Six books that most influenced Emily St. John Mandel as a writer

Emily St. John Mandel's books include The Singer's Gun, Last Night in Montreal, and the newly released Station Eleven. One of six books that influenced her most as a writer, as shared at The Week magazine:

The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

I get some strange looks when I cite this book as an influence. It's almost as if some people confuse the question "Which books influenced you?" with "Which writers do you uncritically adore, and do you also approve of them stabbing their spouses?" I don't like most of the Mailer books that I've read. But his book about serial killer Gary Gilmore is a masterpiece, and it changed the way I write.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Executioner's Song also appears among J. Michael Lennon's ten best Mailer books, Ron Hansen's five best literary tales of real-life crimes and Sarah Weinman's seven best true crime books; it is one of five books that made a difference to Josh Brolin.

The Page 69 Test: Last Night in Montreal.

The Page 69 Test: The Singer's Gun.

--Marshal Zeringue