Person
Every book Emily St. John Mandel recommended on podcasts
Emily St. John Mandel, as revealed through her appearance on the podcast Conversations with Tyler in the April 2020 episode titled Emily St. John Mandel on Fact, Fiction, and the Familiar, approaches literature with a distinct perspective shaped by speculative fiction, narrative structure, and personal artistic inspiration. During the conversation, Mandel discussed several notable books that influenced her creative imagination or provoked strong critical opinions. She reflected on Walter M. Miller Jr.'s 1960 novel A Canticle for Leibowitz, sharing that she first read the post-apocalyptic story when she was approximately fifteen years old and describing it as an early, mind-blowing inspiration that remains one of her favorite books. Additionally, Mandel expressed deep admiration for David Foster Wallace's unfinished novel, The Pale King, professing her love for the work despite its incomplete state. Conversely, she offered a more critical evaluation of Wallace's broader literary footprint, stating that she found Infinite Jest to be thoroughly overrated. Through these selections and critiques, Mandel displays an engaged, idiosyncratic literary taste rooted in speculative themes and narrative ambition.
Books recommended by Emily St. John Mandel
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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
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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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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
Books Emily St. John Mandel wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily St. John Mandel on Fact, Fiction, and the Familiar | Conversations with Tyler | 2020-04-08 | 3 |
Other mentions (6: passing, ad reads, own books)
“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”
“which is definitely the case in the glass hotel um vincent's closest friend is marella who's who's basically a trophy wife”
“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”
“i've done a lot of lectures over the past few years for station 11.”
“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”
“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”