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The Singer's Gun
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
26 posts | 30 read | 40 to read
Everyone Anton Waker grew up with is corrupt. His parents deal in stolen goods and his first career is a partnership venture with his cousin Aria selling forged passports and social security cards to illegal aliens. Anton longs for a less questionable way of living in the world and by his late twenties has reinvented himself as a successful middle manager. Then a routine security check suggests that things are not quite what they appear. And Aria begins blackmailing him to do one last job for her. But the seemingly simple job proves to have profound and unexpected repercussions. As Anton's carefully constructed life begins to disintegrate around him, he's forced to choose between loyalty to his family and his desires for a different kind of life. When everyone is willing to use someone else to escape the past, it is up to Anton, on the island of Ischia, to face the ghosts that travel close behind him. Emily St. John Mandel follows up her electric debut with a spellbinding novel of international crime, false identities, the depths and limits of family ties, and the often confusing bonds of love. Taut with suspense, beautifully imagined, full of unexpected corners, desperate choices, betrayals and halftruths with deadly consequences, The Singer's Gun explores the dangerous territory between one's moral compass and the heart's desire.
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review
Megabooks
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Pickpick

Has Mandel written anything that‘s not fantastic? My last book on her backlist didn‘t disappoint! Her nonlinear storyline made this literary mystery.

Anton made his living selling fake social security cards and passports until he saw an out. He loved his corporate job until he suddenly got put in dead file storage 4. 🤔 Meanwhile, his cousin has blackmailed him to come out of retirement and accept a package on his honeymoon in Italy.

DebbieGrillo I liked this one too! 12mo
Cinfhen Glad she‘s an #AutoBuy for you 😁 12mo
Megabooks @Cinfhen for sure! 💯💯 12mo
83 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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DHill
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Do you ever finish a book and then just sit there for a while. And sigh. And sigh again? Emily St. John Mandel every single time.

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DHill
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Hanging out in our happy place.

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DHill
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Settling in with one of my favorite authors.

CuriousG I am hoping to read this soon! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Pretty pic 🪴 2y
49 likes2 comments
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juliehope1019
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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I always find myself coming back for more from Emily St. John Mandel. I love her writing style and the voice that she gives to each novel; making the most ordinary observations seem intriguing.

swishandflick I love her stuff too! Welcome to Litsy 👏🏽 2y
2 likes1 stack add1 comment
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BilboBookends
Singer's Gun | Emily St John Mandel
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“A or B, two options present themselves, and you choose the one that seems best at the time.”

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BookLineNSinker
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Excited that my St. Mandel collective works showed up at the library today!

6 likes1 stack add
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mom2bugnbee
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Really enjoying the challenges that I picked for 2021!

#chunksterchallenge - 43% through The Count of Monte Cristo (@Amiable)

#Booked2021 - 3/6 Winter (2, 4, & 5) (@cinfen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage)

#Authoramonth - 1 book by NK Jemisin (@Soubhiville)

#NYPL125 #LoveReading - The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin (18/125)

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1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
1 ⭐⭐⭐✨
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review
mom2bugnbee
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Pickpick

Y'all.

ESJM is now officially in my top five authors of all time. So, so good. Her characters are brilliantly drawn & every book of hers that I've read has been a page turner. I'm so excited that I found her & can now work my way through her back catalog.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

vivastory I've been curious about this one. Great review! 3y
Crazeedi This sounds interesting 3y
CuriousG I want to work my way through her back catalog too - lover her writing! 3y
47 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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mom2bugnbee
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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#firstworldproblems When library holds from two of your favorite authors become available at the same time! Which to read first?

(My answer = the tagged book)

Thousand-Lives I loved the tagged book! Hope you enjoy it also. 3y
mom2bugnbee @Thousand-Lives Mercy - I'm 20% in & I can't read it quickly enough. ESJM is brilliant - quickly climbing to the top of my favorite authors list. 3y
Thousand-Lives @mom2bugnbee Brilliant is absolutely right! 😁 3y
37 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Thousand-Lives
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Pickpick

I loved Station Eleven by this author, but put off this novel from her backlist because it sounded kind of boring with its descriptions of crime and corruption. NOPE! I loved it. The plot unfolds carefully in a non-linear storyline that captured my attention completely. Emily St. John Mandel just has a way with words. 🤩

67 likes3 stack adds
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Thousand-Lives
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Reading (and loving so far) from Emily St. John Mandel‘s backlist. Her writing just blows me away!

ErikasMindfulShelf I want to read this! 4y
57 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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swishandflick
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Pickpick

Consider me a card carrying member of the Emily St. John Mandel fan club. She's such a beautiful storyteller!

74 likes1 stack add
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TerriGreen
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Pickpick

I loved this literary novel. Anton wants out of his family‘s criminal business, but he is asked to do one last job. It is a slow burn and jumps around in time, but the storytelling is fantastic. Book 47 4⭐️

Tracyantoon Fantastic storytelling! That‘s exactly what I loved about Last Night in Montreal. 4y
9 likes1 comment
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EmilyM
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Mehso-so

Underwhelming...I read this after hearing about it on What Should I Read Next. The plot sounded intriguing and I loved Station Eleven. This had potential but the characters fell flat and the plot wasn't as exciting as it sounded on the flap or on the podcast. Very "meh." ⭐⭐⭐/5

CouronneDhiver I find it fascinating how differently we all react to the same books. I loved this one 5y
23 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Pamwurtzler
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Pickpick

How was my book? Oh so good! I think I heard about this one on Modern Mrs Darcy‘s blog. It‘s nothing like Station 11, but it‘s such a good story. You should read this right now!

