Episode · Conversations with Tyler · 2020-04-08
Books mentioned on Emily St. John Mandel on Fact, Fiction, and the Familiar
When Tyler requested an interview with novelist Emily St. John Mandel, he didn't expect that reality would have in some ways become an eerie mirror of her latest books.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Glass Hotel
The Glass Hotel is a compelling novel by Emily St.
Recommended“i very much recommend emily's latest book the glass hotel also station eleven the book about a pandemic and she has three other earlier novels which are beloved in france and deservedly so emily thank you very much”
Where to get it
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Station Eleven
Station Eleven by Emily St.
Recommended“i very much recommend emily's latest book the glass hotel also station eleven the book about a pandemic and she has three other earlier novels which are beloved in france and deservedly so emily thank you very much”
Where to get it
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Infinite jest
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is a sprawling, maximalist novel exploring addiction, entertainment, depression, and modern American culture against the backdrop of a tennis academy and a halfway house.
Critiqued“i just found infinite jazz to be really overrated”
Where to get it
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The Pale King
The Pale King by David Foster Wallace is an unfinished, posthumously published novel that explores boredom, bureaucracy, and the inner lives of Internal Revenue Service employees.
Recommended“but that being said i love the pale king even though he never finished that novel”
Where to get it
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A Canticle for Leibowitz
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M.
Recommended“the one that really grabs my imagination is a a 1960 novel called the canticle for leibowitz by walter miller which is one of my favorite books i read that when i was about 15 and it kind of blew my mind”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (7) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Own book The Glass Hotel
“something that fascinated me about the bernie madoff story on which the crime in the glass hotel is based and just to backtrack a little bit none of the people in the glass hotel are real it's not a novel about madoff”
Own book The Glass Hotel
“which is definitely the case in the glass hotel um vincent's closest friend is marella who's who's basically a trophy wife”
Own book Station Eleven
“any money that i have comes from the wild success of station 11 my previous book and that is which is also going to be a mini series”
Own book Station Eleven
“i've done a lot of lectures over the past few years for station 11.”
Own book Station Eleven
“but station 11 is a fundamentally hopeful book and i've you know just going from the extremely unscientific metric of my twitter timeline um i get the impression that a lot of people are reading it because of the hope you know at the end of the pandemic”
Own book Station Eleven
“so they have a number of common characters miranda i think is the same miranda liam provent is the same first and last name what's your meta take on the two novels and their overleaf”
Own book The Glass Hotel
“about another project i've been working on which is um the television adaptation of the glass hotel and that's been fun it's my first time writing for tv”