Station Eleven (Television Tie-In)

A Novel

By: Emily St. John Mandel

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse—the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. Now an original series on HBO Max. Over one million copies sold!

One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

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.

Look for Emily St. John Mandel’s bestselling new novel, Sea of Tranquility!

Symphonies, Caravans, Comics, and a Plague

Station Eleven is not the typical post-apocalyptic tale. Based on the quality of writing , it is considered "literary." While I didn't find the narrative overly compelling, Emily St. John Mandel does have a knack for descriptive scenes and character development. The author's tale of post-apocalyptic society revolves around a traveling symphony, a migratory convoy performing Shakespeare plays in the remaining small villages of America. The narrator of this audiobook, Kirsten Potter, does a excellent job and keeps the reader/listener engaged through what I consider to be a slow-moving first couple of hours. While most novels of the post-apocalyptic genre focus on the evils the deterioration of modern society must surely bring, Station Eleven focuses more on the hope that not all is lost. While the horrors of civilization's demise certainly occur within in the novel, these horrors are more of a backdrop rather than the focal point of the narrative. Station Eleven is an artistic version of an apocalyptic setting, an above average read for those looking for a change of pace. Overall rating: 4.11 stars

An Alternative Dystopian Viewpoint

A masterfully executed dystopian novel from a feminine perspective. Although I am a fan of this genre of literature, I have yet to read (or listen via Audible) to one so rich in the description of human relationships in a post apocalyptic world. Maybe Margaret Atwood comes close. No zombies or AI units wanting to dominate the planet here, just folks trying to figure out what it means to be human in a brand new world. The primary adage of Mandel's work "survival is insufficient" says it all.

Why do end-of-the-world survivors stay in tents?

There are millions and millions of empty houses, with roofs and walls, perhaps wood-burning fireplaces if you're lucky, beds to sleep in and probably sheets and blankets and towels and, and, and. Just remove all the dead bodies and Bob's your Uncle. But it never fails, books and the movies always show the few survivors squatting in miserable tents or thrown up shelters. Or in this case, gas stations and Walmarts.
And why do they always move about? Why don't they stay in one spot, plant a garden, take over a dairy cow or domesticated chickens whose owner has died? Why the wanderlust?
That's what I'd do. But I guess I would be a poor protagonist so no books would ever be written about me.
This book did keep me listening to the end, but there were a lot of false leads and half-developed characters. I wish there had been fewer foci, and that the characters had more depth. I'm just getting interested in Jeavon when we move on to Kiki, and then Arthur gets a turn, then Miranda. Pick a protagonist and stick to it!

I enjoyed listening to this book.

I loved this book. It was well planned and sometimes very emotional. A must read.

Fell flat

I really hoped I would like this book but found it to lack any kind of climax. It just had a steady “blah” all the way through with no true high. I feel like the story and plot had so much potential. I also found the story to jump around so much with parts of the story I found irrelevant. I did like the narrator!