August took sayid to the infirmary, and kirsten lay dazed in. It was published by vintage and has a total of 352 pages in the book. John mandel ponders whether art can save us or at least help us to maintain our humanity long enough to start rebuilding our world. The marketing muscle behind the national book award. As they walk on their second say without the symphony, kirsten and august come across a gas station. Youd think that in the absence of television and computers that reading would become an important pastime and with only 1% of the population left its not like that have any shortage of.
In the severn city airport, the catastrophe changes the way that time is measured. They assure the man who soon introduces himself as finn that they are only passing through and are headed for the museum of civilization in the severn city airport. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The marketing muscle behind the national book award finalist station eleven. Station eleven its not looking promising for a quick end to the emergency, a newscaster said, understating the situation to a degree previously unmatched in the history of understatement, and then he blinked at the camera and something in him seemed to stutter, a breaking down of some mechanism that had previously held his personal and. Young birch trees between the road and the lake but otherwise no forest, just overgrown lawns and houses submerged in vines and shrubbery, a beach of rocks and sand. Printed texts become treasured items for those in the new world. In the severn city airport, the people on the diverted flight from new york continue to wait for the national guard to arrive. Station eleven by emily st john mandel lisas study guides. The written word in mandels station eleven appears in many forms. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of station eleven by emily st. Not everything has to end with cannibalismdiarrheagangrene. Thanks to an early warning from a friend who works at a local hospital, jeevan is able to stock up on supplies and hole up in his brother franks. Station eleven study guide contains a biography of emily st.
The title of this book is station eleven and it was written by emily st. Common knowledge places severn city, michigan, usa. The severn city airport also provides the unique opportunity for pilots to try to reconnect with distant family after the collapse, as a few of them take planes in hope of finding loved ones. Emily mandels fourth novel is a wholly believable dystopia in which 99% of the population has been wiped out by a pandemic. In the severn city airport, the people on the diverted flight from new york. Station eleven is the fourth book by american novelist emily. Frightened, kirsten, august, and sayid leave for severn city airport. Twenty years after the collapse of modern life as we know it, some of the few survivors are still focused on such profound human concepts. Romance 1523 adventure 44 thriller 174 fantasy 1691 young adult 859 mystery 396. Kirsten raymondesayid station eleven kirsten raymonde. The morning news tournament of books presented by field. It was a national book award finalist and made it into our best of the year issue before we even got a. The novel takes place in the great lakes region after a fictional swine flu pandemic, known as the georgia flu, has devastated the world, killing most of the population.
It appeared on several endofyear lists as one of the best novels of 2014. Clark then boards a flight for toronto, which is grounded early in severn city. Station eleven is the kind of book that speaks to dozens of the readers in methe hollywood devotee, the comic book fan, the cult junkie, the love lover, the disaster tourist. Station eleven is a post apocalyptic novel written by emily st. At twilight the road curved back to the lakeshore, and the first houses of severn city appeared. Settlements are given new names like mackinaw city, new petoskey, east jordan, new sarnia and also severn city, the largest in the area and close to the old airport, with a population of more than three hundred. Clarke award in 2015 the novel was well received by critics, with praise emphasizing the understated nature of. Sleep eludes kirsten at the airport in severn city. Station eleven is a science fiction novel by emily st. Station eleven ive been wondering almost since starting station eleven two days agoyes, it really is that good why its so clearly a breed apart from other apocalypse thrillers. These rescue missions are among the last flights of human civilization, and though they leave in hope, none of them ever return to severn city. Station eleven there were 320 people living in the severn city airport that year, one of the largest settlements kirsten had seen. Station eleven by mandel is a compelling look at what could have happened if sars had eliminated most of the population. John mandels novel station eleven which was a finalist for a 2014 national book award.
Severn city, figures into mandels tale, in the books haunting evocation of a makeshift museum of civilization. Francene carroll for a novel which is allegedly about the role of art in society there was very little about books in station eleven and no logical explanation for this omission that i can remember. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies, including the best american mystery stories 20 and venice noir. Station eleven is usually studied in the australian curriculum under area. They look around and a dog barks, and a man appears holding a rifle.
They bathe and walk through the ruins of severn city, and they see a startled deer. Get everything you need to know about clark thompson in station eleven. The novel station eleven takes place through many different time periods and locations. It is a device done to the point of exhaustion these days in books and video. Sometimes he lay awake in concourse b of the severn city airport. The symbol of airplanes in station eleven from litcharts.
