Picador Station Eleven

Good book

Talk about something that hit me completely out of left field! I actually added this book to my tbr at some point but I can’t remember when or why and I also didn’t realize this fact when Station Eleven was announced as our monthly book club read. Only when I started reading I figured out that I must have heard about it before. Anyway I’m only trying to make the point that I didn’t have any real expectations going into this and it was such a nice surprise that I ended up loving this book so much. This felt unputdownable and very much one of the most glued to the page books I’ve ever read. I think the first hook came in the form of the dystopian, post apocalyptic setting which is always something I am at least intrigued by. When you combine this setting with the way the story is being told in a completely non linear way just bouncing back and forth different characters and timelines constantly but without being confusing at all, you do have a recipe for success! It also helps immensely that the author is putting out these breadcrumbs and details everywhere that connect all the stories together and it definitely all comes together beautifully. I also loved how the author is painting this post apocalyptic world. There are so many details that just work super well like a random pop culture quote from our time becoming hugely life defining for this group of artists or how children in this world are depicted in how they can’t fathom how a plane ever was able to fly or how a computer screen was emitting light. It is all just fascinating and puts up this mirror to our current society / humanity as a whole. One thing I read after finishing this book is the quote by G.R.R. Martin who describes it as wonderfully elegiac. I didn’t know this word “elegiac” before but after looking it up I feel like it describes this book perfectly. A mournful, melancholic tone used to characterize art, music and poetry which are a huge part of the book and just in general evoking bittersweet, reflective and nostalgic moods. All of this just fits the writing style of the book and resonates throughout. The only real criticism of this book is that there isn’t more of it, but wait … there is! I found out that this got adapted into a tv miniseries! Gotta put that one high up my priority list. Also maybe I have to dive more into this “dystopian” and “literary” thing. :)

The book DID end up being every bit as masterful as the HBO series based on it, which I absolutely, immediately adored, and I look forward very much to reading Sea of Tranquility next. Emily St. John-Mandel's mind, her narration, her attitude, her ability to empathize in writing and convey emotions the rest of us have difficulty describing, and what's more, to attribute them to the sorts of nuances too subtle for some of us to perceive without her help. Clearly the work of a beautiful mind that has been allowed to idle creatively and introspectively. I hadn't received a literary spark like this since I first read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I stumbled across the show on HBO. From the very first few minutes I could tell this was the work of a BRILLIANT writer, and immediately wondered if the book was the reason for this, or if the screenwriters were simply very gifted, so decided to give the book a gander and see for myself. As evidenced in the overall quality of the concept, my guess was right on, and this was immediately one of the most engaging writers I had read in possibly an entire generation, at least insofar as novels go. Emily St.John-Mandel says what she has to say FEARLESSLY, with conviction, and without mincing words. I would be very curious to see how many drafts she wrote, as I wouldn't expect their to be many, with the writing coming at you raw, like, DARE I EVEN SAY? HEMMINGWAY?! Her mind is keen, and she knows exactly how many words she needs to bring you into her next thought, and somehow skips along her discontinuous narrative without losing you, at a rate that would set off alarms for other writers like the wheels were going to come off. A dancer no less, to be sure, in real life. Really? Fitting the way her prose dances across the page, from her mind into yours, without undue modesty. Clearly she wants to connect her thoughts to yours, and she chooses her words appropriately to that purpose. BRAVO! Now THIS is what SEXY writing looks like, and scratches the sci-fi/post-apoc itch no less!

Çok karmaşık değil ama yetişkinler için bir post apokaliptik macera kitabı, kronolojik gitmemesi kitabın çok hoş, dili de ağır değil.

Fazia bastante tempo que não lia um livro de tamanho impacto, apesar de tratar de temas sérios, como a morte, o livro te carrega em uma leveza por diversas linhas de narrativa e ainda te faz refletir a cada instante. Após ter lido o livro eu me sinto transformado e dando mais valor às pequenas coisas da vida. Ótimo livro, recomendo a todos os gostos . PS: É um inglês relativamente simples e fácil de entender.