Lori Sue answers “does it bother anyone that in the 20 years...”

Catherine Goldwyn asked this question about Station Eleven:

does it bother anyone that in the 20 years since these people got slammed and the human race got almost wiped away , no one thought about going to a library and figuring out how to rebuild? I mean, all the information is there - in writing, in books! All of it - for all the ages! For me, this was nagging me the whole time

Lori Sue I wondered about this also... Since we're not told what happened in year 5, 10, etc. Maybe all of the major cities, libraries included, were reduced t…moreI wondered about this also... Since we're not told what happened in year 5, 10, etc. Maybe all of the major cities, libraries included, were reduced to ash, as is imagined and mentioned more than once in the story. The author was telling this story, consumed with this particular group of loosely connected 'nomads.' The author wasn't presenting a comprehensive historical documentary on life after the collapse. Im guessing there would have been thousands of groups...haphazardly thrown together, all with varying skills, education, reactions, etc.

At the end of the book, when Clark shows Kirsten the amazing development he has discovered while looking through the telescope, we see a glimpse of what another group of nomads has created with their particular focus, and apparent skills and interests... that bit wrapped it up for me, that we were shown an experience of a small group of people -- less than a couple hundred -- within a few hundred square miles, walking distance of one one another... a very tiny closeup of the aftermath of a global event. (The amazing discovery, viewed through the telescope, left me surprised, however, at how LONG it took!) This, to me, underscores our dependence on established technology. Makes me think of the explorers, inventors and dreamers who furthered society over the centuries, building on each others' lifetimes of effort and discovery. One of the characters muses about this... noting the difference in shakespeare's experience of surviving the plague: In the 1500's, shakespeare's time, they didn't lose the collected, enormity of the way of life which had been established over centuries, at the time of the collapse in 2013. (less)

flag

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more