The world as we know it ends in the middle of a production of King Lear. Station Eleven follows a cast of characters through the apocalypse and time after with a beautiful realism without being completely depressing. 
 I've seen this book in a lot of people's tbr lists but didn't know much about it. I loved this book and can see why everyone has been picking it up. In some ways it really reminders me of The Night Circus but the story isn't fantastical or so focused on feel like that book so I'm not quite sure why I'm drawing the two together in my mind. Maybe the writing style and the way both jump through time to show multiple events and shape complete characters.