In 2014, author Emily St. John Mandel released her fourth novel to instant acclaim. Since then, Station Eleven has become one of the most successful and popular novels of the 21st century so far. A National Book Award Finalist and winner of Britain's prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, it has been translated into 33 languages and sold over one million copies. Set in a future North America where a deadly flu wipes out 99% of the population, this post-apocalyptic saga focuses on several survivors as they struggle to find meaning and beauty again. Station Eleven is certainly a different listening experience today, in a pandemic-stricken world, than it was when it was first released, less than a decade ago.
In 2022, listeners cannot help but identify with parts of the novel, where a highly contagious virus frightens and isolates nearly everyone around the world, as countless people worry if they'll get sick too and wonder what will become of civilization after it is ravaged. Station Eleven is also a gorgeously crafted story full of love and hope, acclaimed by critics and embraced by listeners. And now fans can rejoice because the HBO Max adaptation of the book has arrived, bringing the beloved story to the small screen in a big way.
Whether you are a huge fan of the novel or looking for more information about the TV miniseries before you jump in, here's the scoop on the world of Station Eleven.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Station Eleven.
What is Station Eleven about?
Yes, Station Eleven is a dark and tragic work about a flu that terrifies and ultimately kills the vast majority of the global population. What it’s really about, however, is people and our connection with one another. The novel follows several characters, focusing on what happens after the worst happens when no one was ready for it. It also lets listeners in on the earlier, pre-pandemic lives of some of these characters, which often intersect in surprising ways.
For starters, there's the famous actor who coincidentally dies onstage of a heart attack during a production of King Lear in Toronto around the time news of the pandemic begins to spread. There's a young woman who was onstage that night, who is now a member of The Traveling Symphony, a small theater group that roams the country, putting on performances for small groups of survivors, in an effort to keep art and beauty alive. There's a dangerous prophet, whose unhinged ideas about the pandemic and religion garner him a cult following. There's a talented artist—an ex-wife of the deceased actor—whose lifelong art project, the comic Dr. Eleven, is central to the plot and gives the novel its name. There's the journalist-turned-EMT who tried and failed to save the actor on stage. And there's the best friend of the deceased actor, who now lives in an abandoned airport with several hundred other people, curating the Museum of Civilization.
Station Eleven takes place in several locations, from Toronto to Los Angeles, from Malaysia to the Great Lakes. Throughout the novel, Emily St. John Mandel explores the Before and the After—what life looks and feels like when the internet, electricity, transportation, news, and all kinds of everyday comforts and conveniences are gone. People must hunt for their food, use fire for lighting, and learn to build shelters, care for sick and wounded, and protect themselves. Although many are just trying to get by and stay alive, there is a small contingent of dangerous people who rob and murder others. And there are the children born After, who have never known what the world was like with electricity or cars.
The novel also follows the Traveling Symphony as they search for two former members: a couple they had left behind when the wife became pregnant. They arrive back in that town two years later to discover it is run by a dangerous prophet, and hear that their friends have moved on to the Severn City Airport. But their encounter with the prophet leads to violence, and the troupe will have to fight for survival like never before.
Who are the main characters in Station Eleven?
Kirsten Raymonde
Kirsten is a child actor in a production of King Lear when the deadly flu hits. She is raised for a short time by her brother and, after his death, makes her way to the Traveling Symphony, where she performs in Shakespeare plays and hones her expert knife-throwing skills. She travels with her most prized possessions: a snow globe and a rare comic book, Dr. Eleven.
Arthur Leander
Arthur is a famous Hollywood actor who dies early in the novel, while appearing onstage as King Lear. Yet, his impact lives on: Arthur has a tie to all of the main characters in Station Eleven. As the novel progresses, listeners will learn about his relationships with his three ex-wives, his young son, his pen pal, and his best friend, Clark.
