The Executioner's Song

Norman Mailer has covered all the bases. The detail in the book is amazing and would have required a lot of research. I was hooked from the beginning and read it with great interest. I am currently reading all the books Mailer has written and I am a fan.

Remarkable account of the human plight. American culture good &.bad, under the microscope of a brilliant writer. A worthy tribute to all those that lost their lives in the makings of this tragic sequence of events.

Read such great reviews about this book, a sort of embellished documentary about convicted killer, Gary Gilmore, who was executed in the state of Utah in the 70s. Never read any Mailer before, but this book in print is over 1,000 pages and after two months I only made it about 2/3 through which is about the point where Gilmore is convicted. I have a feeling that the interesting part comes later -- the part about his being on death row and wanting to be executed so I may have done myself a disservice by stopping here, but honestly, I was just ready to move on to something else.

This book is the non-fiction account of the life and, mostly the death, of Gary Gillmore in the State of Utah. If you like reading about fairly recent historical events and how they are intertwined with society, you will like this book.

Being a Scorpio, I have a little bit of interest in death and dying. Born in 1948 I remember the major press that Gary Gilmore received, for a long time. I read my father's copy and imagined him reading this. He was a smart, but distant guy. Fathers in those days were. His copy had a bookplate in it with our last name. So I kinda dug his copy, but left it in my daughter's apt. This is not a book you can put down, and it is true that it is the fastest 1,100 page novel you will ever read. Can't put it down. My daughter ordered this copy 2-day prime and it arrived at my hotel, and I continued. Unlike my father's copy, this one is huge, heavy, has beautiful paper and copy. Exactly like reading a hard copy which we people (growing up in dinosaur age) love to hold. What else could I ask for? Great physical copy, great story by Mailer who, like John Dos Pasos, integrates life in the 70's right with the plot.

Hard for me to understand so many five star reviews. Too much detail that did not contribute to the message of this book. So many people that it was hard to keep track of them all and the author made it more difficult by inconsistency in how he referred to them. When first mentioning a person he used both first and last name. Later he often referred to that person only by first name then in the same paragraph would switch to referring to that same person by only the surname. Sounded like he was talking about two different people. As one reviewer said it best, I couldn't wait for the execution so the book would be over.

if you want to read about trashy people who do trashy things in 1,000 pages then download this book. Its hard to love the characters because they are awful people. The book takes FOREVER. Read Fatal Vision or The People vs OJ Simpson instead

This book is over 1,000 pages long. There is a moderately interesting true crime story here about Gary Gilmore. Gilmore, just months after release from prison, kills two people. He is convicted, sentenced to death. The most interesting part of the story is that he insists the sentence get carried out as soon as possible. He not only does not cooperate with his appellate attorneys, but does not want them pursuing his appeal. Unfortunately the author Norman Mailer chose to give us excruciating detail on everyone Gilmore spent more than 5 minutes with during the 9 months between his release from prison and going back to jail after the murders. This book is beyond dull. Except for Gilmore, no one ever heard of the rest of the people in this book before or since they met Gilmore. Yet we are presented with their life stories, and these are not interesting people, execept to the people who know them. This could have been an excellent book if it had focused on Gilmore, his crime and his response to his death sentence. But instead of that 300 to 400 page book we get this 1,000 plus page doorstop in which small nuggets of good and interesting material is buried in trivia no one but those to whom it refers cares.

ok, I get it, a love story gone very bad, normally I can read a book in a couple of days, maybe a week. This one I just can't seem too finish, but after 800 plus pages, I feel too invested to put it down.

I've only thrown away two books.

They demanded the impossible of my eighth-grade Latin teacher Mrs. Calfee: Imbue America's s***-kids with a love of things classical. Guaranteed failure must have broken her, I don't know when. By the time I was sitting in her classroom she was a classic bitch. One day I had enough and stormed out, dropped her textbook in her trash for flourish.

Next went L. Ron Hubbard's Mission Earth: The Invaders Plan. Unfamiliar with the author or his invented religion, I picked it out of the local library's science fiction paperbacks. Kids shouldn't read that. Nobody should read that. Better to read an anthology of Hungarian suicide notes. L. Ron? He went right with the recycling. I lied to my parents and the librarians, said I lost it.

As I grew older, I developed a reverence for print. Love books. Haven't wanted to send one back to to the pulp mill, not once. Until last week when I got to reading The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer.

As fate has it I bought it on Kindle.

If I could give this book zero stars I would; but just as it's impossible to make something of nothing, I can't make something nothing. So, if this book must get a star let it be the black hole it is.

I could not wait to finish this book---but not for the reason you might assume. I just wanted to be done with it so I could be put out of my misery and move on to something worthwhile. It was such a chore to keep reading but I was determined to get to the end of this darn thing, quietly hoping I would find some redeeming value in it. Alas, I did not.
I could not even slightly relate to any of the characters with the possible exception of Vern Damico. Most of these people had no redeeming value, and it was hard to find sympathy for any of them, apart from the tragically murdered victims and their doomed families. Nicole was an atrocious mother. (Don't you wonder what became of her children?) Schiller was a sleeze, asking questions that were beyond anything decent and going to disturbing lengths to get a story. Gilmour's letters were lewd. What was to be gained from them is beyond me. These people would not be fit to appear on "Jerry Springer." I will try to erase from my memory the gruesome description of Gilmour's autopsy and cremation. In fact, I will try to forget that I ever read this book.
How this book could possibly be awarded a Pulitzer Prize is puzzling. The writing reminded me of the style of a 6th grader. And then there were perplexing sentences like, "Johnny was just standing there with his big good face going, um, um, um." What?!?! It was annoying and wearisome that a character would be introduced on page 300 and then not mentioned until 400 pages later---with a multitude of people in this book (I think it was over 100), it was arduous to recall who they were. Thank goodness for the "search" feature on my kindle, but toward the end, I didn't even bother to look them up because I just didn't care.
I will delete this book from my e-reader.

