BOOK REVIEW: STATION ELEVEN BY EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL

Survival is insufficient.

Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic novel set during and after the ‘Georgia Flu’ pandemic, which kills 99% of humanity and leads to a widespread collapse of civilization.

The novel starts with the death of famous actor Arthur Leander, who suffers a fatal heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear in Toronto. Leander’s sudden death comes just as the pandemic is beginning to strike North America.

Station Eleven moves between the past and the future, connecting key characters through their relationship with Leander. In particular, the story follows Kirsten Raymonde, who was a child actor in Leander’s fateful King Lear. In the world shattered by the Georgia Flu, Raymonde performs in the Travelling Symphony, a nomadic collection of actors and musicians who strive to keep art and culture alive for the many scattered communities. The motto for the Travelling Circus is Survival is insufficient, which underlines one of the novels key themes, namely the value, the necessity, of art and community for humanity.

Front cover of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Miranda Carroll, Leander’s first wife, is a fascinating character. Her obsession with creating her graphic novel – the titular Station Eleven – reflects both her loneliness and her appreciation of the beauty of Earth and the joys of human society. Carroll’s graphic novel forms a metaphor for the suffering and struggles of the survivors of the pandemic.

The novel’s complex structure is no gimmick but a highly effective method for giving insights into the characters and developing the plot, building genuine suspense and adding layers of meaning. And throughout, Mandel’s prose creates a prevailing dreamy, poetic atmosphere.

Although Station Eleven is far from a standard post-apocalyptic novel, there are genuine horrors in the book as humanity reels from the pandemic, such as a murderous cult inspired by a fanatical prophet. I found the chapters where Jeevan Chaudhary seeks refuge with his brother Frank especially chilling, as they witness the relentless breakdown of Toronto to desperation and violence, and the eerie silence that follows, and clearly this grim scene is being repeated across the world. The bonds holding together civilisation are thin.

Although often haunting and unsettling, I believe Station Eleven to be an ultimately hopeful novel. It doesn’t shy away from the enormous loss and suffering inflicted by the pandemic, nor the appalling struggles endured by the survivors as they try to build lives out of the wreckage of civilization. But Mandel stresses how art, culture and community are necessary for humanity to endure. Station Eleven prompts us to remember and be grateful for the beauty of the world around us and the values of the connections we share with other people.

Survival is insufficient.