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While the great American novel has not yet been written Mailer has come close several times and this is his best book. It is haunting from star to finish. Everyone should pick up THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG.
Did Mailer have to bring in so many extraneous details about places and people almost irrelevant to the story. In this sense, the book is not only true crime but a psychological thriller. No. Did it have to quote seemingly every vulgar, profane word Gilmore and his girlfriend said/wrote. Did the book have to be 1000+ pages. Can we learn some things from Gilmore's life. The book is written well and parts of Gilmore's story are so fascinating that I had to read on just to find out what he would do or say next. And Mailer is, of course, one of the finer American writers.
I don't even believe that Gilmore showed courage in demanding his own execution. Is this the finest true crime book ever written. No. I do not believe Gilmore was brilliant or misunderstood, and I don't believe he should in any sense be excused because of his awful upbringing. No. I don't necessarily think so.However, time is too short to read entire books that are boring, poor quality, or worthless, but I read every page of the book. He had spent more years in prison than out and he hated the idea of being in a confined cell for the rest of his natural life. Definitely, and without a word of commentary, Mailer does a terrific job of exposing a life powerfully and brilliantly.
The Executioner's Song was also made into a television mini-series which I saw years after it aired. It's at a slower pace than most true crime books but it's quite brilliant in it's layout and explanation. Not that he didn't try to work a normal job and try to establish a relationship with a woman.
The first part of book begins when he leaves prison for the paroled life outside. Instead, Gary took his sentence. The story of the Executioner's Song is about Gary Gilmore, a lifelong criminal offender, who spent more time on the inside in prison than on the outside.
Nothing appeared to work in his new life on the outside.Well despite his crimes, Gary Gilmore was executed but he didn't fight his death like most convicted murderers have with endless appeals. Because of Norman Mailer's writing, we feel Gary's frustrations, his inadequacies, his uncomfortableness, and his feeling of alienation in a new world after 13 years. Gary tries to rebuild a life that he never had.
The book has many purposes but it's a long read about 1,000 pages in my copy. I just wished to see pictures in my paperback copy.
That being said, there's a lot of humor and humanity--and, yes, love--that sustains and entices you to the end of this book.Finally, if the book leaves you desiring to see the people wrapped up in Gilmore's story and to hear their voices, there is a good A&E biography available on YouTube. Mailer inserts numerous breaks that allow you to take a breather.
The subject matter--an all-access pass into the world of a killer daring the state to execute him and the "carrion" buzz he generates--provides ample opportunity for unease. There is plenty to unsettle the reader apart from the murders and execution.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The stories presented defy easy moral conclusions and the writing allowed me to feel relatively unencumbered in considering the many questions suggested by this work: questions concerning capital punishment; the prison system; the legal system; the parameters and responsibility of journalism; the nature of evil, of friendship, of family, of romantic love.Practically, the book is easy to pick up again even if you've taken a few weeks off from reading it.
At the same time, Mailer portrays nearly all of the players in this morbidly human story in a manner that elicits sympathy for, and in many instances admiration of, them. I found that irrespective of my personal feelings regarding the acts or politics of Gary Gilmore, of the people involved in his execution, and of those documenting Gilmore's story, Mailer's writing nudged me more towards empathy than judgment.
I was especially grateful for the breaks in a book over 1000 pages long that frequently plunged me into some pretty dark emotional places. Especially intriguing are examples of Gilmore's artwork and the interview with Nicole Henry (nee Baker).http://www.youtube.com/watch.v=fR-oM00ZKYE&videos=ueydt3tUrn0&playnext_from=TL&playnext=1
It also seems to get too deep into the particulars of the media frenzy surrounding Gilmore. This is the sixth Norman Mailer book I've read, and although tells a great story about Gary Gilmore, the killer of two in Utah in the mid-Seventies, it packs entirely too much information. namely that of Larry Schiller and his battle to aquire various rights to Gilmore's story. While reading this book, I found myself wishing more had been written about Gary and his life, and his relationship to his family and common law wife Nicole than about all the intricate details of the legal procedings after his sentencing. The back half of the book is loaded with seemingly endless milieu related to all the legal proceedings involving Utah's lack of mandetory appeal for those sentenced to death. though that story thread does have something of a redemption. All in all, it's a great book, but tends to drag.
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