Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel

[rachelmanija]

Twenty years after apocalypse by flu, a Shakespeare troupe and symphony tours a depopulated America, living by the words painted on their caravan, “because survival is insufficient.” This story is intercut with flashback to before and during the epidemic, centered around a web of characters and events which coalesce around an actor, Arthur, who

Comments

[rurounitriv]

Type 1 diabetes would be a more insurmountable problem than being in a wheelchair. Wheelchair Brother was an idiot, and so was his brother. Not familiar enough with Effexor to say whether it's just so bad to withdraw from, or if the untreated issues would be to the point where life wouldn't be worth living and Effexor Lady would be unable to function, but come on... she didn't even make an effort. And if you're in an airport, of course you'll be headed into town eventually, they could have just started out a bit earlier, and discovered, oh hey, pharmacies are a thing and they have that drug Effexor Lady needs!

[lorata]

I had the same thought about T1D!

[rachelmanija]

Sean Stewart's Galveston has a character with Type 1 diabetes after the apocalypse. She tries her damnedest to keep going by making her own insulin from cow's pancreases (provided by a butcher, so there's also community support.) It works, but not very well (so she keeps slowly getting worse) and has horrific side effects. She finally can't stand it any more, stops doing it, and dies, but not before surviving for long enough that her kid is old enough to take care of himself, so at least she got that. It's portrayed as a heroic effort.

[lorata]

Ugh, see, that's way more satisfying to me. *EDIT* BY SATISFYING i MEAN that IF the character was going to die, this is a narrative that serves them justice.

(Also, I'm pretty sure I would die way sooner with, like, one-tenth that ingenuity, and I have, like, absolutely zero life-threatening conditions.)

[delphipsmith]

Great review. I read this book last year and loved it, but stumbled on a few of the same points as you (esp the "yea verily I shall leave my brother behind, for he asketh me to"). It was a wee bit coincidence-heavy, too.

Are you on goodreads, by chance?

[resonant]

Good review, you highlighted what made me ask questions too!