The Book Selection
Emily St. John Mandel examines the themes of art, fame, ambition, and survival in her novel Station Eleven.
The story begins on a snowy night in Toronto as a famous, aging actor dies on stage during a production of King Lear. On this same night, a flu epidemic begins sweeping across all nations of the world. Years in the future, a theater troupe called The Travelling Symphony wanders throughout the post-apocalyptic wasteland bringing art and culture to the few remaining survivors of the Georgia Flu pandemic.
Moving fluidly between past, present, and future, Station Eleven examines the twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Travelling Symphony.
