So, this book….
This book….
This glorious, wonderful book.
I didn’t think that I would love it. This is how Station Eleven came into my life. I work in as a Fraud Analyst. My group works many systems and different shifts. There’s a person who has worked with us for a while. I don’t really remember how long because he worked different systems and different shifts from me this whole time. Except, a few weeks ago, he was moved closer to where I sit. Like kids in grade school, I suddenly became more aware of him. And by that, I mean I became aware that he was a reader.
Now, I love readers. I am fascinated by them. I love to figure out what people like to read. Before I was a fraud analyst, I worked in an email customer service department, and every time I trained someone, I’d ask them what their favorite book was. I absolutely and totally judged a person by their favorite book.
Sometimes the answer was something I knew. One person told me they only read the modern classics. Pretentious I thought. Another person reeled off a random mix. Candide, The Time Traveler’s Wife, who knows what else. We became great friends. Another person told me their favorite book was The Other Boelyn (sister? wife? is that all of it?) I rolled my eyes since why read a story that you already know the end to? SPOILER ALERT: Anne Boelyn doesn’t make it. This person is one of my favorite people ever and my very best friends ever. I actually intend on reading The Other Boelyn at some point because I think–she’s pretty awesome. She has great taste in friends (me!), so I should probably at least give it a chance. For the people who didn’t read, they might as well not even talk to me after I trained them. But almost everyone has a favorite book.
Anyhoosen, back to random co-worker. He was reading Wool by Hugh Howey, which I read and loved. So we were talking books. I can’t remember how, I can’t remember why, but he told me his mom really liked this random book called Station Eleven and he was thinking of reading it soon.
I was intrigued by this mom out there recommending books to her grown son, so I read it. Not so much because of the premise or the blurb or the cover. But because a random mom recommended it to her grown son, and he was excited to read it.
She was right. It was excellent. I love so much about it. I love how they refer to some of the characters by their position in the symphony. The Viola. The Conductor. The Sixth Guitar. I love how Shakespeare and Star Trek were woven in the story. I loved the word choice, the locations, the way she described how someone felt. I love how it switched from POV and timeline to POV and timeline, and it always felt like the right choice.
I am smitten with Station Eleven.
As a writer, I’m smitten with the ability of Emily St. John Mandel to write the story with the construction methods and voices that she used. This chick has SKILLZ, YO.
Anyhoosen, I think you should check it out.
~Amanda
ps, up next is Anne of Green Gables for the real Popsugar Book Challenge. It’s my book that’s more than 100 years old. And my August classic. Because, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but it’s freaking August in a couple days. Possibly tomorrow. I can’t be sure.
Amanda A. Allen 