49 - A Dystopian Book with a Happy Ending

[Anshita]

I'm listening to Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. The blurb reads, "Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end. Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed."

[Katink]

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine)]

I chose to go my own way with this one. It's all about interpretation. It decided to use the literal definition of dystopia, 'bad place'. I read 100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife. So many afterlives have the idea of salvation or redemption attached even if you do end up in the bad place. This is a happy endings as well.