Station Eleven / Emily St. John Mandel / 333 pages

Is this how the world as we know it will end...gradually, and then suddenly?"  "Time had been reset by catastrophe."..."Any expectation of a return to normalcy were long gone."  After the massive Georgia flu pandemic, time was counted as year one, year two, etc.  The world's changes wouldn't be reversed.  No one was coming to the rescue.  The taken for granted miracles of transportation and communication have ceased to exist.  The virus had a fast incubation period.  If you were exposed, you got sick within 3-4 hours and were dead in a day or two.  Early reports had put the mortality at 99%.  Rioting occurred worldwide outside hospitals.  A slow-moving mass exodus had clogged almost every road.  In this apocalyptic setting, the main characters move back and forth through time before, during, and after.  A Hollywood star, his best friend, his wives, a journalist turned paramedic, and a child actress navigate the tempestuous seas of this new world.  Given the current ebola virus scare, this book is certainly timely...and cautionary...Information relating to Shakespeare and his times was of profound interest, particularly as the plague impacted/inspired his career.