I'm behind in a few more things, but let's not get into that. Let's just say I'm a BIT OVERWHELMED!
One of my goals for the New Year was to join a Reading Challenge to that would encourage me to read different kinds of books. I need to mix it up.
My reading challenge comes from The Modern Mrs. Darcy. You can check it out here.
You might now that I am a documented, card-carrying BOOKWORM. I am always reading on something.
And don't tell me "that must be nice. I don't have time to read."
Bookworms always have time to read.
Anyhoo. For February, my intention was to read a book that Someone With Good Taste Recommends.
I did that and more.
The book I chose for this challenge is called "Station Eleven."
Here is the synopsis according to the publisher.
An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.
Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten’s arm is a line from Star Trek: “Because survival is insufficient.” But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave.
Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.
I do enjoy a bit of Sci-Fi. Dystopian novels are a bit of a hit or miss with me. For example, both Divergent and The Hunger Games series are dystopian.
I thought they were well done. The Shannara series by Terry Brooks is also dystopian...albeit a bit unconventional dystopia.
So here are some things I liked about Station Eleven.
And obviously the books description drew me in. Audacious. Dark.Glittering. Any book that uses audacious and glitter in the same sentence is alright with me!
The plot idea itself was also really intriguing. A flu wipes everybody out! Of course, I read this book right in the height of a particularly, nasty flu season. I found myself a little paranoid about going out after reading the book. I also found myself washing my hands a little too obsessively.
The book had some twists and turns I really appreciated.I love a good plot twist.
But then there was this....
The book has a lot of language in it. It was hard for me to read through it without cringing. I realize that for most, the language won't be a big deal.
It's just not something I enjoy. I don't think it's necessary to the story. Perhaps some authors think they are just imitating real life. My real life is G rated. Vulgar language isn't part of my vocabulary.
The next assignment for the reading challenge is to read a book in translation. I have to admit, I haven't even thought about what I am going to read yet. I'll keep you posted.
For now, you can check out my book choice for January.
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