Six books that 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 the six books that influenced her most as a writer, as shared at The Week magazine:

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Stevenson's 1883 page-turner was the first full-length book I ever read. I was slow to pick up reading — I struggled until I was 7 — and I still remember the joy I felt when the pieces suddenly clicked into place. All these years later, I retain strangely vivid images of scenes in Stevenson's book.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Treasure Island also appears on David McCallum's six best books list, Bear Grylls's top ten list of adventure stories, Eoin Colfer's top 10 list of villains in fiction, Charlie Fletcher's top ten list of swashbuckling tales of derring-do, Robert McCrum's list of the ten best first lines in fiction, John Mullan's list of ten of the best pirates in fiction, and among Mal Peet's top ten books to read aloud, Philip Pullman's six best books, and Eoin Colfer's six favorite books.

The Page 69 Test: Last Night in Montreal.

The Page 69 Test: The Singer's Gun.

--Marshal Zeringue