In the novel Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel, a post-apocalyptic world poses many challenges for a traveling group of performers. The book opens in Toronto, where a mysterious new virus called the Georgia Flu races through hospitals all over the city. Unbeknownst to the population, this virus will soon cause the swift collapse of civilization, as many die trying to flee the city. Many years later, the book follows a band of Shakespeare performers throughout a shattered North America. 

The novel starts out at a lightning-fast pace, with the reader immediately being hooked in the first chapter. It races right into the first outbreak, without much explanation. I would have liked a bit more depth into the origin of the virus, as it had a couple of plot holes. The first chapter is very adrenaline-inducing, and I couldn’t put it down. It was very interesting but also disheartening to hear a pandemic story, with the current pandemic ramping up again. However, it also made me feel much better about our situation. After the first chapter, the novel slows down its pace considerably and brings in much more subtle beauties about the book. The book was very complex at times, as many characters were revealed to be connected to each other. 

The setting was an interesting detail to me. Being from the United States, I’ve read many U.S-centered novels. Because the author is from Canada, it offers an interesting glimpse at a situation different from my own. After the collapse of civilization, many of the towns the travelers visit have different names, so it is harder to track where they are. The setting was very effective in painting a post-apocalyptic North America. 

There were many subtle themes throughout this novel, and they weren’t commenting on political topics of the modern-day. It was nice to get a break from books that comment on political topics. This book showed the resilience of humanity, and the hope for better times. 

The book was structured in a sometimes confusing way, but it was generally rewarding when all the pieces come together. It was sometimes annoying how much the book switched perspectives and times, and I felt frustrated how it jumped from a good scene to a sometimes mundane one. 

As a completed work, Station Eleven is a thought-provoking, adrenaline spiking novel that I would recommend to older teens and adults. This is a perfect novel to read now.