In Furman v. Georgia, in 1972, the Supreme Court in a very divided opinion struck down death penalty statutes all over the country, citing arbitrariness and racism in determining which defendants were subjected to it. Four years later, in Gregg v. Georgia, the Court reversed itself and allowed the death penalty to resume. The first person to be executed after Gregg was a man in Utah named Gary Gilmore. In The Executioner's Song, Norman Mailer tells the story of how that came to be.

It's not actually all that complicated. Although he was quite bright, Gary had an unstable childhood and started getting into trouble young, stealing cars and getting sent first to juvie and then real jail. At 22, he was imprisoned for armed robbery and after spending 14 years on the inside, he was eventually paroled and went to Utah to live with a cousin. Although his family and new community genuinely tried to help him, Gary had a hard time adjusting to life in the real world...until he met Nicole Baker. Nicole had a troubled history of her own, including commitment to a mental health facility and two divorces (along with two children) at the age of 19. Their relationship was intense but turbulent, and their breakup left Gary spiraling out of control. He shot and killed both a gas station attendant and a hotel clerk, and was caught, tried, and sentenced to death in relatively short order. When the sentence was pronounced, Gary decided not to fight it...he went through lawyers until he found one that would honor his decision to not appeal and let the penalty be carried out. Although a few appeals were undertaken on his behalf, much to his fury, he was ultimately executed by firing squad on January 17, 1977.

Out of this, Mailer spins a 1000+ page epic. And there's probably an incredible 500-600 page book inside of it somewhere, but boy howdy was this in screaming need of a firm editor. The book is divided into two roughly equal sections...the first ends with Gary's sentence, and the second not too long after his execution. Both portions drag for extended periods. Although Mailer's prose style is interesting and engaging, his determination to include everything he uncovered in his clearly very extensive research weighs down the narrative. The book takes a couple hundred pages to get to the point where the murders happen...which are then over, along with the trial, in about fifty. The back half of the book is dedicated as much to the wheelings and dealings of Hollywood players trying to get the rights to Gary's story as it is to Gary's actual story, and though there's a statement in there about how Gary pretty much stopped being a person and started being a commodity from that point forward, it's honestly just not that compelling. I never had any emotional investment in the relationship between Lawrence Schilling and his girlfriend, although from the attention Mailer paid to it you would think it's an important component of the proceedings. The book finishes strong by recounting Gary's last hours, death, and the immediate fallout on his loved ones, but there had been so many bumps in the road along the way that I was mostly just glad it was over. You have to admire its ambition and scope, but the actual product is very uneven. It's worth reading, if you're interested in this kind of thing, but not a must-read by any stretch.

I am having a hard time getting into this story. Its confusing at some times, due to the lack of punctuation, which really bothers me while reading. Not sure if I'm even going to finish reading it. The story never really grabbed my attention.

This is Norman Mailer at his best. I had this book - all 1,100 pages of it - sitting on my shelf for a few years, mocking me. Did I have the patience to begin and finish such a massive tome? How about the attention span?

Well, I didn't need either. I tore through this book in a matter of about a week and a half, riveted from the very first page. The story of Gary Gilmore and his relationship with Nicole Baker, which takes up the first half of the book, is a fascinating look at America in the mid-70s. The portraits of Nicole, a confused and broken young woman, and Gilmore, an intelligent, charming, angry, violent, yet self-aware charmer, pulls you in. The second half, which is about Gilmore's fight to be executed and the media circus which surrounded the whole story, reads like a news reporter drama.

This is excellent stuff. Mailer's straight forward conversational style makes the writing look far easier than it is, in the same way that Frank Sinatra's way of phrasing made his masterful singing sound so simple.

If you've got this book but are afraid of the length of it, please do yourself a favor and dive right in.

I stopped reading it half way through. I couldn't, nor did I want to relate to any of the people in the book. If you're an ex con or a slut or a mormon, or if you would like to be mildly disgusted then perhaps this book is for you.

If you like pathetic sickening human behaior this is for you! Came with good reviews, cant imagine what people liked about it plus to much profanity and using the Lords name in vain, wish I could return it.

Norman Mailer’s enormous, often heroic, chronicle of Gary Gilmore’s murder and execution continues in the tradition of the sort of fictionalized journalism that characterized American literature in the 1960s. Mailer thankfully takes himself out of his precise detailing of Gilmore’s descent into a frenzy of paranoid anger and violence; perhaps the most remarkable acheivement of this book is Mailer’s covert embeddedness in the letters, court proceedings, and documents that constitute the story’s substance. The strange world of the Utah landscape spring to life here, even as things definitely go on too long in the buildup to the execution.

