Magnus Mills

Magnus Mills has produced three collections of short stories and seven novels, including The Restraint of Beasts, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 1998.

From his Q & A with Anna Metcalfe at the Financial Times:

What book changed your life?

The first one I wrote, The Restraint of Beasts. But in terms of reading it was The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien. It made me realise the importance of structure and style.
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Which literary character most resembles you?

Icarus; I always take things a little too far. Although I’ve never flown towards the sun.
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Who are your literary influences?

Aesop, Shakespeare, Milton, Swift, Conrad, Orwell, AJP Taylor, Flann O’Brien, Churchill, Maurice Maeterlinck, HG Wells, RL Stevenson, Henry Lawson, Mervyn Peake, DH Lawrence, Pinter, Dylan Thomas, Hunter S Thompson, Belloc. Is that enough?
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What book do you wish you’d written?

The Life of the Bee [1901] by Maeterlinck. He makes the life of the bee sound like an epic poem.

Read the complete interview.

--Marshal Zeringue