Emily St. John Mandel‘s novel is about a travelling Shakespearean theatre company in a post-apocalyptic North America, with much of the story taking place in Canada. It is also about friendship, memory, love, celebrity, our obsession with objects, oppressive dinner parties, comic books and knife throwing. We get to know the characters in depth: famous actor Arthur Leander; Jeevan — warned about the flu just in time; Arthur’s first wife Miranda; Arthur’s oldest friend Clark; Kirsten, a young actress with the Travelling Symphony; and the mysterious and self-proclaimed ‘prophet. Well worth the time.