The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer is my favorite of his books. It is based on the true story of Gary Gilmore, a Utah killer, but it is written like a novel. He won the Pulitzer Prize for it and deservedly so. Mailer captures the interior process of a killer. There is something missing inside Gilmore and there is also an inner rage about who he is stuck being as a person. He killed a hapless gas station attendant seemingly just for the hell of it. Gilmore wanted the death penalty and Utah used a firing squad, which was fine by him. You could almost say this was a murderer who wanted to commit suicide. Every nuance of Gilmore's life is covered and for the first time I felt I could really understand how someone could "drift" into being a killer. This is not to say you will like him. You will not.

It is a long book and I read it at the speed of light. Mailer really understands pace and plot. He never lets up. This is highly unusual in a writer who can also write first class prose. I couldn't put it down and felt extreme book loss when it was over. Picking another book to read after reading that tour de force was an impossible task.

The only book this is comparable to is "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote which also makes a novel of a true crime event. Capote did it first, of course, which made it even more groundbreaking.

In closing, I am happy to report a superior tv mini series was made of the book with Tommy Lee Jones playing Gilmore.

I highly recommend that before you read this book chase up "Shot in the Heart" by Mikal Gilmore, Gary's brother. Mikal's expose of his dysfunctional family makes for riveting reading and is a wonderful insight into the darkness that enveloped Gary Gilmore in his youth. "The Executioner's Song is good" but I thought it could have done with some cut back editing to make it the extraordinary book that "Shot" is. To me the detail involving the lawyers in the lengthy law process following his death sentence and those individuals who were so anxious to make a mint out of this tragedy seemed somewhat protracted to a point of tediousness.

Norman Mailer has written one engaging, inspiring,sobering, and unfiltered account of one of the most tragic times in American history. Gary Gilmore was one of the most misunderstood people , and this book gets us as close to understanding him as ever. Before you are finished reading it, you will empathize with him, get confused by him, will be angered by his actions, and at times will be close to crying for him. The book also shows how one man impacted a lot of people, some positively, but mostly negatively. After reading, you will appreciate how we should all treat each other better to make the world better. It also tells a bitter story that the penal system in the United Stated has a lot of work to do to stop having recidivism. Recommended reading.

A very moving book. The narrative was factual, bare, clean of judgment but, oh, so gripping, torrid, violent, tender . . . real. The depth and breadth of the coverage of issues of humanity in our country was breathtaking. This book consumed me for the stark conundrums which darken and elate our lives. I feel like I have known all of the players at various times in my 58 years. Life is a jumbled mess of competing philosophy and personal greed (selfishness). I could not avoid feeling deeply from this long but worthy chronology. It is a lesson in history, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, sexuality worthy of reflection by anyone willing to pick it up.

Did the book have to be 1000+ pages. No. Did it have to quote seemingly every vulgar, profane word Gilmore and his girlfriend said/wrote? No. Did Mailer have to bring in so many extraneous details about places and people almost irrelevant to the story. No. Is this the finest true crime book ever written. 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. And Mailer is, of course, one of the finer American writers. 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. In this sense, the book is not only true crime but a psychological thriller.

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. I don't even believe that Gilmore showed courage in demanding his own execution. 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. Can we learn some things from Gilmore's life? Definitely, and without a word of commentary, Mailer does a terrific job of exposing a life powerfully and brilliantly.

This is a very difficult book to read. It is detailed, long and challenging. I did not enjoy Mailer's writing style but appreciated the content. It is certainly a book that made me think. It is real life so I can't complain about the number of names in the book that made it difficult for me to keep track of the relationships. It is a book worth reading if you care about our justice system and capital punishment.

Did I enjoy this book: That word "enjoy" again; I keep getting tripped up here. I was haunted, stunned, and perplexed by this book.

When two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Normal Mailer composes a story, it is truly a work of art. Unrestricted by any particular style or expectation, Mailer unfolds the painful, true story of convicted murderer, Gary Gilmore. He creates a multi-dimensional central character who demonstrates hope, aspirations, and love while simultaneously revealing himself to be violent, depraved, and ultimately evil.

In the book, Gilmore leaves prison after 13 years of incarceration. Early in the novel, he says, "I want a home . . . I want a family. I want to live like other people live." But this proves too much for Gilmore as he is unable to resist his compulsion to take what he wants without regards for others. Even his profound love for Nicole Baker is perverted by his proposed suicide pact. But he does love. And people in his life love him.

The entire 1000+ page novel is convoluted, complicated, and confounding. As I believe the author intended it to be. The story is told through dialogue, letters, interviews, and court transcripts. No detail is ignored, no emotion unexplored.

Would I recommend it: Mailer claims this story was given to him in its entirety by God. It's not hard to believe this claim to be true. So I would recommend it -but to the serious reader. (Not sure how to say this without sounding snobbish.)

Will I read it again: I will not.

As reviewed by Belinda at Every Free Chance Book Reviews.

No one but Mailer could have written this book. The scope is epic, well beyond just about anything other than 'War and Peace.' The story brings us through the characters, their back stories, their relationships, the area they live in (UT), the legal and media angles on the first case of capital punishment in many years, so many different angles than the murders that the story hinges on seem almost insignificant. The length for me was just that much more gravy...I couldn't get enough of this story. Mature readers with novelistic attention spans will be grateful for its 1100 pages.

