Published in 2014 - Station Eleven

Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven's very creation is a testament to the fact that, as the book notes, "survival is insufficient."  Twenty years have passed since the Georgia Flu swept through the world faster than anyone could have imagined.  It has been twenty years since civilization has collapsed.  This book follows the pasts and (if they dare to dream them) futures of a loosely connected group of characters.  Their connecting thread is an actor dead just one day before the world began its descent into chaos.

We meet  this famous actor/author, the paramedic who tried to save him, his ex wives, son, best friend and, most especially, the actress who worked briefly with him as a child.  As her company traverses the Midwest to bring Shakespeare and symphonies to the small communities trying to survive, Kristen wrestles with memories, and all must reconcile civilization's past and present with a future they may not dare hope for.

I really loved this one for the writing style, which is bare but well-thought-out, matching in style what I imagine the world at this point to be like.  It is, overall, what it seems to be: a sci-fi tinged post-apocalyptic novel written by someone who tends to stick in the literary fiction set instead. I liked the mashup because it resulted in something that was fun and interesting, harbored deeper meaning, and read really quickly.  As a result it comes highly recommended from me!