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Emily St John Mandel’s fourth book is one of those rare gems you must finish but never want to end. It is lyrical, a little magical and utterly engrossing.

Arthur Leander dies in the middle of his role as King Lear. His death affects many people, including Kirsten, an eight-year-old cast member. Yet the night Arthur dies is also the night of the Georgia Flu. Devastating in its swiftness, most of the population are wiped out and the world begins to shut down … Twenty years later, Kirsten is part of the Travelling Symphony, a troupe of musicians and Shakespearian actors performing to the small communities of survivors. Through danger and lawlessness, the troop return to St Deborah by the Water in search of two members who’d stayed there to have their child two years earlier. But St Deborah has changed. Their friends are missing and the small community seem in awe of the Prophet, a charismatic but frightening creature. Relieved to escape, the troop go in pursuit of their friends. But they didn’t escape alone and soon the members of their small troop begin to disappear.

Station Eleven is subtle yet rich with emotion. The story weaves between the time before the flu outbreak and the troupe’s present day life as they search for their friends and evade the Prophet. Mandel makes us care about the ensemble cast – all connected to Arthur in some way – and each of their stories is as interesting as that of the troupe. The prose is lyrical. A future without technology, medical supplies or running water is well imagined. Every character is complex and compelling, even those who appear briefly. The troupe’s choice to perform Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream contrasted with the harsh realities of the new world is brilliant. Station Eleven is a page turner, but not in the sense of rushing to a conclusion. It is the journey that intrigues, both the literal one by the troupe and that experienced by the reader as we are drawn into the lives of these characters.

Station Eleven is a captivating read and an outstanding example of Emily St John Mandel’s literary talent.