The symbolism behind it being a museum of civilization is in the fact that the severn city airport, where the museum was created, appears to the readers as the closest thing the new world has to an actual civilization that is similar to before the georgia flu. John mandel, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Station eleven which was a finalist for a 2014 national book award. That is, its reality seems increasingly more likely as doomsday stories feature in the news, medical pandemics emerge, and climate change looms over everyday life. Sometimes he lay awake in concourse b of the severn city airport and thought, i was there, and the thought pierced him through with an admixture of sadness and exhilaration. It seems that no one in the terminal is infected, and they begin to work together. To have dwelt in that spectacular world for fiftyone years of his life. And because station eleven is a postapocalyptic novel not about those things, it is free to be about other thingsthe things well miss about that old and ostentatious world, the things we use to rebuild. I hadnt heard much about the book before, but apparently its been a well received book as an employee of a npr station, i had to use them. At twilight the road curved back to the lakeshore, and the first houses of. Station eleven portrays technology with sympathy, even with a deep fondness. In the novel, a pandemic known as the georgia flu wipes out somewhere north of 99% of human life on earth, ending civilization as we know it.
Near the end of his second decade in the airport, clark thinks about how lucky he has been to survive, and to see one world end and another begin. A national book award finalist a penfaulkner award finalist. They go through the airports resources, from the gift shop to the restaurants, and begin to understand that likely no one is coming. Tyler reads from the book of revelations to the dead on the quarantined plane. Station eleven presents the idea of redemption through garetts character. I think its worth noting that it usually takes me about 23 weeks to finish a. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. At the outbreak of the pandemic many people were travelling. I read station eleven as an audiobook, and i am fairly new to consuming books in this fashion. Station eleven, like many recent postapocalyptic texts, enjoys the support of global events. Station eleven is usually studied in the australian.
Time is measured from before and after the pandemic with year 0 corresponding to the time of the georgian flu outbreak and continues until year 19 postpandemic. At first the people in the severn city airport counted time as though they. I think one of mandels intentions in writing the book is to make us appreciate the beauty of the modern world. The apocalypse in station eleven is a pretty gentle one, as apocalypses go. The character of clark thompson in station eleven from litcharts. Station eleven is a change of pace, but there is fear and danger in this new world, too, in the shape of a dangerous religious zealot known.
Station eleven contains much to recommend it as a good read. Her previous novels were last night in montreal, the singers gun, and the lola quartet. My local bookstore holds a monthly book club and novembers selection was station eleven by emily st. John mandel, station eleven page 9 read novels online. In later years the survivors founded the museum of civilization which featured everyday items used before the pandemic, including magazines, electronics and books. Dates are measured first in days, then in years after the collapse. A national book award finalist a penfaulkner award finalist 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.
I have an uncharacteristic but genuine affinity for disaster movies this includes things with giant robots in them, and although some of them can be. Kirsten wakes up crying on the outskirts of severn city. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Station eleven summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Station elevens humanity and sensitivity elevate post. A man who was formerly immersed in technology, which resulted in neglect towards his family, was able to reflect upon his previous actions and build new relationships with the people living in severn city. John mandels fourth novel, station eleven, begins with a spectacular end. Station eleven is intricately woven from multiple perspectives and shifting timelines, beginning with jeevans take on the night of arthur leanders death, and the early hours of the epidemic. Fairly, the whole world is the site of a plague in station eleven, though the character stories it focuses on are more localized. Finding hope at station eleven the pointeclaire public. Severn city airport at the outbreak of the pandemic many people were travelling. This post apocalyptic novel is set in toronto, and the great lakes area, which is a bonus for canadian readers but not a hinderance to anyone from somewhere else.
The symphony scavenges for copies of plays, kirsten hoards magazine articles, and the dr eleven graphic novels are integral to the plot. No, we make those connections ourselves and the novel is must stronger for allowing the reader to participate in the conversation with mandel. Perhaps one of the best compliments i can give station eleven is that it snuck into my thoughts over and over again after i finished it, during. This trip leaves only fiftyfour survivors living in the severn city airport. Station eleven is the kind of book that speaks to dozens of the readers in me the hollywood devotee, the. An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilizations collapse, station eleven tells the spellbinding story of a hollywood star, his wouldbe savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the great lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. One night, in a toronto theater, onstage performing the.
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