During a production of King Lear onstage in Toronto, famed Hollywood actor Arthur Leander collapses and dies mid-performance. On the very same night, a deadly flu pandemic touches down in the city. Within weeks, the world as we know it is no longer. Twenty years later, Kirsten Raymonde moves from settlement to settlement across the Great Lakes region with a troupe of musicians and actors called The Traveling Symphony. But what connects these events; what connects the before and the after? Is there hope for humanity in this new world?

What a book to end my reading year on in 2021! Station Eleven is a beautifully written story, and I was hooked from the get-go. I started by listening to the audiobook (the narration is wonderful!), and by the last third of the book, I knew I loved it so much, I needed my own physical copy. I was floored by how seamlessly the author alternates the before, during, and after the pandemic timelines (and yes, I did hesitate to read this one after I realized it would have the word pandemic in it. A lot.). And by the end, the connections between the various characters came together so perfectly. It’s hard for me to adequately capture in my review just how incredible this one is! I can’t wait to read more from this author, and I am looking forward to checking out the HBO adaptation!

Read this if you love a well-told dystopian story with heaping scoops of hope and human connection mixed in. Just read it—you’ll get it once you do!