Book Review: Station Eleven

Title: Station Eleven

Author: Emily St. John Mandel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary: Twenty years ago, a flu pandemic decimated the world's population.  A troupe of musicians and actors known as The Traveling Symphony have dedicated themselves to keeping art and culture alive by touring around the area formerly known as Michigan.  This book bounces between the pre- and post-pandemic worlds and paints a vivid picture of both.

Review: I do love a good post-apocalypse book.  However, when I think of my own survival in a post-apocalypse world, I have concerns, mainly pharmaceutical related (real drugs, people, not recreational).  Forget any aromatase inhibitors.  I also have hypothyroidism.  I'm more worried about running out of my levothyroixine than my AIs.  So I know in the event of an apocalypse, I need to stockpile meds.  I was tempted to give this book five stars but didn't for a few reasons:

1. Time lapses:  There are no cars so people have to walk everywhere or take horses.  I get that.  But can we have a clearer distinction about time passed when you're walking in a large circle around Michigan?
2. Antagonist: There's a preacher that has formed a cult and is feared.  I thought he was going to play a larger role than he did.  I understand why he was mentioned but it felt a little anti-climatic. 
3. More character development: Some characters were well developed, others not so much.  And yet the others that weren't that developed had large pre-apocalypse parts but very small post-apocalypse parts.  So why introduce these characters at all?

I guess that was it.  

Time to write: 7:31

Book review: Inside the O'Briens

Title: Inside the O'Briens

Author: Lisa Genova

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary: The O'Briens are born-and-bred Irish Catholics who live in Charlestown.  Patriarch Joe is a 44-year-old cop married to Rosie and a father of four.  When Joe is diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, his world and his family's world is changed forever.  As his family witnesses his deterioration as a result of his disease, his children grapple with whether they should get a genetic test that will identify if they carry the gene that will lead to their own Huntington's diagnosis later in life. Two of his kids want to know and have to deal with their test results.  Two others struggle with whether they want to know, and the not knowing leads to its own stresses.  In the meantime, Huntington's continues to take away Joe's ability to be a cop, husband and dad.

Review: I initially gave this book three stars, but the more I think about it, the more I like it.  As somebody that has potentially passed on the BRCA gene to her daughters, I am sympathetic to the guilt that Joe felt passing the gene for this disease on to his children.  Additionally, as somebody that inherited the BRCA gene from my mom, I am also sympathetic to not blaming a parent for passing something like this on.  However, let me state that passing along the Huntington's disease gene is far worse than passing on the BRCA gene.  Genova did a great job describing this disease (or at least I was convinced).

As somebody that wasn't born and bred within certain towns in Massachusetts (translation: "blue-collar", non-wealthy towns?  I'm trying not to insult friends that are born and bred in Massachusetts here), I'll never be a townie.  As a result, I don't think I'll ever truly understand townies.  I don't think the author is a townie.  As a result, I'd argue that she didn't really capture what it's like to be a townie.  I could be wrong--she could have nailed it.  But something about the way she created these characters seemed oversimplified.  That said, I liked the kids a lot.  I think it was more her depiction of Joe and his wife Rosie that sort of bugged and led to four stars over five. However, I LOVED the ending.

Time to write:  9:10