St. John Mandel Station 11 Summary

The idea that Station Eleven is a love letter from St. John Mandel to the world in which we live shines across in her writing. Chapter six begins with “An incomplete list:” followed by paragraphs of things left in the pre apocalyptic world (St. John Mandel 31). The chapter follows the repetitive sentence structure “No more ….” followed by a list of simple things many may overlook when thinking of what they’d miss most of our world: ball games, flight, photographs. All simple pleasures taken for granted. While the chapter is simply a list of things lost after the flu, the tone is not sad but rather thankful. The way St. John Mandel writes of “moths flutter on summer nights,” or “pictures of babies dressed as bears for Halloween” is her way of acknowledging the simple pleasures that the world as we know it provides. The post apocalyptic perspective from which the story is told gives a unique retrospective approach to the world. It is not chocolate that the character’s miss but the certainty of survival that pharmaceuticals provided; not watching TV but looking up at the sky and seeing an airplane pass by.

One theme that pushes its way through the first three sections is the importance of art. Both the Station Eleven comics and Shakespeare plays are able to outlive most of the human population. While art is not one of the things most people would think of missing were there to really be a Georgia Flu, chapter six is St. John Mandel’s way of reminding readers of all the forgotten treasures of the world. Station Eleven acts as her “love letter to this extraordinary world in which we live” and reminds us to open our eyes to the gifts this world has given