An Apocalyptic Nightmare

Station Eleven

Emily St. John Mandel sets her novel Station Eleven in post apocalyptic society and takes readers through the life of Kirsten Raymonde.  Kirsten travels with a group of musicians and actors performing Shakespeare and classical music at many post apocalyptic villages.  Mandel introduces Miranda Carroll in Chapter five who becomes a recurring character during flashbacks to before the apocalypse.  In Chapter 14 readers witness a flashback between Miranda, her abusive boyfriend Pablo, and future husband Arthur Leander, in which she cheats on Pablo with Arthur.  Understandably, Miranda was feeling a great deal of remorse after these events but Mandel’s poor syntax and voice take away from the emotional hardship of the character.

One of the most empowering lines in the novel is, “I repent nothing” (page 89).  Miranda says this to herself after she has cheated.  This line resonates with the audience because of the power behind the word repent, a smart choice on Mandel’s part considering how the phrase “I regret nothing” has come to be used.  The connotation of the word repent is seems more serious than that of the word regret.  Miranda is coming to terms with the idea of owning her actions, good or bad at this time in the novel.  Unfortunately, this line was used at such a disappointing time in the text, Miranda is telling, or rather forcing herself not to repent what she has done.  The voice of Miranda during this passage is a gross misrepresentation of how the young adult mind thinks and justifies actions.

This line also stood out because it was in a small, three word, sentence surrounded by longer sentences in the passage.  The repetivity of the long sentences around the line “I repent nothing,” (page 89) have the reader almost asleep.  The identical sentence structure is not only boring but takes away from the power the line “I repent nothing” (page 89).  This problem isn’t subjective to the passage on page 89 but is rather a constant problem throughout the novel.  The reader constantly runs into passages containing only one sentence length.

Mandel also struggles to move the book along.  With such a long and slow introduction Mandel ultimately fails to hook readers.  Though extensive background into the characters lives and emotions was helpful to the reader it could have been done in a more timely manner.  It is especially important in a relatively short novel to ensure that the reader is constantly engaged something Mandel struggles with throughout the novel.  The writing would have been made better had Mandel had expressed the point or the lesson in her story earlier.  This also would have helped to end the book in a better fashion.  After reading the slow beginning and relatively confusing middle the reader is not satisfied with a good ending.  This hurts Mandel’s point and story since it leaves readers disappointed in the novel instead of taking away the engaging plot and character depth.

Mandel developed an interesting concept and storyline.  At times the syntax could have been improved in order to engage the reader throughout the book.  Mandel also struggles to hone in on the young adult voice and mindset that would have best resonated with her audience. Overall, Station Eleven is a slow moving novel with an interesting concept but poor execution.