Let me tell you first that this is a LONG book -- about 1,200 pages. I read it throughout the past year while I was in between books.

The book tells the true story of Gary Gilmore, a convicted murderer. He was sentenced to death in Utah, a state where the death penalty was never actually carried out. Gary wanted to die rather than spend the rest of his life in prison, so he began petitioning the courts for his right to die. This became a huge media sensation at the time. I remember it well.

Norman Mailer used notes and tape recordings collected throughout the ordeal to write a very personal account of this story and the events surrounding it. Every page of the book is entirely believable.

...that is not to say that it's always interesting, though. The love story between Gary Gilmore and his 19-year old girlfriend is interesting. Gary's dialogue with just about anybody (family, lawyers, movie producers) is always interesting as well. On the flip-side, much of the information on the lawyers and producers and their personal backgrounds is quite boring, but probably necessary due to the level of detail in the rest of the book.

Overall, I recommend the book for the story itself and the thorough research. I did wonder after reading this 1200-page book whether I should have just watched the movie? I don't know -- I still haven't seen it yet.

So, I'm very interested in the Death Penalty and the justice system. I was also blown away by In Cold Blood which I've heard this compared to. Also, many say this is Mailer's masterpiece. Finally, it's been on my list to read forever and it was time to read or get off the pot.

I feel it is no small achievement to say I read all 1100 pages of it. It was fascinating. I'm just old enough to have been around when Gilmore was executed but to not have been aware of it at the time. I believe he was the first person to be executed at that time in the US in 10 years.

Part of the power of In Cold Blood is in it's brevity. Obviously Executioner's Song is lacking in that department and I think it could have benefitted from being a little shorter.

This book is not for the feint of heart but actually was in a way an easy read. If any of what I mentioned is of interest, you should take a crack at it.

Norman Mailer's epic novel, The Executioner's Song is perhaps one of the most brillian novels ever written. This haunting masterpiece tells vividly the story of Gary Gilmore, convicted killer, and the first person executed after a ten-year social ban. This engaging saga evoked anger and moral convictions within me as no book had previously done.

Gilmore is as brilliant as he is frustrated, as lonely as he is lustful, and as troubled as he is tranquil. He is a true paradox among men, and must, daily, fight the inner-demons to which he unavoidably succumbs. Convicted and voluntarily executed for the murders of two men, his story becomes an allegory of modern America, and a marvelously tragic satire. Our collective flaws are augmented into his psychopathic ones, our penance into his ultimate, final one. In the novel, his death is little more than an afterthought, anticlimactic to the point of numbness, representing our final journey as often less painful than the time we spend agonizing over it. Gilmore represents every individual's false hopes, the dues paid without reward, and social taboos betrayed with excessive ostracism. In writing the ultimate crime and punishment novel, Mailer wrote the superlative Great American Novel, not a Rockwellian picture of suburban eccentricities, but a novel buried in the pathos of everyday life.

This book had a severe impact on the way I observed everyday life, and the environmental conditions of those around me as related to behavioral conditions. Intelligence is subjective when concerning individuals. Gilmore is a martyr of religious zealotism, puritanistic morals, and ultimately of his own shattered ego. Gilmore is a killer, but the unyielding Mormon town puts the gun in his hand. This book truly caused me to reevaluate how society was affecting myself and others, and, in turn, still haunts my everyday actions.

The Executioner's Song is a novel so universal in theme and content that it is destined to become a classic. It is a book full of excesses, and perhaps some exaggeration, but this only enhances its portrayal, never distorting it. Simple in plot, yet complex in underlying spirit, it is, simply stated, a book that has permanently altered my life, while remaing as big and bombastic as American subculture.

-Jeremy Daniels

The Executioner's Song was also made into a television mini-series which I saw years after it aired. 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. The first part of book begins when he leaves prison for the paroled life outside. 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. Not that he didn't try to work a normal job and try to establish a relationship with a woman. 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. Instead, Gary took his sentence. The book has many purposes but it's a long read about 1,000 pages in my copy. It's at a slower pace than most true crime books but it's quite brilliant in it's layout and explanation. I just wished to see pictures in my paperback copy.

I thought the first half of these book was amazing, I was totally plowing through it. The choppy style is so different, but I really enjoyed it. However, as I got into the last 500 pages it wasn't as fun (and not just because I had been ready for a long time already), but because there is a switch in focus from the interesting characters to the boring lawyers and judges (who are hard to keep straight). I finished this book in 11 or 12 days and still enjoyed it, but wish the second half had been cut short.

This is an excellent true crime book, despite Mailer's verbosity and arrogant style. Gary Gilmore--a bright man who spent half his life in jail and eventually murdered two men in cold blood while on parole before being given a death sentance--is a fascinating example of a modern criminal. His life before his final crime and then his court battles to speed up his execution is an interesting case study and since this book is written like an extended newspaper article, it provides great insight. It also contains terrific accounts of the other tragic characters in Gilmore's life (his mother, father and girlfriend). The big fault of this book, of course, is its overwhelming length. There is no reason it needed to be over 1000 pages and after finishing it I was more than ready for it to be over. There is enough drama and action to keep the narrative flowing and to keep readers interested, but it isn't a book you can sit down and read in an afternoon, you will have to devote serious time and energy to finish it. I think the effort is worth it, but for people who do not want to commit to such an endeavor, do not read this book and buy the book by Mikal Gilmore (Gary's younger brother) or avoid Gilmore all together and buy In Cold Blood, which is a must read book and the best true crime I've ever read.

