Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Ok, I may be obsessing a little bit, but this is my 4th book on pandemics/dystopia since March. Station Eleven is my favorite novel of the bunch. (The Great Influenza by John M. Barry was an excellent non-fiction study of the 1918 pandemic). A rapidly transmitting, deadly Georgian flu (country, not the state) kills most of the world’s population. It is Year 20 and a nomadic band of musicians and actors, The Traveling Symphony, “tour” around the Great Lakes Region of the United States – primarily Upper Michigan.

The story begins in Toronto where a famous movie actor, Arthur Leander, has a massive heart attack during a performance of King Lear. That same night, the Georgian Flu arrives in Toronto and quickly overwhelms hospitals. Within a couple of weeks, communication breaks down and those that have survived are on their own. After several years of chaos, panic and self-preservation, people have begun to form settlements and life has become (somewhat) less dangerous.

The book flashes back to pre-pandemic days to expand on characters backstory and fill in the creation of Dr. Eleven – a set of comics created by Arthur Leander’s first wife Miranda Carroll. Only a few copies exist and one was given to Kristen, a youth actor in King Lear, by Arthur. She survives the pandemic and treasures anything to do with Dr. Eleven or Arther – collecting magazine clippings from celebrity magazines during house raids early in the post-pandemic world.

Mandel uses The Traveling Symphony to drive the story and a way to show the complete devastation of society and the dangers that exist since Year 0. After encountering a cult-like community that unsettles them all, they decide to meet up with former symphony members in Severn City – known for its larger settlement at the city’s airport. One survivor there has established a Museum of Civilization, with old iPhones, laptops, driver’s licenses and other relicts from the past.

I found this to be a page turner. Mandel creates suspense both as the flu spreads and also in the new age. Fear of death exists in both eras. The backstory fills in gaps for the reader but not always for those in the post-pandemic area.

I found myself trying to figure out which cities the Traveling Symphony visited. She mentions Traverse City and Mackinaw City, but other towns are fictional, based on real locations. I found this article on Book Riot that hypothesizes the Station 11 Trail.

Also, HBO Max is working on a 10-episode mini-series but there is not a release date set. Read the book first!