Station Eleven

Another fresh take on the post-apocalypse tale, from the vantage of the arts. Troubadours, Shakespeare, and a comic book frame this character-driven tale. Critics love the symbolism and readers love the character development, but I thought it was the same story already told: people die, unlikely people forge on together, danger happens, a creepy kid, a crazy cult, the Oh Nos, and ends with the disquieting feels. Plus, for some reason, brown-skinned men seem to be crappy and/or unsuccessful boyfriends to the white female protags in this novel (an unconscious detail, seeing as Mandel strives for diversity, but I noticed it).