Station Eleven: Parts I and II (Contains Spoilers)

[Jodi]

This is the thread to discuss Station Eleven Parts I and II: The Theatre and A Midsummer Night's Dream

[Meg]

I found part 1 very gripping and part 2 interesting but a bit slower.
I am wondering what others think about how realistic this apocalypse is. Believable? Unbelievable? So real it is scary? What do you think of the post-apocalyptic world? it seems relatively peaceful as far as post-apocalyptic worlds go? 'An archipelago of small towns' I think is the description. What do you think the world would be like if 99% of the population was suddenly killed?

[Laurie]

I think some aspects are believable. It does seem fairly peaceful, but there are lots of references to the early years when it wasn't. I think it would be violent at first with many people in a crazy survival mode and then it would become more civilized as people realize how much they need each other.

It seems so primitive though like everybody with any knowledge about generating electricity died. I think someone early on would figure out some kind of solar or hydro generated power for a house or even a small town. There are books that tell how to do these things.

[Cristal]

I found part one riveting, the characters are interesting.

[Megan]

I'm hooked and had post-apocalyptic dreams all night last night!

[Kara]

I think the first section is one of my favorite. Jeevan is one of the characters that I feel the most for, and the calls between him and his friend were harrowing--particularly because we, as the reader, know what they really mean.

I love these books that show HOW the end of the world came about, not just picking up after it already happened.

[Meg]

Kara wrote: "I love these books that show HOW the end of the world came about, not just picking up after it already happened...."

I agree, that was really interesting. I also recently read The Age of Miracles which was amazing - also focused on how people deal with the beginning of the end of the world.

[Victoria]

I've really enjoyed part one and part two I agree that the post apocalyptic world seems relatively peaceful but as it is mainly set 20 years after the flu I expect life has settled into an accepted if primitive rhythm. The characters are engaging and the idea that life continues after the flu with much of the same discord between people as before the flu despite their reliance on each other for safety and protection is an interesting one. I'm also very interested in Arthur and his life leading up to his death it seems as though the author is setting the story up so that Arthur's story has a profound effect on the lives of the other characters (perhaps a comment on how you don't need to be celebrity famous to have a positive and lasting impact on people). I'm really looking forward to the next section to see how the story develops

[Peggy]

Wow! Love this book so far. It really pulls you into the story. Curious to see where this book leads!

[Kathryn]

What I really like about this book is that unlike many of the post apocalyptic books I have read in the past that focus on the scary world after "the incident" such as in Brooks, World War Z or even McCarthy's The Road,Station Eleven focuses how the world did come to be this way and then quickly on the living - and their relationships, not the dead. This could be, as someone said, because it does take place 20 years after the flu, but still, it seemed to me a difference take on "survival".

I am intersted in delving more into the characters, and understanding their lives before the end, and then after.

To speak to Meg's point, if 99.9% of the population was suddenly killed, I don't know what it would look like. Hopefully more like this than the world that is described in "The Road". I think maybe it could be the same but because the book has a lack of focus on all those, cold/dead/dangerous things that we come to expect, we think of this world a peaceful or at least mildly safe one. They hint at danger and marauders when trying to determine a route out of St Whatever by the Water (sorry I don't have the book in front of me), but only begin to touch on that towards the end of the second section. In fact, when they leave that town in a hurry and encounter the boy on the edge of town that is the first time I really start to experience the desolation (and isolation) of an empty dead world.

[Dominique]

I really found it believable, the way she wrote the story it made it seem real. it was a flu which it made it more human and true.

[Laura]

I don't typically read post-apocalyptic books. The last one I read, The Girl With All the Gifts, gave me weird and disturbing dreams.

So far, this book is very interesting - about a travelling entertainment troupe after 99.9% of the world has been erased. At first, I thought - why on earth is this group wandering around performing plays? But then I realized, it's 20 years after the flu, and the surviving people of the world must still crave plays and music, something to take their minds off of their troubles, just like in the world today. I love finding stories that make me imagine things I never would have thought of otherwise.

[Jennifer]

I'm enjoying the book so far and hope that we get to learn about what happened to Jeevan and his brother. I also like the tension building with this prophet fellow at St Deborah by the water. I have a feeling that somehow he will tie into Aurthur and the comic books---his face was familiar--perhaps from the tabloid clippings? We will see.

I'm not buying into this post apocalyptic world though. Even with a greatly diminished population, I don't understand why the world is so primitive. It took 20 years for one inventor to figure out how to create electricity with a standing bike? Really? No one has the capability of turning on the power plant, or hooking up some solar panels? Solar paneled signs are scattered all over the highways in my state, I can't imagine that anyone with even a bit of electrical knowledge couldn't rig one up for better use. Maybe more will be explained as to why none of modern knowledge has been applied in further chapters.

