Station Eleven: A World In Turmoil

Josie Battle

Station Eleven: A World in Turmoil

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a complex book that pushes one to think beyond the realm of reality. Station Eleven tells the story of the lives of several characters after a fatal disease, the Georgia Flu, sweeps through the world, wiping out millions of people. There are four main characters in this book, whose lives all intertwine in a different way. The perspective on this book jumps around a lot, giving a mysterious and suspenseful plot. Station Eleven is an intriguing novel that delves into a postapocalyptic world and combines the unique tales of several characters.

One of the best parts about Station Eleven, was the character development over time. The book was curious in way that we started out knowing nothing about any of the characters, but by the end of the book, we knew everything about all the lives and the relationships of every person. The most impressively written interaction in this book was a conversation between Jeevan and Miranda. Miranda had just found out that her film star husband Arthur had been having an affair with Elizabeth Colton, one of his costars. Miranda goes outside, and runs into a paparazzi named Jeevan. They smoke a cigarette together and then out of nowhere, Jeevan catches Miranda off guard and takes her picture. “‘Hey!’ Jeevan says suddenly, and as Miranda turns, the cigarette halfway to her mouth, the flash of his camera catches her unaware” (Mandel 103). The desperation of both people is clear in this scene. For Miranda, she has just discovered that her husband is having an affair, and it caught in a moment of weakness, smoking a cigarette. Jeevan is not a bad person, and hates his job as a paparazzi, but is so tempted by the opportunity for a compromising photo that he takes it anyway. For a brief moment, there was no difference between Miranda and Jeevan. They were just two people having a normal conversation, sharing a cigarette. For a minute, the social status’ of Jeevan and Miranda didn’t matter, but in the blink of an eye, everything was back to normal. The interactions between characters is something Mandel does very well. All the conversations and relationships were clearly well thought out, and made for a better story.

There were several moral dilemmas in this novel. With the unexpected turmoil that came from the Georgia Flu, people were left to fend for themselves in a now completely lawless world. As people ran out of their food supply, they faced the difficult decision of whether to go out into the dangerous world, or face the risk of starvation. When the disease first broke out in Toronto, Jeevan stocked up on food and went to stay with his handicapped brother, Frank. Although they had enough food to last them a few months, the time came when there was a tough choice to make. There was no way that both Frank and Jeevan could survive in the apartment anymore, and Frank would certainly not survive in the unhandicap friendly world. As they are discussing the future, Frank says, “I think there’s just survival out there, Jeevan. I think you should go out there and try to survive” (Mandel 183). The uncertainty of the time and the sensibility that Frank had were shown in this conversation. Frank knew that he wouldn’t survive a second in the new and dangerous world, so he encouraged Jeevan to leave without him. Although this makes sense, it is such a terrible thing to do. For Jeevan it is completely scarring to leave behind his disabled brother as he wanders aimlessly into the unknown world. Mandel got your emotions running as you are read this book. She brought up ideas that made you have to think beyond the realm of possibility. This style of writing should be highly praised.

Mandel did a great job of making you think during this book. The themes that she presented in Station Eleven were unlike that of most other books. As one reads this novel, they can’t help but think, “What would I do if I were in this position?” The concept that the whole world could be wiped out is such a foreign idea in this day and age. Mandel also talked about the dying out of technology, and how it took a few days before the internet just stopped working. In our society, where everyone is so dependent on their technology, being made to think about what would happen if you were suddenly cut off from all forms is hard to imagine. Overall, I would highly praise Mandel’s Station Eleven. It was a story that made you ponder the material items in the world, and how you would live without them.