Falmouth Reads Together

Falmouth Reads Together 2023:

Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel

An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse—the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. Now an original series on HBO Max. More than 1.5 million copies sold!

Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.

Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.

Request a copy today via CLAMS

A National Book Award Finalist • A PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist • One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Buzzfeed, and Entertainment Weekly, Time, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Minnesota Public Radio, The Huffington Post, BookPage, Time Out, BookRiot

“Station Eleven is so compelling, so fearlessly imagined, that I wouldn’t have put it down for anything.” —Ann Patchett
 
“A superb novel . . . [that] leaves us not fearful for the end of the word but appreciative of the grace of everyday existence.” —San Francisco Chronicle 

“Deeply melancholy, but beautifully written, and wonderfully elegiac . . . A book that I will long remember, and return to.” —George R. R. Martin

“Absolutely extraordinary.” —Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus

Events related to this year’s Town Read!

Call For Art Invites Creatives To Interpret Shakespeare Idioms 

With a nod to this year’s book pick “Station Eleven,” which draws some of its inspiration from Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” The Falmouth Reads Together Committee invites artists and dabblers of all ages and abilities to interpret their favorite Shakespeare phrase or idiom into a work of two-dimensional art for an exhibit this summer at the library. Read more about how to submit at our blog post.

Traveling Book Discussion Group – come to the one most convenient for you!:

Want an extended deep-dive into Station Eleven? We’re planning a four-class series on the book as part of our October Joy of Learning – stay tuned!

Did you love Station Eleven? Join the Fiction Book Club on November 21st to read Emily St. John’s latest novel Sea of Tranquility! Register.

Falmouth Reads: Graphic Novel Events

Station Eleven is named for the graphic novel that is created by one character, and much loved and carried around by another. Did reading the book get you wondering more about graphic novels, where the medium came from, and maybe even how you make one yourself? Our day of graphic novel exploration is for you! Join a visiting graphic novelist and educator Marika McCoola for a lecture and a hands-on workshop.

  • Visual Literacy & the Graphic Novel, Wednesday August 16, 10:30am in the Hermann Room. Register.
  • Hands-on Graphic Novel Creation Workshop, Wednesday August 16, 2:00pm in the Hermann Room. Register (space is limited).

Falmouth Reads: Highlights from Shakespeare

WatermelonAlligator will perform highlights from Shakespeare including Touching Scenes, Heartfelt Monologues, and Derring-Do in the spirit of the Traveling Symphony performing ensemble from the book Station Eleven, our 2023 Falmouth Reads Together book.

Two Shows on the Main Library Lawn on Thursday August 17:

  • 1:00 pm
  • 4:00 pm (repeat performance, but hey, if you loved it? Come twice!)

Founded in 2008, the WatermelonAlligator Theatre Company is a local consortium of theatre professionals and dedicated amateurs committed to producing quality theatre in a local setting. 

Survival is insufficient.