MashableReads discussion

For the final MashableReads selection of 2014, we've chosen Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

Station Eleven tells the tale of a group of survivors living in the near-distant future, after a pandemic has killed most of the human population, and civilization as we know it has crumbled. Traveling by caravan around the Great Lakes region is a group of actors and musicians who perform Shakespeare for those left alive. Station Eleven explores multiple timelines, including the decades leading up to society's collapse, and the relationships between individuals and art that persist even past the end of the world.

We want you to read Station Eleven with us. Let us know here what you think of the book, your favorite quotes, observation and questions you have, etc.

Happy Reading!

Perfect book to end off 2014! Station Eleven is definitely my favourite read of the year. I still can't get it out of my head. My thoughts of the novel are in my review. Looking forward to discussing it with you all.

One of my favourite quotes from Station Eleven (in pic):

Our December Indigo Spotlight Pick is also on our Best of 2014 list! #StationEleven http://t.co/SoNWDwUwHB pic.twitter.com/99eeUmlNAh

— Indigo Chapters (@chaptersindigo) December 10, 2014

I always love reading what dystopian novels say we will miss in the future. That's why this is one of my favorite passages from Station Eleven:

"No more Internet. No more social media, no more scrolling through litanies of dreams and nervous hopes and photographs of lunches, cries for help and expressions of contentment and relationship-status updates with heart icons whole or broken, plans to meet up later, please, complaints, desires, pictures of babies dressed as bears or peppers for Halloween. No more reading and commenting on the lives of others, and in so doing, feeling slightly less alone. No more avatars." (Part 1, Chapter 6, p.32)

That entire chapter is a list of what's has disappeared in the future and it starts out grandiose -- no countries, no airplanes, etc. I really like the fact that even in that large list of more significant things that would be gone after an apocalypse, Station Eleven didn't leave out the small things (like relationship-status updates online) that we often take for granted.

Hi MJ,

I dog-eared that passage as one of my favorites, too. Underneath the engrossing plot line of Station Eleven there was a scarily truthful observation (and sublimated criticism) of how the characters carelessly live their lives pre-Georgia Flu. Emily St. John Mandel shows her characters floating from one task to another, their eyes scanning mobile phones or tablets. They're easy to offend: When a stranger bumps into Clark on the subway, it tarnishes his day. The characters think these mini-dramas are worth memorializing (the book of letters published without Arthur's permission is a great example). After the Georgia Flu ravages the planet, Mandel's characters have to maintain their memory through the people they meet and the impressions they leave behind -- making human interaction more profound, valuable and genuine.

Taking away the social crutches is a divisive tool Mandel used to lend more information about the characters -- Elizabeth is scatter-brained and ridden of her identity when the media all but disappears, and her fame with it. It's almost better that Arthur died before the flu took hold because as we get to know him in flashbacks -- we learn he lost his true self to his many roles. the post-Georgia Flu world would have been one he struggled to live in without a stage and fans to give him meaning and purpose.

The characters in Station Eleven aside, Mandel forces the reader to ask themselves: What is the source of my identity? Is it internal? External? Can I thrive without life's accessories such as a job, wardrobe, Facebook or Twitter profile? Can I stand alone and know what and who I am if everything was slowly stripped away from me?

It's powerful stuff; h/t to Mandel.

Brittany Elena wrote: "Hi MJ,

I dog-eared that passage as one of my favorites, too. Underneath the engrossing plot line of Station Eleven there was a scarily truthful observation (and sublimated critici..."

I really like that! Especially the point that Station Eleven forces the reader to ask themselves: what is the source of my identity.
Identity is something we see all the characters explore -- both as they relate to Arthur but also as they struggle to survive in the future (especially in the Museum of Civilization).

Just finished reading Station Eleven and I have to say, what an incredible book. I loved the plethora of perspectives throughout the narrative: from Kristen's strength to Clark's kindness to Miranda's vulnerability.

That said, I think that my favorite sections were the Miranda sections. Most of all, I loved how complex Miranda was as a character. She was vulnerable, yet strong and determined. I loved how she grew throughout the novel. I also really enjoyed learning about how her comic "Station Eleven" was created, considering that the comic serves as an inspiration to so many characters in the book.

