My Thoughts on "Station Eleven"

My copy of Station Eleven from my local library

"Station Eleven" is a beautiful novel about humanity, finding happiness, and how humans can survive even throughout the most difficult of times. The writing is beautiful and lyrical, the story is immensely impactful, and all of the characters are thoroughly fleshed out. However, my favorite thing about this book are the multiple lessons I learned while reading it.

One of my favorite passages in "Station Eleven" (and maybe in any book) is when the character Clark is going to an interview. The interviewer, Dahlia, is expressing her feelings about finding happiness in life and in a job. "'Okay, say you go into the break room,' she said, 'and a couple people you like are there, say someone's telling a funny story, you laugh a little, you feel included, everyone's so funny, you go back to your desk with a sort of, I don't know, I guess afterglow would be the word? You go back to your desk with an afterglow, but then by four or five o'clock the day's just turned into yet another day, and you go on like that, looking forward to five o'clock and then the weekend and then your two or three annual weeks of paid vacation time, day in day out, and that's what happens to your life.'"(Pg. 163). I love this passage because it's so real and relatable. Everyday people just go through the motions of their life and don't enjoy many things anymore. It's sad, but this scenario is the world we live in today.

"Station Eleven" also discusses people's values in life. Arthur Leander, the extremely famous actor, originally wanted to make it big in Hollywood and to become an actor. He wanted money, to bathe in success, while basking in LA parties. However, later in his career he realizes that he doesn't want this life. Arthur doesn't want to continue to fall in and out of love with women, and to continue to film countless movies. Arthur wants to start over, to spend time with his son Tyler, and to settle down. This is another aspect of "Station Eleven" that is so real and shines a light on people as a whole. This lesson doesn't just apply to celebrities; it applies to everyone. Instead of trying to get into a prestigious college, then get a great job, and then get promotions to earn lots of money, we should enjoy what we have and shift our values to become more meaningful instead of to earn silly pieces of paper.

Drinking coffee while reading Station Eleven

Another thing that I love about "Station Eleven" is the quote from Star Trek that is tattooed onto Kristen's arm and on their caravan: "Because survival is insufficient". I love this addition to the book because it shows that even when the world seems hopeless, people are still willing to make the best of it. The Traveling Symphony's purpose was just that: to get people to enjoy beautiful art and forget about what happened to the world. That's what I think "Station Eleven" is really about.

It's about finding happiness when it seems like the world is a lost cause. It's about seeing the beauty in the little things, like how amazing it is that I can sit here and type this review with such ease, or that at any point in time we can get into a machine and fly thousands of miles across the globe. It's about changing your values and not having them be about money or success or fame, but to be happy and enjoy the little things in life that you don't normally appreciate.

Overall, I loved "Station Eleven" and thought that it was a wonderful, thought-provoking read that needs to be shared with the entire world.

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Have you read "Station Eleven"? If so, what did you think about it? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!