Is "The Executioner's Song" a novel or a piece of journalism? If you read the afterword and know what everything that is written actually happened you would think the latter. And it is, but the writing is so compelling it is also a piece of literature like Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood".

In short, the story is about Gary Gilmore, a villain who has been in jails and correction centers for most of his life but who has never been corrected, maybe even the opposite. He gets out of jail, works in a shoe store and meets Nicole, the number one person for him for the rest of his life. His life outside of jail is one of drugs, violence and a lot of drinking, until one day he brutally kills two people. He is then sentenced to get the death-penalty, which had a moratorium for few years. Even though many groups like the ACLU try to stop this he actually wants to get the Death Penalty. The last pages are excrusiating, does he get it or not?

Gary Gilmore was a menace, not a nice person who kept drinking and making other people's lives miserable. I had to be really careful not to feel some kind of sympathy for him however. Was het a victim of society and/or the prison system? In the end I actually was hoping he would not die.

The lives of the other people around him are also masterfully told. From his immediate family to the lawyers that came in later.

This book is great of you want a book about average Americans, about the legal system, the Death Penalty and interestingly enough also the Mormon Church.

It may be more than a 1000 pages but every one is worth it. The chapters are short and also divided into smaller parts. Because of the writing style you can put it away for a few days and pick it up again.

Winner of the 1980 Pulitzer Prize, The Executioner's Song scrutinizes the life and death of Gary Gilmore, arrested and tried for the 1976 killings of two innocent men in Provo, Utah, during petty burglaries which netted him less than $250. Author Norman Mailer bases his novel on the one hundred interviews and hundreds of phone conversations he conducted with people involved in Gilmore's life, trial, and execution. He also examined all available police documents and court transcripts, and made many trips to Utah and Oregon to talk with witnesses and people who knew Gilmore,

Having had no contact with Gary Gilmore himself, Mailer maintains a reporter's distance, ultimately portraying Gilmore as a loser who got his "education" in the prison system in which he spent half his life, and turning him into a symbol of the sociopath for whom society has found no answer except the death penalty. The novel divides naturally into several sections: the gruesome crimes themselves, including Gilmore's mindset at the time, his background, and the effect of the crimes on his family and friends; the pre-trial maneuvering and the trial itself; the conviction and post-conviction appeals; and Gilmore's execution and its aftermath.

Gilmore is not presented sympathetically, though Mailer goes to great lengths to portray him accurately. Gilmore's unusually high IQ, his poetic letters to his girlfriend Nicole, and his admission of guilt and desire to pay for his crimes with his own death create a unique picture of someone who had both intelligence and a kind of honor. But neither Gilmore nor the psychologists could ever explain why he did what he did. One moment Gilmore says, "I don't know what the hell I'm doing," and another moment he says, "I've always had a choice."

Mailer takes the long view throughout the novel, which ultimately becomes an extraordinary study of a man facing justice and the extraordinary steps the judicial system takes to see that true justice is served--the agonies endured by friends, the sleepless nights of attorneys and judges, the soul-searching of those required to carry out the sentence, many of them Mormons who do not support the death penalty, and the frustration of Gilmore, who wants death and fears that he will be reprieved. A brilliant and complete study of the American way of life and those, like Gilmore, who cannot live within it, the novel is, however, excruciatingly long. The last half of the book, with the minutiae of the legal maneuvering, the post-trial activities, and the appeals could have been cut in half without sacrificing depth or truth. n Mary Whipple

Since, as I understand it, this work and Capote's "In Cold Blood" are both considered early and pre-eminent examples of "neo-journalism novels", I cannot help but compare the two.

One cannot ignore the fact that Capote was an integral part and player in the narrative and history represented by "In cold Blood", and the attendant perspectives of the author, of necessity, had his personal values colored into a great deal of the work. In that regard, ":In cold Blood" represented more of a memoir of a personal journey undertaken by Capote -- visiting a town and its people, good and bad, its recent noteworthy events, good and bad, and even gaining intimate relationships with key players. The material for this work was largely based on first hand experience by the author. And for Truman Capote, what a personal price to pay to produce this work. Once cannot help but think that the emotional impact on him, as for most human beings, was devastating for the remainder of his life, as I am sure he felt he had to choose between two conflicting moral principles to finish this work as he believed he must.

With "The Executioner's Song", Mailer was spared the real-time/ intimate immersion exposure to the events that anchored the drama embracing Gary Gilmore's cold-blooded slaughter of innocents and on through his arrest, conviction, and eventual execution. That said, he also was able to seize the opportunity for so much more exhaustive research and study of the people, environment and circumstances that interacted throughout. This provided a much richer collection of sub-narratives all of which helped (me, at least) to reconcile the enigmatic nature of human beings which includes the likes of a very perplexing and enigmatic Gary Gilmore.

