This is my fourth Emily St John Mandel novel. I think it’s a misnomer to call a great author “gifted” or “talented” because it connotes something that came naturally when in fact I suspect it’s a lot of hard work to hone such skill. The Singer’s Gun is what Goldfinch could have been minus 300 superfluous pages and with the addition of dialogue and plot that defines characters in rich dimension. Much of Singer’s Gun is very, very funny, but also heartbreaking and suspenseful in equal measure. Strongly recommend.