[Meg]

Jennifer wrote: "Even with a greatly diminished population, I don't understand why the world is so primitive. It took 20 years for one inventor to figure out how to create electricity with a standing bike? Really? ..."

I thought that too, but then I realised that I have no idea how electricity works and would have no idea what to do if it was up to me! Actually I think I would be pretty useless in an apocalypse - I have no practical knowledge at all! But still, I think I could read a book and work it out (it would be harder without google telling me what to do though).

[Adam]

Enjoying the book so far & I think I like where it is going. One observation I have though about the plague is that typically diseases that kill within a days time don't have time to spread and kill much like other diseases do that have longer incubation times. They tend to burn themselves out where they start. I say this speaking from experience as I'm very good at the Plague Inc game on my cell phone.

[Heather]

I am very intrigued by parts I&II. I want to know more about the post-apocalyptic world- I really want to know what happened to their friends and the baby. characters like the prophet always freak me out.... needless to say I am really enjoying this book right now.

[Whitney]

Jennifer, I totally agree, and it's hampering my enjoyment of the book. I also don't understand why people are living in fast food restaurants. Or why the one musician wasn't able to find a replacement pair of glasses in a span of years. It doesn't make sense that resources would be so scarce when .1% of the population inherited everything ever owned by the remaining 99.9%.

[Kathryn]

I had to really think through why it has been 20 years since the collapse, and everything is still I shambles. Particularly why no brilliant mind has stepped forward to lead and innovate. Then I realized that those brilliant minds may be so consumed with survival, that they have no capacity to innovate and those that have leadership capabilities all turn into Prophets. This would lead to a divided and chaotic world, which would quell any change makers.



I may be overthinking this.....

[Shlomo]

I liked what I read so far. It may sound far fetched that one day a passenger shows up from Moscow with the "Georgian Flu" and then "BOOM" but they did a very detailed description of the spread of the disease.

Just one detail: Where are Jeevan, Laura and Hua? Do they die? Do they ever make it? I somehow wanted to know.

The second part was a little slower, but it gets real in a hurry once the Prophet shows up. And as this part comes to a close, we see that they must now go into uncharted waters. It's getting good, can't wait to keep going.

Just one little detail bothers me, why does it all have to stop working? If some smart people can get some things to work and get access to guns and planes and stuff, it would be easy to rule the world (or great parts of it). And that is just one alternative.

[Cassandra]

I really like this book so far. I enjoyed the first part more than the second. The first part makes you fall in love with the characters instantly, and you can feel Jeevan's mounting fear about what horrors are sure to come with such a virulent flu.

I can't help but compare this book to Stephen King's The Stand, which I read pretty recently. They both focus more on the relationships and the way people react to a superflu rather than the plague itself. The major difference is that The Stand takes place immediately following the decimation of the population, while Station Eleven takes place many years after the initial disaster. I can imagine that life would have settled down pretty well in those 20 years, so the peacefulness of the world doesn't bother me. Although with the appearance of the Prophet, I'm not so sure things will stay peaceful for long.

In regards to the lack of technology, the people in The Stand try to get technology up and running pretty quickly, and they were successful for a time. I wonder if there is a reason why the people of Station Eleven haven't turned to technology. Or, maybe some did and it didn't work out very well for them.

I love the motto of the caravan - "Because survival is insufficient." I love that there is art in this post-apocalypse world.

[Jennifer]

Cassandra wrote: "I really like this book so far. I enjoyed the first part more than the second. The first part makes you fall in love with the characters instantly, and you can feel Jeevan's mounting fear about wha..."

I agree Casandra, the first section when Jeevan was first learning of the virus pulled me into the book. Although I think it would have been a distraction to the overall book, part of me wanted to hear more about his behavior when he had overreacted to SARS in the past. It made me wonder if his behavior hadn't been similar, only this time it worked in his favor.

[Jenn]

I definitely find the book interesting so far and I have a lot of the same questions as others and I want to keep reading to find the answers. I don't feel as drawn to the characters yet as others. It seems like Kirsten is the main character of the post-apocalyptic world, but I'm not that drawn to her yet. I do wonder what happened to her friends and where things are heading with the prophet. I'm also really curious to find out why Arthur matters so much to the story. I am looking forward to learning more about Jeevan.

[Claire]

Most of my thoughts on the first two parts have already been mentioned, but I am also very curious about the comic books (who wrote them, why were they given to Kristen, how are they going to impact future chapters, etc.) and about the paperweight. Why is she still carrying it, when it serves no purpose? It's been mentioned twice, the first time during a crisis, so I'm thinking it must be significant later.

[Karen]

I am already hooked on this book! I instantly took to Jeevan's character and am intrigued to find out more from his storyline(hopefully).

The fact that it was a flu that caused this makes it feel more realistic, although I have no idea what it would be like if 99.9% of the world's population died.

Looking forward to the rest of this book!