Station 11 – Emily St. John Mandel
I know, I know. There’s a lot of hype around Station 11. Everyone and their dog is reading this book right now that HBO has put out a miniseries adaptation. Funny enough, I didn’t know anything about that, but got the recommendation from a nice young lady I was interviewing. I added it to my list, and given it’s relatively short length, I figured I could knock it out fairly quickly. But how was it?
Station 11 takes place in a post-epidemic world, which seems especially relevant at the beginning of 2022. The main character Kirsten is apart of a theater troupe that travels around Lake Michigan performing for towns and congregations. It’s an interesting idea, one that separates Station 11 from the thousands of other apocalypse stories. They believe that “survival is insufficient,” an idea taken from Star Trek, and it is their duty to provide art and entertainment.
The novel jumps back and forth between the present and the past, the latter focusing on Arthur, an actor, and his interactions with his multitude of wives. His first of which, is obsessed with writing and illustrating her comic, Station 11. A sci-fi story about Dr. Eleven living on a space station. We also learn of his friend Clark and his stereotypical New York business life. He seems to always be around during Arthur’s life, and he survived the epidemic, giving him chapters in the present, too.
Firstly, I loved the interaction of the characters in the past and the characters in the present. As you read, you start to understand that the characters aren’t random. They all relate to each other in some way. Each chapter in the past reveals a new piece of information about a character in the future. How did they end up here? Why do they have the comic book? How do they know about X? It’s a really entertaining way to read two timelines, and allows them have a purpose.
I also really enjoyed the concept. I mentioned this a little earlier, but the idea of a focusing on a group of performers, more or less a luxury post-epidemic, is unique and provided a new perspective to a worn out genre. There were plenty of “I never thought about that” moments that kept me engaged during the usual “we have to hunt for food” moments.
I didn’t have a problem turning pages, I’ll say that. I burned through this one in about a week. Some of that may have been a lack of sleep, but regardless, I was fully engaged all the way to the end. The pacing was great, and I felt like St John Mandel did a great job of utilizing different writing styles and devices to mix it up. Some chapters were interview style back and forths, and others were simply letters. It wasn’t always third person storytelling.
At the end, I felt a little incomplete. I wanted a little bit more. A little more explanation, resolve, understanding, whatever you want to call it. She did such a good job tying in all the little details, that whenever something was introduced in the present, I was just waiting for it to play some part in the past. When that didn’t always happen, I was always a little disappointed. I think I got addicted to that little shot of serotonin.
A couple of the characters didn’t get much in the way of an explanation. The words on the page wanted me to feel some connection to them, but they weren’t given enough time or dialogue for me to develop in sort of feeling. The prophet was supposed to be this frightening character, but during the big climactic scene, I didn’t fear him. I didn’t know him. Clark’s backstory picked up at the end, but by then it was a little too late. We had spent so much time on Arthur, Clark was just kind of there. By the time he played a major role (or at least what I thought was a major role) he felt rushed. Like, oh shit, they don’t know this guy yet. I gotta jam this in really quick.
I also felt a little disconnected from Kirsten, the “main” character. I ultimately felt more of a relationship with Arthur. This isn’t necessarily a knock on the writing. I can definitely see how it would be intended for me to feel that way. There are multiple instances in the novel where Kirsten expresses a similar feeling. Times she doesn’t remember, times she wants to forget. She’s a little aloof. She’s survived 15 years in a hard world where killing is necessary and expected. I can understand why anyone would feel cold. However, she was part of a the theater! I’ve known many theater kids in my life, and I wouldn’t describe most of them as introverted and cold.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story and I loved the style of writing. I was engaged and interested the whole time, always wondering what was going to happen. My criticism of the character building is a subjective and should be taken with a grain of salt. I interpreted the writing in this way, but I fully admit it could have been 100% intentional. I can see an argument that says our understanding of the characters was a parallel to how the characters understood each other. I’d maybe tell you to share your drugs, but I can see it.
★★★★☆
