Emily St. John Mandel discusses Station Eleven
Watch our video to hear the inspiration of her latest novel and the secrets of her writing technique
Emily St. John Mandel was born and raised on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. She studied contemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York.
Station Eleven is her fourth novel and begins with a dramatic end. The Georgia Flu explodes over the surface of the earth like a neutron bomb. News reports put the mortality rate at over 99%; by week two civilization has crumbled. Year twenty sees a band of actors and musicians called the Travelling Symphony move through their territories performing concerts and Shakespeare to the settlements that have grown up there. Twenty years after the pandemic, life feels relatively safe.
But now a new danger looms, and he threatens the hopeful world every survivor has tried to rebuild.
Moving backwards and forwards in time, from the glittering years just before the collapse to the strange and altered world that exists twenty years after, Station Eleven charts the unexpected twists of fate that connects six people: famous actor Arthur Leander; Jeevan - warned about the flu just in time; Arthur’s first wife Miranda; Arthur s oldest friend Clark; Kirsten, a young actress with the Travelling Symphony; and the mysterious and self-proclaimed prophet.
Thrilling, unique and deeply moving, this is a beautiful novel that asks questions about art and fame and about the relationships that sustain us through anything - even the end of the world.
But how does Emily go about writing such a well-received post-apocalyptic narrative? What are her inspirations and what are the secrets of her writing room? Watch this video to hear from Emily herself.
Website: www.panmacmillan.com/