Station Eleven
1 journaler for this copy...
"Nothing links person to person like the frequent passage from hand to hand of a good book."
This is now on my favorite-books-of-all-time list. It's an amazing story, post-apocalyptic, told with great skill and compassion. We get this tale in several time frames. It moves around from many years before the pandemic to during and just after the pandemic, to many years after it. This allows us to get to know the characters and their relationships to each other in detail and see the effects of the passage of time.
The title of the story comes from a self-published comic book (sci-fi) called Station Eleven. The comic book is created prior to the pandemic and survives as a tattered copy carried around by Kirsten, one of the younger people in an orchestra/acting troupe.
Arthur Leander is a famous actor whose life intersects with many of the characters in the story. Clark is his best friend and one of my favorite characters. Kirsten knew Arthur tangentially since she was just kid when she met him. Mostly, much of the story takes place 20 years after the virus, in a world devoid of most of the technological advances we have all become accustomed to.
"AN INCOMPLETE LIST: No more diving into pools of chlorinated water lit green from below. No more ball games played out under floodlights. No more porch lights with moths fluttering on summer nights. No more trains running under the surface of cities on the dazzling power of the electric third rail. No more cities. No more films, except rarely, except with a generator drowning out half the dialogue, and only then for the first little while until the fuel for the generators ran out, because automobile gas goes stale after two or three years. Aviation gas lasts longer, but it was difficult to come by."
Much of the story follows a traveling orchestra and acting troupe that moves between settlements in a circuit around the Great Lakes, playing music and performing Shakespeare. The people in the troupe often get sick of each other, but they also realize that this is the only family they have. Some of them are older and remember times before the collapse of civilization, and some are young and have little or no memory of that time. At times it feels like a group of people this earnest and hard-working could make a real difference, and I think that possibility is what keeps them moving.
Some people find post-apocalyptic stories too depressing, but I find that they are generally hopeful. Overall, this story is very compelling and surprisingly comforting. Life as we knew it is shattered to pieces as most people did not survive the pandemic, and those who did are scared and lonely. Yet, they make a life where they are, and human civilization bravely continues. The story is told with empathy toward how each character deals with their circumstances.
If you enjoyed this book, you might also enjoy "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller.
A wandering book -- the karma of literature!
This is now on my favorite-books-of-all-time list. It's an amazing story, post-apocalyptic, told with great skill and compassion. We get this tale in several time frames. It moves around from many years before the pandemic to during and just after the pandemic, to many years after it. This allows us to get to know the characters and their relationships to each other in detail and see the effects of the passage of time.
The title of the story comes from a self-published comic book (sci-fi) called Station Eleven. The comic book is created prior to the pandemic and survives as a tattered copy carried around by Kirsten, one of the younger people in an orchestra/acting troupe.
Arthur Leander is a famous actor whose life intersects with many of the characters in the story. Clark is his best friend and one of my favorite characters. Kirsten knew Arthur tangentially since she was just kid when she met him. Mostly, much of the story takes place 20 years after the virus, in a world devoid of most of the technological advances we have all become accustomed to.
"AN INCOMPLETE LIST: No more diving into pools of chlorinated water lit green from below. No more ball games played out under floodlights. No more porch lights with moths fluttering on summer nights. No more trains running under the surface of cities on the dazzling power of the electric third rail. No more cities. No more films, except rarely, except with a generator drowning out half the dialogue, and only then for the first little while until the fuel for the generators ran out, because automobile gas goes stale after two or three years. Aviation gas lasts longer, but it was difficult to come by."
Much of the story follows a traveling orchestra and acting troupe that moves between settlements in a circuit around the Great Lakes, playing music and performing Shakespeare. The people in the troupe often get sick of each other, but they also realize that this is the only family they have. Some of them are older and remember times before the collapse of civilization, and some are young and have little or no memory of that time. At times it feels like a group of people this earnest and hard-working could make a real difference, and I think that possibility is what keeps them moving.
Some people find post-apocalyptic stories too depressing, but I find that they are generally hopeful. Overall, this story is very compelling and surprisingly comforting. Life as we knew it is shattered to pieces as most people did not survive the pandemic, and those who did are scared and lonely. Yet, they make a life where they are, and human civilization bravely continues. The story is told with empathy toward how each character deals with their circumstances.
If you enjoyed this book, you might also enjoy "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller.
A wandering book -- the karma of literature!
This book has been returned by one friend and is on its way to another.
Bookcrossing is the practice of leaving a book in a public place for someone else to "catch". Why? Cuz books just wanna have fun! Enjoy the serendipity and head over to the bookcrossing.com website to let me know you caught this book!
Bookcrossing is family-friendly and a great hobby 😀
Bookcrossing is the practice of leaving a book in a public place for someone else to "catch". Why? Cuz books just wanna have fun! Enjoy the serendipity and head over to the bookcrossing.com website to let me know you caught this book!
Bookcrossing is family-friendly and a great hobby 😀
This book has returned to me again. I think I'll hang on to it in my permanent collection.
