Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel’s newest novel, tells the story of civilization before and after a pandemic leads to the collapse of society. Arthur Leander, a famous actor, suffers a heart attack and dies during a staging of King Lear. On stage at the time is a seven-year-old actress, Kirsten Raymonde, who idolizes Arthur. It is on this night that a pandemic enters the country, and changes the world as they knew it. Mandel, the author of three other novels and numerous short fiction and essays, weaves back and forth in time to encapture Arthur’s past, Kirsten’s present, and the many events that shape their lives. This powerful novel compels the readers to examine the repercussions that our actions cause and the interconnectedness of each of our lives.
Arthur Leander is a small-town boy who immerses himself into the insanity of celebrity living. Throughout the story, he as three wives; notably Miranda, author of a comic book series entitled Station Eleven, and Elizabeth, with whom Arthur has his only son, Tyler. Kirsten Raymonde is an actress in the Traveling Symphony, a group of musicians and actors who work to share art throughout the post-pandemic world. When the Traveling Symphony enters a town in search of their friends, they find it in control of a deranged religious cult, led by the Prophet. After leaving the town, the cult works to track them down and punish them for their disobedience. Little did they know that the Prophet and Kirsten had something in common: Arthur Leander. In a moderately predictable plot-twist, it is revealed that the Prophet is Arthur’s son, Tyler, and Miranda's comics are the common thread between the prophet and actress.
Mandel shows the many repercussions that each choice leads to. Take, for instance, that this story of perseverance and survival would not exist had not one infected Russian decided to board an airplane to Toronto-- leading to millions of deaths and ultimately the collapse of western civilization. Or that, had Arthur not cheated on his second wife, Tyler would not have been raised in Jerusalem, where the religious influence was strong--or for that matter, that if Arthur hadn’t cheated on his first wife, that Tyler wouldn’t even exist. Mandel’s use of this theme makes the readers reflect upon themselves and their decisions, and see their actions in a new light.
Mandel fantastically weaves together the lives of characters and the actions that they take. The friendship, for instance, between Arthur’s best friend, Clark, and Kirsten’s best friend, Charlie, shows how each of us are connected in some way, however indirectly. Additionally, the connection between Kirsten and the Prophet is revealed in the climactic scene when, at gunpoint, Kirsten recognises a quote said by the Prophet from Miranda’s comic book, Station Eleven. Having never met anyone with knowledge of the comics, she replies with another quote: “We long only to go home… We have been lost for so long… We long only for the world we were born into” (302). Kirsten perfectly expresses the feelings of those who live in the post-pandemic world through words that only she and the Prophet know. This scene shows the link between Kirsten and the Prophet, through Miranda’s comics and ultimately in Arthur Leander. Unlikely realizations of how people are connected, such as this, are what Mandel emphasizes through her novel.
Station Eleven’s themes of intertwining lives and the consequences of each action are what make the novel unique and original. The quality of a novel is defined by impact it leaves on the reader-- the effect it has on the reader’s view of the world. Station Eleven leaves the readers thinking about the impact of their decisions and the paths that connect them to others. By latching onto these ideas, Mandel creates a masterpiece that captures life’s unexpected twists and turns.
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