Station Eleven is unlike any other post-apocalyptic novel ever written. While it follows the traditional concept of a flu pandemic wiping out 99.9% of civilisation, it shifts from the conventional style by traveling both pre- and post-pandemic, 20 years into the future. Unlike other works of the same genre, Mandel does not centralise the apocalypse itself, nor the violence, scavenging and chaos but rather underlines the effects it has on humanity. In essence, Mandel endorses the notion that art is pivotal to both survival and creating beauty in the world and as such, will prosper as long as there is life.