Equal parts page turner and poem entertainment weekly, the novel is. The novel station eleven is dominated by six main characters who all connected to each other as well as the secondary characters. Id been recommended this book by a number of people, however im cautious of. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, station eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame and the beauty of the world as we know it. This means that nothing is held back about the book here. Station eleven begins with the death of arthur leander from a heart attack, and then quickly moves to portray a world in which 99 percent of the population has died from a global flu pandemic. Eleven s predicament of having to forget the amenities of earthly life in order to move on. John mandel this study guide consists of approximately 79 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of station eleven. Station eleven study guide literature guide litcharts.
Earlier in the evening, three little girls had played a clapping game on stage as the audience entered, childhood versions of lears daughters, and now theyd returned. In this way, the novel explores death both on a personal and global scale. Set in the days of civilizations collapse, station eleven tells the 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. John mandels fourth novel station eleven recently made the national book awards shortlist for fiction. Set in the days of civilizations collapse, station eleven tells the story of a hollywood star, his wouldbe savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the great lakes. Katniss returns to district 12 in lionsgate films mockingjay, part 1. Mandels message is that civilisation and just as importantly, art will endure as long as there is life. Death and survival theme in station eleven litcharts. The audio book club visits station eleven slate critics debate emily st. Litcharts makes it easy to find quotes by chapter, character, and theme. Station eleven offers suspense and science fiction, but it. Mandels focus on the beauty that remainsand is preserved in plays, music, and other cultural formsis unusual.
The author uses a thirdperson, omniscient narrator. Mandels novel weaves together a postapocalyptic reckoning, the life of an actor. John mandel conjures indelible visuals, and her writing is pure elegance. When writing up wednesday mornings announcement of the national book award finalists, i casually noted that station eleven emily st. Continuing with the themes of forgetting, this quote from the station eleven graphic novel describes dr. Clarke award in 2015 the novel was well received by critics, with praise emphasizing the understated nature of. Patrick dewitt, author of the sisters brothers shortlisted for the 2011 man booker prize station eleven is a magnificent, compulsive novel that cleverly turns the notion of a kinder, gentler time on its head.
Station eleven then uses arthur as the center of a web of connections that we learn from the people in his life before, during and after the disease wipes out the world as we know it. He could be described as pretentious and selfabsorbed. She demonstrates an exceptional aptitude for writing, and matthias, for a time, indulges her with reed pens, papyri, and other 16 c. Station eleven is a complex, eerie novel about the years before and after a pandemic that eliminates most of humanity, save for a troupe of actors and a few traumatized witnesses. The narration is fairly straightforward and trustworthy. Id been recommended this book by a number of people, however im cautious of this genre as i often find.
Station eleven opens with a scene from the shakespeare play and expands on the themes of survival and meaning. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. The first novel in english by the vietnamborn nguy. Station eleven is so compelling, so fearlessly imagined, that i wouldnt have put it down for anything. Station eleven begins with a death unrelated to the mass deaths that are about to come. The news that night pronounces the actors passing, and barely mentions a mysterious illness. Discussion questions for station eleven by emily st. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Clarke award, was a finalist for the national book award and penfaulkner award, was an amazon best book of the month, and was named one of the best books of the year by more than a dozen publications. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the. Thematically, mandel borrows from the tragedy, and she also stages two production of the play within her novel, one before and one after the collapse. Ana is the daughter of matthias, head scribe to herod antipas, tetrarch of galilee. We meet kristen 20 years later into the future, where theres no such thing a countries, nations, or states. While her previous novels are cracking good reads, this is her best yet.
Teacher editions with classroom activities for all 1296 titles we cover. Customers who viewed this item also viewed these digital items. With its plot set both before and after the georgia flu pandemic, station eleven depicts both precollapse civilization as it was and that same civilization as it is remembered by characters who have survived. Sadlieroxford vocabulary workshop level e unit 11 20 terms. If you loved station eleven, try reading these 9 books, too. When he collapses, a paramedic in training jumps up onto stage to. In the postcollapse world of station eleven, twenty years after a devastating pandemic has destroyed modern civilization, there is a greater sense of a survivalist mentality, allowing people to better justify what many would call morally questionable actions. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in station eleven, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. 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. If you have not read the book, this page is not for you. John mandels new york times bestselling station eleven is at once a gripping postapocalyptic page turner and a hopeful, elegiac masterpiece that explores the connections that bind humanity. Station eleven is a metaphor for the way in which the world has collapsed after the apocalypse and the dream that theyll somehow be able to get home to an undamaged earth.
Its a sweeping look at where we are, how we got here and where we might go. Station eleven quotes explanations with page numbers. Why did mandel choose it to introduce station eleven. Pdf downloads of all 1296 litcharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. A literary pageturner, impeccably paced, which celebrates the world lost. Linebyline modern translations of every shakespeare play and poem. One night, in a toronto theater, onstage performing the role of king lear, 51yearold arthur leander. Station eleven imagines that the world as we know it has been destroyed utterly, irrevocably, and swiftly by the outbreak of the socalled georgia flu. 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. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. In station eleven, the values and morals of the precollapse world differ greatly from that of the postcollapse world.
Clarke award, the toronto book award, and the morning news tournament of books, among other awards finalist for a national book award and the penfaulkner award longlisted for the baileys prize formerly the orange prize, the impac dublin award, and the andrew carnegie medal for excellence in fiction. The primary example of this is shakespeare, specifically king lear. An audacious, darkly glittering novel about art, fame, and ambition set in the eerie days of civilizations collapse, from the author of three highly acclaimed previous novels. Clark is the one who finds the best balance between.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. A flu pandemic wipes out 99% of humanity in this muchtipped novel about memory, art and survival, writes justine jordan. Deborah by the water, the traveling symphony provokes a local tyrant, a crisis that follows them onto the road. The irony, and indeed the central conceit of the book is that theres no way to get back to what they had before. Mandel and nprs scott simon talk about art at the end of the world. Station eleven is the fourth book by american novelist emily st.
The structuring of the book obscures it, and its certainly not the primary focus, but the stuff about the prophet and the disappearances is certainly a narrative that is both recognizable and familiar. This one page guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of station eleven by emily st. John mandel, opens with a famous actor, arthur leander, playing king lear on stage. Station eleven contains many explicit references to other works of art, and relies on them heavily for source material. John mandels novel, station eleven, a shakespearean troupe clings to scraps of civilization after a deadly pandemic. Set in the days of civilizations collapse, station eleven tells. This was act 4 of king lear, a winter night at the elgin theatre in toronto.
Station eleven was the best book i read in 2014 i dont mean that to say that it was, hands down, definitively, the best book published in 2014. Station eleven takes us to a future in which civilization as we know it has been destroyed by a flu pandemic. Minnesota public radio, the huffington post, bookpage, time out, bookriot. 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. This ambitious story tackles a postapocalyptic world in which a super flu has wiped out the majority of the population.
1236 138 602 1220 951 515 1162 1104 130 1252 50 919 2 99 580 1571 346 1337 1239 1254 908 843 976 954 75 252 378 1497 913 531 274 1378 513 1302 286 980 498 74 1008 872 1404 99 1490