CouronneDhiver I agree! I really liked this one 👍🏽 5y
47 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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mcipher
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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My lap right now. 😻 I think this is the only St. John Mandel I haven‘t read, I love her writing. #catsoflitsy #Edith #Chloe #tuxedokittiesoflitsy #sleepykittiesoflitsy @MinDea

TommieMarie74 My lap looks very similar. 😊❤️😊 6y
mcipher @TommieMarie74 They are surprisingly heavy! 😆 6y
erinreads So adorable! 😻 Can you have your cats call my cat to tell him how comfortable and warm human laps are? 😹 6y
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mcipher @erinreads I‘m afraid to let them use the phone. They try to con me for second dinner every night, I‘m sure they‘d order cat food! 6y
CouronneDhiver It‘s a good one - a slow burn! It‘s the book I sent out on my LMPBC book club. As far as I know, all the other girls liked it too. 6y
mcipher @CouronneDhiver I stayed up waaayy too late finishing it - I couldn‘t put it down and ended up neglecting everything else to read! 6y
TommieMarie74 @mcipher It‘s funny how much they can weigh when they are comfy and don‘t want to be moved. Sleeping weight and pill taking/going to the vet weight are twice as much as their weight at any other time. 😆 6y
mcipher @TommieMarie74 Yes! And they grow extra arms and legs for vet days. 6y
TommieMarie74 @mcipher Yes!! And extra teeth too!! 6y
90 likes1 stack add10 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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1. Most recently? The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel (don't you agree, @DebbieGrillo @drokka @CouronneDhiver )
2. About half way through the King's Canyon hike in the Australian Outback there is a spot called the Garden of Eden. It's the most beautiful, peaceful place I've been.
3. The Lares or Salkantay routes to Machu Picchu
4. Both have their pros. But my last flying-with-kids experience was slightly scarring. So for now, we drive!
👇

TheKidUpstairs 5. Gelato (but I'm not going to say no to ice cream! Especially Kawartha Dairy Moose Tracks.) #ManicMonday @JoScho 6y
BookishMe I wonder if Garden of Eden was Marquis' destination in (one of the numerous books that stirs my wanderlust ;)) 6y
TheKidUpstairs @BookishMe I've never heard of that one, but it sounds amazing! Definitely adding that to the TBR! 6y
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BookishMe @TheKidUpstairs the writing may make her adventures sound underwhelming but it's incredible when you think about the enormity of her journey. I read it while trekking along Ganges/ Himalayas. It was surreal to read about the power of nature when I was surrounded by it. 6y
drokka I don't know that it piqued my wanderlust on its own, but then I read another book partly set in Venice and I started to think that maybe I should really consider it. 6y
CouronneDhiver ❤️ 6y
74 likes6 comments
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jessamyngrace
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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How were you formed? What forged you?

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TheKidUpstairs
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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1. I posted Monty earlier, so here's Aretha making a rare #CatsofLitsy appearance for @TricksyTails #LetsMakeTricksySmile
2. Android
3. They're cookies! As long as there's no coconut I'm not going to say no!
4. The Singer's Gun. Criminal goes clean, gets dragged back into the family business. But it's so much more. Recommend!
5. To watch: baseball; to play: soccer.

#HumpDayPost @MinDea

2BR02B Aretha's cracking me up! 😆 That's some severe RBF. 6y
TheKidUpstairs @2BR02B she throws shade like a boss bitch 😂😂😂 6y
readordierachel Haha! Love that face. 6y
MinDea Aretha has such a cute face! 6y
TricksyTails 😂♥️😽 Aretha!! Perfect name for her too!! 6y
92 likes5 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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I have about 5 loads of laundry waiting to be folded. But I also have a really good book. And a really good beer. 🍻📖

saresmoore Oh, crap! I just remembered there is a load of kid clothes in the dryer. 🤦‍♀️ 6y
saresmoore I mean... enjoy! 😂 I will almost definitely ignore my laundry in favor of wine & reading, too. Cheers! 6y
readordierachel Nice! How are you liking this one? I have it sitting on my shelf. 6y
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TheKidUpstairs @saresmoore LOL! You're welcome for the reminder. Laundry can always wait, right? 6y
TheKidUpstairs @ReadOrDieRachel uve only just finished the first chapter, but I'm loving it so far. She combines beautiful writing with slow burning, interesting stories so well. I had never heard of this one until it came to me as part of #LMPBC. I was pretty excited to see it, because I LOVED 6y
TheKidUpstairs @ReadOrDieRachel *I've (my auto correct hates me) 6y
desertbibliophile Wait, are there people in this world that choose laundry over reading? I don't trust them. 6y
108 likes7 comments
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TheKidUpstairs
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Kiddos are eating breakfast and watching Arthur, so I'm going to dive into the last book for round one of #LMPBC

So excited for your selection, @CouronneDhiver and I'm glad we'll be doing another round! I've really enjoyed reading with you ladies 😁 @drokka @DebbieGrillo

DebbieGrillo Your breakfast looks interesting. What is it? 6y
TheKidUpstairs @DebbieGrillo Rye toast with cucumber, cottage cheese, and sriracha. Mmm.... 6y
DebbieGrillo And just to be clear, the next round is March-June, right? Which means we read and send the first book by the end of March? @drokka @CouronneDhiver 6y
TheKidUpstairs @DebbieGrillo yup, that's what i was thinking too. We each read our selection in March and then pass it on. 6y
CouronneDhiver Sweet! 6y
117 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Mairi
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Isn't it odd when you read two completely different books and they both mention something you've never come across before in your life? At the top is The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel and at the bottom Landmarks by Robert MacFarlane.

5 likes1 stack add
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Mairi
The Singer's Gun | Emily St. John Mandel
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Next book, I loved Station Eleven so I've got high hopes for this.

Celly84 I love Station Eleven too. Let me know how you get on 8y
4 likes1 comment