A huge (1000+ page) work on the final months in the life of Gary Gilmore, this opens with his release from many years in prison to stay with relatives in Utah. All too soon their well-meaning efforts to rehabilitate him seem doomed to failure, especially as he takes up with the damaged Nicole... I found the first part of the book utterly compelling - his home life, and ultimately the two terrible and pointless murders that he carries out.
The second half, for me, was way too long. The characters who take centre stage now are largely lawyers and newspaper reporters, for whom Gilmore's death penalty represents a chance to get rich:
'We're embarrassed to tell you this, but the contract is only effective if the execution is carried out.'
The whole media circus; the appeals as various lawyers and human rights groups fight for Gilmore's life (against his will as he demands to die rather than spend his life in jail) seemed to go on excessively.
Although we get to know most of the characters- including, briefly, an account of the lives of the victims - Gary - despite his letters and the pages of conversation transcribed - really remains an enigma. Intelligent, besotted, a believer in karma...yet a double killer. Was it the prolixin - a drug forcibly administered on his previous time in jail? Was there something in his childhood?
The end is deeply sad, exacerbated by the last minute efforts to get a stay of execution, and Gilmore's uncertainty till the very end as to whether he would die.
This is a tour de force based on interviews with over a hundred people: Mailer observes that the collected transcripts would approach fifteen thousand pages.

This book was never boring, not on page 100 or page 1000. The research is phenomenal, and Mailer has done an excellent job of taking these real life events and turning them into a readable novel that feels like genuine historical fiction. Gary Gilmore is an incredibly memorable main character, and Mailer paints a fair picture of him. He's very human - full of anger, prone to incredibly poor judgment, but also surprisingly bright and loving and tender at times. He's an onion with lots of layers, and that's what makes him so interesting.

The writing turned me off at first, I have to admit. Personally I expected more from a Pulitzer Prize-winner. The informal prose, often devolving into incomplete sentences and full of awkward colloquialisms, I can only assume was meant to provide an authentic flavor to enhance the story. It didn't work for me, but fortunately the story stands on its own just fine. This is a fascinating look inside a real human being who commits an evil crime, and then fights for his right to die. All the characters that surround him, from his girlfriend to his lawyers to the movie producers and journalists who flock to his execution, round out this remarkable novel.

This huge book tells the story of the final months of Gary Gilmore in immense and gripping detail. Gilmore was the first person to be executed in the United States after the reinstatement of the death penalty in the 1970s. Norman Mailer immerses us deeply in Gilmore and his world. The first part of the book covers his time outside prison on parole, his intense affair with Nicole Baker, and his inability to cope responsibly with freedom, culminating in the motiveless killings that put him back in prison. The second half covers Gilmore's time in prison, his battle to be executed, and the media frenzy that surrounded it. Mailer introduces us to scores of individuals who played parts both large and small in Gilmore's life, demonstrating that everyone has an interesting story if you look closely enough. This is an uncommonly rich and textured work that rewards the perseverance required to finish it. Unlike many other reviewers, I did not find the detail to be extraneous nor Mailer's writing style to be overblown or arrogant. Rather, I was impressed at how restrained and objective it was.

I read this book years ago when it was first published. And I saw the movie when it was first released--it was the first movie I ever saw with Tommy Lee Jones (and he was excellent). Without giving away any of the plot line, I can only say that it was, and still is, a look into the craziness and unexplainable inconsistencies of our justice system.

Mailer writes with the unembellished style of a newspaper reporter in this work which traces Gilmore's actions from his last prison release to his long-awaited execution. No detail is left out and no stone unturned, resulting in what is, at times, a jumbled panoply of lawyers, deal-making, press attention, and family dysfunction. Throw in a miserable 'love story' between two self-absorbed and selfish individuals, and you have yourself a Pulitzer Prize winner.
It's hard to keep track and stay interested when the plot and focus of the novel turns from Gilmore to the circus of press, lawyers, movie directors, and judges surrounding him. Here's a selfish, cold-blooded, vile murderer and sociopath who commands the attention and admiration of the press and the nation because he's to be the first person executed in the US in 20 years and because he welcomes the sentence. Well big deal....
I really feel for the families of Benny Bushnell and Max Jensen, who had to endure seeing their loved ones' killer on tv, on magazine covers, sought out for interviews and having movies made about him while little attention was paid to the victims. What a shame!
Quantity surpasses quality in this novel, if you ask me. Less is more...I say this NOT because I dislike long novels, but because a lot of the minutia details in the novel don't contribute much to the overall story , are simply distracting, and although it shows what a huge effort was made in writing the novel, it adds little entertainment or educational value to the book. For example, do we really need to know about Lawrence Schiller's flight schedule and his relationship with his girlfriend? Or Gary's former cellmate's medical troubles? Those are just a few examples...extraneous rambling in a novel of otherwise great import which is just unnecessarily long.

Gary Gilmore is released from prison and thanks to his cousin Brenda in Utah, who agrees to co-sponsor him along with her parents Vern and Ida, he has a place to live and a job. Gary has been in prison many years, a lot of it in solitary, he says. He doesn't really know or care how to act in the civilized world: what he wants, he takes.

