Honestly, I can’t tell if I like it or not. This should be a very good discussion.
1 Like
Dang was excited to dive in on my first here, but will be traveling on the 16th. Maybe i’ll get some notes in Film Club style…
I’m with ya. I haven’t gotten far enough in yet but I haven’t gotten to the “I get why this turned into a hit tv show” part of the book.
Very curious how it was translated to television, especially with the less than linear structure of the book.
3 Likes
I’m finishing he book up tonight after the wife and I finished the TV show Sunday–I keep finding myself coming up with pros/cons for each.
2 Likes
Looking forward to chatting Wednesday!! @mcdonart22 are you able to set up zoom?
Summary
Discussion questions
- Now that you’ve read the entire novel, go back and reread the passage by Czeslaw Milosz that serves as an epigraph. What does it mean? Why did Mandel choose it to introduce Station Eleven?
- Does the novel have a main character? Who would you consider it to be?
- Arthur Leander dies while performing King Lear, and the Travelling Symphony performs Shakespeare’s works. On page 57, Mandel writes, ‘Shakespeare was the third born to his parents, but the first to survive infancy. Four of his siblings died young. His son, Hamnet, died at eleven and left behind a twin. Plague closed the theaters again and again, death flickering over the landscape.’ How do Shakespearean motifs coincide with those of Station Eleven, both the novel and the comic?
- Arthur’s death happens to coincide with the arrival of the Georgia Flu. If Jeevan had been able to save him, it wouldn’t have prevented the apocalypse. But how might the trajectory of the novel been different?
- What is the metaphor of the Station Eleven comic books? How does the Undersea connect to the events of the novel?
- ‘Survival is insufficient,’ a line from Star Trek: Voyager, is the Travelling Symphony’s motto. What does it mean to them?
- On page 62, the prophet discusses death: ‘I’m not speaking of the tedious variations on physical death. There’s the death of the body, and there’s the death of the soul. I saw my mother die twice.’ Knowing who his mother was, what do you think he meant by that?
- Certain items turn up again and again, for instance the comic books and the paperweight – things Arthur gave away before he died, because he didn’t want any more possessions. And Clark’s Museum of Civilization turns what we think of as mundane belongings into totems worthy of study. What point is Mandel making?
- On a related note, some characters – like Clark – believe in preserving and teaching about the time before the flu. But in Kirsten’s interview with François Diallo, we learn that there are entire towns that prefer not to: ‘We went to a place once where the children didn’t know the world had ever been different . . .’ (page 115). What are the benefits of remembering, and of not remembering?
- What do you think happened during the year Kirsten can’t remember?
- In a letter to his childhood friend, Arthur writes that he’s been thinking about a quote from Yeats, ‘Love is like the lion’s tooth’ (page 158). What does this mean, and why is he thinking about it?
- How does the impending publication of those letters affect Arthur?
- On page 206, Arthur remembers Miranda saying ‘I regret nothing,’ and uses that to deepen his understanding of Lear, ‘a man who regrets everything,’ as well as his own life. How do his regrets fi t into the larger scope of the novel? Other than Miranda, are there other characters that refuse to regret?
- Throughout the novel, those who were alive during the time before the flu remember specific things about those days: the ease of electricity, the taste of an orange. In their place, what do you think you’d remember most?
- What do you imagine the Travelling Symphony will find when they reach the brightly lit town to the south?
- The novel ends with Clark, remembering the dinner party and imagining that somewhere in the world, ships are sailing. Why did Mandel choose to end the novel with him?
4 Likes
Just finished this one, and looking forward to the discussion. I don’t have a lot of smart things to say about this one, but I’m hoping to hear some. I had the feeling while reading it that this was one of those books where I wasn’t necessarily receiving everything the author was sending. I did like the general concept, even though I am generally anti-dystopian in my reading choices.
5 Likes
@mcdonart22 - just curious if you’ll be able to set up zoom for 6pm PST? Or should I pester @MrVinegar206 /@JScore /@MrChickPhilA etc…
Sorry! Things have been crazy. Just setting it up now. Will post momentarily.
1 Like
Ryan McDonald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Refuge Book Club
Time: Feb 16, 2022 09:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 948 8557 6901
Password: 269951
One tap mobile
+16465588656,94885576901# US (New York)
+13126266799,94885576901# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 948 8557 6901
Password: 269951
Find your local number: Zoom International Dial-in Numbers - Zoom
8 Likes
Thanks dude!! Look forward to chatting with folks this evening
3 Likes
I need to get back on this train next book. Missing the book club gang!
2 Likes
We might be in Scotland during next book club!
1 Like
I thought Absalom Absolom with Professor Dan was next
5 Likes
2 a.m. wake up call for Book Club sounds pretty rough. Guess it is the punishment for being on a stellar trip.
1 Like
I will probably miss tonight since I’m solo dadding, I’ll hop on later if I can. Looking forward to the Faulkner deep dive with Dr. Dan!
1 Like
For those who have read the book and watched the show…is the book better? I know that is a dumb question because books are 100% better but I watched the whole season and I was decidedly NOT a fan of the show. I know its a contrarian take since @MerchCzar proclaimed his love for it, but I am trying to decide if reading the book is worth it.
I’ve only watched the first few episodes but the show is significantly different from the book. Others that have watched can comment, but the general consensus from last night’s discussion was that both the book and the show are worth your time.
1 Like