Station Eleven

When I try to describe Station Eleven, the word tapestry comes to mind. Or maybe jigsaw puzzle. This book is about an apocalyptic event that destroys civilization as we know it and the years following. It's about finding hope again, and love and inspiration, in the wake of a catastrophe.

Station Eleven deals with the fallout of a strain of flu that is highly contagious, highly lethal, and very quick moving. Most people are dead within a day of showing first symptoms, and anyone who comes in contact with them is dead a day later. Only those who mange to avoid exposure are spared, but they're faced with a world that has ground to a halt. Survival is the first order of business. But the Travelling Symphony, who wander between settlements performing music and plays, have decided that Seven of Nine was right: Survival is insufficient.

The book bounces back and forth, between timelines and characters, creating a picture of what happened during the outbreak and in the decades following.It doesn't take long to realize that all these characters are connected. They all knew an actor, Arthur Leander, who died of a heart attack hours before the outbreak hit. The comic books his first wife drew are also key in informing the new world views of those who survived, giving them a common and specific touchstone.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It provides an amazing view of a post-apocalyptic landscape and the people who refuse to believe that the apocalypse has actually happened. After all, they're still there. Putting the pieces together is a lot of fun, and I managed to stay just half a step ahead of the characters in figuring everything out. But it's the quieter moments, when they realize that there are still things worth living and fighting for, that make this story so wonderful

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