He is not having very good luck with women as he is rather blunt, making it clear that he is only interested in one thing. Then he meets Nicole, a not very bright (quit school in seventh grade) young lady who has been married three times and has two children (one of them not by a husband). She describes her first husband as a big immature clunk. Nicole has had a terrible life - she was molested by her father's best friend "Uncle Lee" (which she thinks may have caused her to become a slut), put into the loony bin and then married off by her father at age fourteen to the "immature clunk" who is over twenty (he makes a living by stealing from vending machines). Nicole is a bit spacey to say the least, and she is taken in by Gary's line that he knew her in a previous life. Nicole is used to going from guy to guy to guy (or girl), even while she is supposedly with one guy, so it doesn't really matter to her. She knows Gary "boosts" from stores - she has too, and stolen from her schoolmate's lockers while she was in school. Gary doesn't think work is important, and neither does she....Nicole worked briefly as a maid, and then a sewing machine operator, but of course had to quit the sewing job because she wanted to stay home and dream about her new man. She collects welfare and got more money than she should have, therefore enabling her to buy a neighbor's Mustang. Gary later buys a Mustang as well, but as soon as he sees a white pickup, he wants that instead.

I think it's funny how Nicole claims that she found the little house in Spanish Fork and moved in all by herself, while one of her exes, Jim Barrett. later says he found it and they moved in together...until he left (but of course, kept coming back). It's more likely Barrett is telling the truth, since it does seem he found several places for Nicole to live, not to mention moving all her stuff for her. Another one of those he said/she said: Nicole's mother, Kathryne describes her three month courtship with Nicole's father Charley as chaste - not even kissing. Then one day they up and decide to get married (just knowing to go to Elko, Nevada) and Kathryne talks her mother into taking them. Sure. Kathryne was fourteen and Charley was sixteen. Charley's version sounds closer to the truth: Kathryne told him she was pregnant and they must marry. She wasn't really pregnant at the time, but then she did get pregnant. So they stayed together, although he filed for divorce many times. So what kind of upbringing could Nicole have had? She said her father was taking her into bars when she was twelve.

Barrett, Nicole's second ex-husband describes Gilmore as "that old scroungy madman, Gary Gilmore." Barrett has sex with (and takes the virginity of) Nicole's fifteen year old babysitter, after just walking into the house in Spanish Fork. Next time he has sex with Nicole (she's still with Gary) he's saying that "sex was like a sacred thing to him, a way to express a feeling."

Pete Galovan, who lives behind Vern's house and does odd jobs for him, tells Gary's cousin Toni that Gary was talking to her daughter in a rather overly familiar way, and he didn't like the looks of it. Gary blew his top over this and wanted to fight Pete. He hit Pete from behind, which Vern was not impressed with. Pete wants to file charges, but is talked out of it by Nicole (who describes Pete as a "big plain old oaf"), who threatens to kill him if he does. "Your man's far gone. He's a killer, I believe." To his ex-wife, Pete said, "It's a certainty. He's going to kill me. Me or somebody else." If only someone had listened to Pete.

But no one did, least of all Nicole. When Gary starts to hit her and drink all the time, Nicole gets fed up and moves out (Barrett helps her). This drives Gary nuts. He picks up April, her younger sister, and tries to have sex with her while taking her around while he robs and murders one of the men. He had to produce some cash to pay for the white truck (which he already has), or it will be repossessed. He later says he killed the two men so that he wouldn't kill Nicole, but I don't believe that. He could have killed Nicole (probably by battering her to death) and still shot those men.

Nicole wanted some time to cool off, but once Gary's arrested she is completely smitten by him again. He writes lovey-dovey letters and she is swept away, even trying to commit suicide so that they can be together. Her kids are unimportant to her. They have never been important, she just drags them here and there, dumps them off on anybody, and I really wonder if they ever got anything to eat (Gary did steal some bananas for them).

It never seems to occur to Nicole that if she had stayed with Gary, he would have continued to beat her, drink and be as disgusting if not more, than all the other men she'd been with. The bloom would have been off the rose for good, and she would have gone on to other fish in the sea (a lot more quickly than she did). Gary probably would have beaten her up pretty good if she had stayed with him, perhaps even killed her. But since she really didn't care about living, did it matter?

Nicole also does not seem to care at all that Gary shows NO remorse for killing the two young men, leaving young wives and little babies. Like her own children, other people are not important. All Nicole cares about is Gary, Gary, Gary. She is mesmerized by his words. Gary is a pretty good writer and a good artist. Nicole is wondering "What is the point of it all?" and Gary guides her into his beliefs. She's just young and impressionable.

Gary tells his cellmate that he would not accept an insanity defense. When they run all kinds of tests on him to make sure he isn't insane, he's unhappy that he is not found to be, but reasons that the doctors are being paid by the State of Utah, and that's why they don't. Then for some odd reason, he thinks his lawyers will try for an insanity defense. Since he's been judged sane, of course they don't, and he's angry. The rules do not apply to Gary. He should have special privileges. When his cousin Brenda called the police on him (he called her after the second murder because he accidentally shot his thumb, and it hurt), he did not think that was right at all. Brenda should have let him get away with two murders, because she's his cousin. What kind of family member would do such a thing, Gary cannot understand. He can understand himself committing murder, but never that.

The book is well written, with lots of views from different people that knew Gary: Nicole, of course, Gary's mother, his cellmate, his cousin Brenda, his employer and co-workers, his lawyers (not very interesting) and more. But the book is far too long. Whole sections regarding Dennis Boaz and Lawrence Schiller could have been cut out.

