Emily St. John Mandel: Station Eleven (French language, 2016, Rivages)
French language
Published Dec. 1, 2016 by Rivages.
Station Eleven is a 2014 novel by Emily St. John Mandel, her fourth. It takes place in the Great Lakes region before and after a fictional swine flu pandemic, known as the "Georgia Flu", has devastated the world, killing most of the population. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2015.The novel was well received by critics, with praise emphasizing the understated nature of Mandel's writing. It appeared on several end-of-year best novel lists. By 2020 it had sold 1.5 million copies.
a fairly good read in parts, kind of tedious in others. The character that links together all the other pivotal characters was mediocre and pathetic and so much of the book is devoted to the most banal aspects of contemporary life. I think I would rather have read the graphic novel that's at the center of the story but remains mostly undeveloped.
A book I have kept thinking of years after reading it. Great prose, plot, characters, universe - it has it all.
My favorite scenes are of Jeevan and Frank in Toronto as the pandemic is unfolding.
A surprisingly "civil" story about believable characters trying to eke it out in the aftermath of a grand fall.
Made me think of Covid and The Last of us.
This was recommended to me and I went in knowing very little about it.
I found it to be a really gripping novel; hard to put down. I was really excited to see how the characters lives intersected and how they handled the trauma of the devastating pandemic.
The book tells the story of the characters at various stages of their lives ranging from many years before the pandemic, to around 20 years after. This gives a really interesting perspective on the characters, and keeps the pace of the book fast and interesting.
Highly recommended!
