Katy Berman 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

Katy Berman I think that the people who remained were so few and most of them in survival mode, that it was difficult to trust anyone. People were traveling aroun…moreI think that the people who remained were so few and most of them in survival mode, that it was difficult to trust anyone. People were traveling around and happened upon places, it seems, by chance (such as hotels, restaurants, etc.), where they can find something useful. The Symphony, I think, represents the desire to continue a cultural tradition. But a library can only go so far to teach someone how to rebuild. If you are alone, there isn't much you could do. In a group, there are people with a variety of skills and abilities, and the novel shows how these were put to use. At the end, a settlement is sighted that has developed electricity again. There must have been some scientists and technicians in the group that settled there. Perhaps they had a library also.(less)

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