Station Eleven makes you re-appreciate the wonders of civilization by portraying its downfall. A global pandemic, the Georgia Flu, killed more than 99% of the human population and a generation later only few people still remember what humanity had once been capable of.

Naturally, it's a very bleak book. Yet, there is much heart and warmth in what remains. The post-apocalyptic reality is comparatively stable and when you stick to trodden paths there is a good chance you get by. There is violence in the book, but the action is not what it's about. "Survival is not enough", and some people feel they have to try harder to make life worth living (again).

The quote is what is written on the wagons of a Shakespearean theater groups that still perform the classic plays even after the fall. It's very representative of the story's dynamic, as the people lost all vision for their future. All their doing and thinking, all their aspirations, are determined by what was before. This is reflected by the narrative structure, where relationships and objects import meaning when we learn about their background in the past.

What I absolutely loved about it was how the story is fully dedicated to the mundane. It's not the epic journey of something like The Stand. The past events tell of normal people in everyday situations. For me it's difficult to justify why, but I felt very invested in the stories of the aging actor and his series of wives, of the guy who struggles with what he wants to do with his life, or of the woman who secretly works on her sci-fi comic-book project.

It's not even obvious what they have to do with what will happen later. You might argue the novel doesn't really tell much story at all (I think it doesn't). But reading it was so strangely comforting. Maybe it's the contrast, maybe it makes us cherish that we are living in a world where we can participate in little stories like this within a secure and comfortable framework of culture and technology.

Rating: 4/5