An Average Man's Book Review- The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer died last November.  He was a gifted author and the quintessential New Yorker.  I recall he actually ran for Mayor in the late 60's.  Mailer was always making the rounds of the talk shows, and you could always catch a glimpse of him on shows like David Susskind, Dick Cavett and the like.

One of the last works Mailer published before his death was a novel entitled, The Castle in the Forest.  Mailer weaves a story about Adolf Hitler's family and sordid upbringing with the help and guidance of a disciple of Satan, who is dispatched to look after the little guy.  It's a dark and weird story about the struggle between good and evil.  I found it interesting but it won't leave you in a good mood. 

In 1980 Mailer won his second Pulitzer Prize for The Executioner's Song. The story is about Gary Gilmore, who could have been a poster child for everything wrong with the juvenile justice system in place at the time. Gilmore was in his mid thirties when he was released from prison after serving a stint for armed robbery. A petty thief and criminal, Gilmore  spent almost half his life in prison and reform school.  Upon Gilmore's release from prison, Mailer discusses his poor, almost non-existent attempt at putting his life in order. He never does, and we see him continue to make  wrong decisions time and time again.

We are introduced to Gilmore's extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins who try to help him, but are ill-equipped to do so. Gilmore meets the love of his life, Nicole Barrett, a married woman who is living alone while hubby is out hustling drugs. We see Nicole trying  to raise her two small children, and doing a terrible job of it while juggling a menial job, her new man, and drug and alcohol usage.

In a fit of anger and rage, Gilmore kills two young innocent family men and is arrested promptly due to his ineptitude at covering up his crimes. He goes to trial, is found guilty, and is sentenced to die by firing squad.  Gilmore throws the Utah justice system a curve ball by refusing any appeals at saving his life. The system is ill-equipped to deal with this unexpected turn of events.

Mailer creates a circus - like atmosphere of lawyers supporting his execution, versus those trying to save his life.  Into the stew are thrown the myriad press and media nabobs bumping into one another in order to get the rights to Gilmore's story and their fortunes. 

It is a long tale, written in a jounalistic style that I really love. It reminds me of Capote's In Cold Blood, but is much more complex. Being a long book (1050 pages), it's a great read for a long winter!