be like for them i ...more
Hard to decide what to write or how to rate this one. I liked it in a 'it was pretty good but I don't think I'd recommend it' way.
The characters weren't really interesting, not enough to have me wondering what would happen to them or wonder how they got there. Seeing as that really is the whole story, it contributed to my lackluster response to it.
Still, it is a good book. It's well written and the dystopian aspects are eminently possible, which is always good. ...more
The characters weren't really interesting, not enough to have me wondering what would happen to them or wonder how they got there. Seeing as that really is the whole story, it contributed to my lackluster response to it.
Still, it is a good book. It's well written and the dystopian aspects are eminently possible, which is always good. ...more
A post apocalyptic tale that deals less with the apocalypse itself than the aftermath and the new world to which the survivors are forced to adapt. I feel like I've read/watched an alarming number of end of the world type stories lately (here's hoping none of them actually occur), but this stands out for its ability to make the reader understand just how much we take for granted in our modern society and how easily it could all disappear. As far as world building goes, it felt similar to The Roa
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Jan 01, 2015
Gali
marked it as to-read
Jul 31, 2017
Carrie
marked it as to-read
