Friday 24 October 2014

Book Beginnings On Fridays (Station Eleven)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

This week my book beginning is Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I'm only on page 56 but can already tell that this will probably be in my top ten books of the year.

 

The King stood in a pool of blue light, unmoored. This was act 4 of King Lear, a winter night at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto. Earlier in the evening, three little girls had played a clapping game onstage as the audience entered, childhood versions of Lear's daughters, and now they'd returned as hallucinations in the mad scene.

 

Station Eleven  

Book Description

 

DAY ONE

The Georgia Flu explodes over the surface of the earth like a neutron bomb.

News reports put the mortality rate at over 99%.

WEEK TWO

Civilization has crumbled.

YEAR TWENTY

A band of actors and musicians called the Travelling Symphony move through their territories performing concerts and Shakespeare to the settlements that have grown up there. Twenty years after the pandemic, life feels relatively safe.

But now a new danger looms, and he threatens the hopeful world every survivor has tried to rebuild.

STATION ELEVEN

Moving backwards and forwards in time, from the glittering years just before the collapse to the strange and altered world that exists twenty years after, Station Eleven charts the unexpected twists of fate that connect six people: famous actor Arthur Leander; Jeevan - warned about the flu just in time; Arthur's first wife Miranda; Arthur's oldest friend Clark; Kirsten, a young actress with the Travelling Symphony; and the mysterious and self-proclaimed 'prophet'.

Thrilling, unique and deeply moving, this is a beautiful novel that asks questions about art and fame and about the relationships that sustain us through anything - even the end of the world
 

9 comments:

  1. This book sounds fascinating! I'm curious as to your thoughts on it when you finish it! :) Plus it's an interesting beginning! Happy Friday! :)

    Here's my book beginning this week!

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  2. I have heard a couple of people being so enthusiastic about this book! I mean, Shakespeare and world-wide pandemics sound like a great mix already, but the BB is really beautiful as well! Thanks for sharing :) hope you have a great weekend!
    My Friday post
    Juli @ Universe in Words

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  3. I do love the sound of this one...and I enjoy the idea of twists of fate connecting the characters. So much like real life.

    Thanks for sharing...and here's mine: “THE OLEANDER SISTERS”

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  4. Sounds like a riveting plot with plenty of opportunities for trouble. I like that! The opening made me want to keep reading.
    My Friday post features Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind.

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  5. Wow. Is it strange that in a sense I was able to identify with day one and day two? Ew. This whole Ebola pandemic has me cringing and hiding behind closed doors! I'd definitely read this one though! Thanks for sharing :)

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  6. Scary....don't want a flu to annihilate us. I like when books go back and forth in time.

    ENJOY!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Book Beginnings

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  7. Interesting opening. Thanks for sharing! :)

    Here's mine:
    NYZE@everythingnyze

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