Wichita's Big Read will explore the end of the world as we know it
A post-apocalyptic novel that explores the collapse of society in the aftermath of a flu pandemic is the selection for this year's Wichita Big Read.
Wichita Public Library officials announced Thursday that "Station Eleven," by Emily St. John Mandel, will be the city's 11th Big Read.
"We look for things that people are passionate about — things they read that they just really enjoyed and that were thought-provoking for them," said Cynthia Berner, director of libraries for Wichita.
"This was not a title that I was particularly familiar with before we started the conversation, and it was one that I fell in love with when I did read it," she said. "So I'm excited to be able to be part of sharing it with more readers."
Published in 2014, "Station Eleven" tells the story of a traveling troupe of actors and musicians 20 years after a flu pandemic has wiped out 99 percent of the Earth's population. Like other books in the genre, it highlights the fragility of human existence, our violent nature and the capacity to survive despite the hardships of starvation, loneliness and chaos.
The book was a finalist for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award and was named one of the best books of the year by more than a dozen publications. In its starred review, Kirkus described the novel as "Cormac McCarthy seesawing with Joan Didion."
The Wichita Public Library received a $15,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to help finance this year’s Big Read, a community-wide program that encourages diverse audiences to read the same book and participate in events designed around its theme. The event will run from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15.
As in past years, the library plans to give away some copies of the book at a kickoff party, Berner said.
Big Reads happen all over the country, with books ranging from "Pretty Monsters" to "Bless Me, Ultima." This year's pick for Wichita marks a return to fiction after last year's selection, "The Latehomecomer."
This year's Wichita Big Read could feature a visit from the author, but those arrangements have not been finalized, Berner said. Additional details about Big Read events will be announced during the summer on the Big Read's Facebook page and the website, www.bigreadwichita.org.
Big Reads through the years
This year's Big Read — "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel — marks the 11th selection for Wichita's common-read program. Here's a look back at previous selections:
2017: "The Latehomecomer" by Kao Kalia Yang
2016: "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
2015: "Into the Beautiful North" by Luis Alberto Urrea
2014: "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett
2013: "True Grit" by Charles Portis
2012: "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2011: "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
2010: "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
2009: "Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" by Edgar Allan Poe
2008: "My Antonia" by Willa Cather
This story was originally published June 7, 2018 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Wichita's Big Read will explore the end of the world as we know it."