To anybody who has finished reading, what was your favorite section (and no spoilers, please)!

I finished reading the book yesterday. One of the memorable quotes for me was this one: "I can't remember the year we spent on the road, and I think that means I can't remember the worst of it. But my point is, doesn't it seem to you that the people who have the hardest time in this - this current era, whatever you want to call it, the world after the Georgia Flu-doesn't it seem like the people who struggle the most with it are the people who remember the old world clearly?"

Although I do believer remembering is important, but it becomes a problem when it prevents you from moving forward and on in life.

Gerald wrote: "I finished reading the book yesterday. One of the memorable quotes for me was this one: "I can't remember the year we spent on the road, and I think that means I can't remember the worst of it. Bu..."

Yeah, I marked that passage in my book too.
I think the way Mandel treats remembering and nostalgia in the book is super interesting. Because on the one hand, you do see characters like Kristen who are better able to cope with the current world of Station Eleven because they don't remember a previous way of life. But at the same time, there is another set of survivors at the Museum of Civilization who are working to preserver the past.

I really love the way that Mandel strikes that balance between honoring the past and moving forward in life.

Love this passage:
"Jeevan found himself thinking about how human the city is, how human everything is. We bemoaned the impersonality of the modern world, but that was a lie, it seemed to him; it had never been impersonal at all. There had always been a massive delicate infrastructure of people, all of them working unnoticed around us, and when people stop going to work, the entire operation grinds to a halt." (p178)

For anybody who wants a look into Station Eleven's title comic: http://www.nathanburtondesign.com/nat...

Am I the only one who wants a companion comic to go with the book?

MJ wrote: "For anybody who wants a look into Station Eleven's title comic: http://www.nathanburtondesign.com/nat...

Am I the only one who wants a companion comic to go wit..."

Get out of town, this is amazing! I spent most of this book wishing that comic was real and I could actually read it.

Megan wrote: "Get out of town, this is amazing! I spent most of this book wishing that comic was real and I could actually read it."

Phew! Glad I am not alone!

MJ wrote: "For anybody who wants a look into Station Eleven's title comic: http://www.nathanburtondesign.com/nat...

As I read I was actually hoping we could have seen more of the Station Eleven comic in the book. I wished Mandel would have explored the Undersea world more, maybe shown us actual passages, go all story-within-story with the framework. A companion book would be cool, though it would have interesting to see it integrated within the novel's pages.

Today is the day! MashableReads is talking about Station Eleven with Emily St. John Mandel! You can tune into our book chat here at 3pm ET: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/cg...

Am I the only one who wants a companion comic to go wit..."

Want the comic! Absolutely. I think it would make a lovely "special edition" of the book to have the comic pages inset at the beginning of each chapter.

I love the passages about sleepwalking in the parts of the book with Clark the most - it seems to apply to our everyday lives right now.

“I look around and sometimes think–this will maybe sound weird–it’s like the corporate world’s full of ghosts… I know academia is no different, so maybe a fairer way of putting this would be to say that adulthood’s full of ghosts. I’m talking about these people who’ve ended up in one life instead of another and they are just so disappointed. Do you know what I mean? They’ve done what’s expected of them. They want to do something different but that’s impossible now, there’s a mortgage, kids, whatever, they’re trapped… High-functioning sleepwalkers, essentially.” – p.163

My full review here: http://www.inkwellsandimages.com/2014...

Does anyone know if we can access a recording of the discussion with the author today? I had to work and was unable to participate.

Maureen wrote: "Does anyone know if we can access a recording of the discussion with the author today? I had to work and was unable to participate."

Hi Maureen! Yep! You can check out the discussion online here:
http://mashable.com/2015/01/15/statio...

MJ wrote: "Maureen wrote: "Does anyone know if we can access a recording of the discussion with the author today? I had to work and was unable to participate."

Hi Maureen! Yep! You can check out the discuss..."

Thanks! I appreciate this!

"One of the ways to write about something is to write about its absence." - from Mandel's discussion with Mashable. Love that.