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amyreh's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident
lolajoan's review
4.0
A charming little short story with Mandel's usual lovely characters and detailed settings.
booksandbark's review
4.0
I recently got off the waitlist for [b:The Glass Hotel|49216539|The Glass Hotel|Emily St. John Mandel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569616673l/49216539._SX50_.jpg|57817644], [a:Emily St. John Mandel|2786093|Emily St. John Mandel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1576606299p2/2786093.jpg]'s newest book, about 5 months before I thought I would. I really liked St. John Mandel's latest novel, [b:Station Eleven|20170404|Station Eleven|Emily St. John Mandel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451446835l/20170404._SY75_.jpg|28098716], and so was fascinated when I read in the copyright information section (yes, I'm that book nerd that scans the copyright info before beginning a book), that this short story was supposedly an early version of The Glass Hotel that was later adapted into the novel. So I'm really hoping that reading this didn't spoil the entire book for me.
I love the way that St. John Mandel combines science fiction and humanity. She explores massively interesting, cosmic ideas--a virus, time travel--while at the same time offering wonderful insight on the human condition.
I am giving this book four stars because I think the premise and the conclusion of the book,, utterly fascinating. While sections 1 and 2 were great (the short story is divided into three tiny sections), narratively rich, and I felt like I had a good understanding of what was going on and how they connected, the third section seemed very rushed and incomplete. It felt like there could have been so much more exploration of this idea--of the implications of it, of what exactly is going on--and I suppose that's why St. John Mandel decided to expand this into a full novel.
I love the way that St. John Mandel combines science fiction and humanity. She explores massively interesting, cosmic ideas--a virus, time travel--while at the same time offering wonderful insight on the human condition.
I am giving this book four stars because I think the premise and the conclusion of the book,
Spoiler
that time travel is possible, that the rules of time travel allow you to try and change the past, and that despite your best efforts and foresight, the past will proceed the same way as it did and there's no way to change the most tragic of eventsvillyidol's review
4.0
Now that this story reappeared on Goodreads, I thought I give it another try. Before it will surely disappear again, for no reason at all. Therefore I’m keeping this brief.
This short story, written by the author of the fantastic [b: Station Eleven|20170404|Station Eleven|Emily St. John Mandel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451446835l/20170404._SY75_.jpg|28098716], tackles the theme of how one small decision might have a huge effect on not only your own life, but on that of someone else as well. This has been done before quite often. But Emily St. John Mandel’s writing is very nice. And she creates this wonderfully melancholic atmosphere, that I often like so much.
The story doesn’t give many answers, but makes you think. Perhaps a lot.
Not sure why I only gave it a 2.5 the first time around. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
It’s kinda eerie though, that I read this in an Audi showroom back in 2017. You will know what I mean, if you read it. Which you can do here.
This short story, written by the author of the fantastic [b: Station Eleven|20170404|Station Eleven|Emily St. John Mandel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451446835l/20170404._SY75_.jpg|28098716], tackles the theme of how one small decision might have a huge effect on not only your own life, but on that of someone else as well. This has been done before quite often. But Emily St. John Mandel’s writing is very nice. And she creates this wonderfully melancholic atmosphere, that I often like so much.
The story doesn’t give many answers, but makes you think. Perhaps a lot.
Not sure why I only gave it a 2.5 the first time around. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
It’s kinda eerie though, that I read this in an Audi showroom back in 2017. You will know what I mean, if you read it. Which you can do here.
trish204's review
2.0
I must admit, I decided to read this short story last night when I couldn't sleep and wanted something short. The reason why I chose this particular short story was that I've heard a lot about this author's novel and while the blurp so cannot get me interested, it was intriguing to see how many of my GR friends loved it. So as a way of helping me decide whether to pick up the novel or not, I read this.
The story is that of a man buying a car. Simple enough thing, right? Oh, but great events turn on small hinges as Mr. King likes to point out and this story is not as straight forward as it appeared in the beginning.
While there was a slight twist to it in the third act, it felt weird. In a does't-really-fit kinda way. I felt that the story about the car itself was much stronger than the framework that was revealed later. And I wanted there to be ... more? ... something else in addition? Dunno. Just not enough payoff and the worldbuilding was too scant for me as well.
Moreover, the writing style, while not being bad, was nothing much to get excited about (I might have grown a little grumpy because of some editing errors and the overall sentence structure that didn't do it for me). Meant to be literary SF, sure, but I read much better.
Nothing bad, but also nothing special to write home about.
You can read the story for free here: https://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/03/_mr_thursday_a_short_story_by_station_eleven_author_emily_st_john_mandel.html?via=gdpr-consent&via=gdpr-consent
The story is that of a man buying a car. Simple enough thing, right? Oh, but great events turn on small hinges as Mr. King likes to point out and this story is not as straight forward as it appeared in the beginning.
While there was a slight twist to it in the third act, it felt weird. In a does't-really-fit kinda way. I felt that the story about the car itself was much stronger than the framework that was revealed later. And I wanted there to be ... more? ... something else in addition? Dunno. Just not enough payoff and the worldbuilding was too scant for me as well.
Moreover, the writing style, while not being bad, was nothing much to get excited about (I might have grown a little grumpy because of some editing errors and the overall sentence structure that didn't do it for me). Meant to be literary SF, sure, but I read much better.
Nothing bad, but also nothing special to write home about.
You can read the story for free here: https://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/03/_mr_thursday_a_short_story_by_station_eleven_author_emily_st_john_mandel.html?via=gdpr-consent&via=gdpr-consent
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