Jeevan Chaudhary
When Arthur Leander collapses onstage, Jeevan is the first to rush to his side. Studying to become an EMT, he was once a member of the paparazzi and an entertainment journalist who had interviewed Arthur. The night of the performance in Toronto, Jeevan gets inside information about the coming pandemic from a doctor friend, so he buys supplies and holes up in the apartment of his brother, Frank. After Frank's death, he ventures out into the world in search of other people, eventually finding a settlement and becoming their doctor.
Miranda Carroll
Miranda is a young artist whose passion project is her graphic novel, Dr. Eleven, about a scientist at the end of the world, his best friend, and the people who live under the ocean in the Undersea. Miranda is also Arthur's first wife, and it is during a visit backstage at a King Lear performance, years after their divorce, that a copy of Dr. Eleven makes its way to Arthur and eventually to Kirsten.
Clark Thompson
Arthur's oldest friend, Clark is traveling when the pandemic hits. His plane is grounded, and he winds up stranded in the Severn City Airport. As one of the oldest members of the airport community, Clark starts curating what he calls the Museum of Civilization, a collection of cultural artifacts from Before the deadly flu, which includes smartphones, video games, credit cards, and passports.
The Prophet
The story's antagonist (if you're not counting the virus), The Prophet is a menacing cult leader who seduces and frightens a small community, wielding scripture and leading them to believe that, as the 1% who survived the pandemic, they are special. He takes several young girls as brides, and uses violence to get what he wants. The Prophet's identity is unknown until the end of the novel.
Although fans would like to hear more from these characters and this world, Mandel currently has no plans for a sequel; Station Eleven remains a standalone novel.
What are the major themes and symbols in Station Eleven?
Art
The use of Shakespeare, Dr. Eleven, and the Traveling Symphony represent a need for beauty and normalcy in dangerous, uncertain times, as well as a source of nostalgia and entertainment. Art is frequently referenced and performed throughout the novel. In addition to acting, characters compose poetry, play music, quote television shows, draw comics, write letters, and more.
Transportation
Imagery of planes, trains, buses, and cars feature heavily throughout Station Eleven. These sources of transportation show just how much freedom people once had and how easily they could move about the world. Now, their rusting husks are a reminder of how quickly everything changed—not to mention the big part travel played in spreading the deadly flu.
Technology
Station Eleven shines a glaring spotlight on contemporary civilization's dependence on technology for communication, connection, entertainment, and comfort. As the flu quickly spreads, the phone system and internet go down. Almost immediately, people lose contact with their family members, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. Many never learn the fates of their loved ones. The pandemic isolates people but also simplifies the world.
Loss
It almost goes without saying, because so many people die of the flu. But the loss in Station Eleven goes beyond losing people. Characters grapple with loss of love, loss of security, loss of mobility, loss of items, and loss of memories. Thankfully, the novel offers beauty and hope to offset all the loss and sadness.
Who is the author of Station Eleven?
Emily St. John Mandel is a talented, award-winning Canadian author and essayist who now lives In New York City. She has written six novels, which are all available on Audible: Last Night in Montreal (2009); The Singer's Gun (2010); The Lola Quartet (2012); Station Eleven (2014); The Glass Hotel (2020); and the forthcoming Sea of Tranquility (2022).
How did Station Eleven make it to the screen?
In 2015, producer Scott Steindorff acquired the rights to the novel for a prospective film adaptation. In 2019, it was announced that Station Eleven would instead be adapted for the screen as a 10-episode limited series on HBO Max. Hiro Murai directed the series, and Patrick Somerville served as showrunner and writer. Filming originally began in Chicago but was moved to Ontario in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Station Eleven television series premiered on December 16, 2021 to wide acclaim. The cast features Mackenzie Davis (Kirsten Raymonde), Himesh Patel (Jeevan Chaudhary), Gael García Bernal (Arthur Leander), Danielle Deadwyler (Miranda Carroll), Matilda Lawler (young Kirsten), David Wilmot (Clark Thompson), and Daniel Zovatto (The Prophet).