I never liked Gary or felt the least bit sorry for him. Did Prolixin given to him in the prison change him? Some said it did. But I'm sure he knew exactly what he was doing. He just thought he'd be smart enough to get away with it, or that people would be afraid of him and lie for him. He even yawns fiercely! (According to Dennis Boaz).

Norman Mailer's book is easily the best of the more than one hundred true crime books I've ever read. The story of Gary Gilmore & Nicole Baker reads like a warped American Romeo & Juliet at times, albeit a white trash version of sorts. When all was said and done, Gilmore had spent 18 of his 36 years institutionalized in one form or another. So Gary fought the state of Utah when they sentenced him to death in 1976. The twist is that he had to fight to make them follow through with their threat. Gilmore, as well as anyone, knew what prison was like and that he wanted nothing more to do with that kind of life.
This is one of the feww 1,000+ page books that left me wanting more when it was over. Mailer had access to virtually everyone necessary to pull off this monumental undertaking. The narrative is basically stripped of needless frills and the author's opinions are held in check beautifully when you consider the inflammatory nature of the subject matter. Mailer also does an admirable job of allowing Gilmore's victims to appear as human beings, not merely as props used by Gilmore to achieve immortality and release.
This book has the potential to spark debate on a variety of newsworthy issues, such as prison reform, victim's rights, incarceration vs. education, the death penalty as a deterrent, right to die, etc.. Gilmore's case was remarkable in regard to American Justice as we now know it. Gilmore himself was a complex and fascinating individual with underdeveloped emotional control and virtually no social skills to speak of. He developed into adulthood in legal institutions and was woefully unprepared for life outside prison walls.
Mailer does not flinch or miss a single beat. He simply tells the story of Gary Gilmore and the story of the lives touched and/or destroyed by Gilmore. He does not take any obvious liberties to fit the story to match his own beliefs. I was not a Mailer fan until I read this book. It is one of the five best books I have ever had the priveldge of reading.
The movie of the same title did Gilmore a serious injustice. Yes, he was certainly a thief and a murderer, there's no overlooking that, but he was also an extremely intelligent and artistic man. I also recommend reading Shot In The Heart, by Mikal Gilmore(Gary's younger brother). It is a beautifully written book that fills in a lot of blanks and generally helps to complete the Gilmore story.

One of my all-time favorite true crime books, "The Executioner's Song" is a quick read despite its length, though it slows in the second half. It's an extraordinary achievement, a haunting, understated, detailed, thorough, outstanding piece of journalism accomplished with remarkable speed, with the added interest of Lawrence Schiller's appearance (Schiller, of course, goes on from helping with "Song" to his own outstanding career, e.g. "Perfect Town ...") What remains with me the most a couple of years after reading "Song" is the atmosphere surrounding Gilmore's execution, the level of detail throughout & the sense of place. Includes a helpful afterword on Mailer's techniques. Gilmore, incidentally, was a sociopath, regardless of whatever sympathy he or Mailer might engender. It's symptomatic of sociopaths that they're often likeable (though I don't find Gilmore so), that's part of the deal, the chameleon nature. Gilmore wasn't destroyed by drugs or a generally good guy who had bad moments, he was a sociopath. Mailer's portrayal of the victims is weak, but the victim (for literary purposes) almost always isn't as interesting as the killer .... A must-read for true crime fans.

This is Mailer's Great American Novel, the book he died thinking he never wrote. Perhaps it was the New Journalism basket this work seems to fall into that threw him off, and subsequently made him turn in desperation to biblical topics.

Don't be fooled if you are approaching this book gingerly. Forget the name Mailer. Forget any distance or ignorance you may have from the name Gary Gilmore. Forget true crime. As far as true crime goes, this one easily trumps In Cold Blood and anything else. This is one of the greatest pieces of writing you will come across, and it really will stay with you forever. It's a colossus of a book.

"The Executioner's Song" is an incredibly intimidating book, and if reading the whole thing constitutes a great accomplishment than writing it is akin to a feat of God. The story is basically how Gary Gilmore killed two innocent people, was sentenced to death, became a pawn for money-hunters everywhere, and ended up, well... you guessed it. Here every possible incident is portrayed in Mailer's simple, matter-of-fact prose. One of the great things he does here is portray Gilmore as an articulate, caring (for the most part) human being rather than a cold-blooded killer. His cataclysmic relationship with Nicole is portrayed in all its ferocity, and his choice to go ahead with the execution without appeal is actually made out to be understandable from his point of view. If you have a good two months to set aside I suggest picking this book up. It may be best to have a notebook handy however; the cast of real-life characters is War and Peace-esque in its grandiosity and it is quite easy to lose track of who is who. Bravo Mr. Mailer.

Way too much detail. I realize the author was trying to present all views and facts/opinions, but he went way overboard. I also think he went too far to be impartial, and should have interjected more of his thoughts. The book was much too long; he could have reduced it by 33% and still over covered the situation.

This book is large in size and even more substatial in it's research and substance. I have to admit I was only interested in this book after seeing one mof Matthew Barney's Cremaster films. This book would leave me wanting more and more, and for several hundred pages it was very able to provide. After rading this book I would suggest trying to find the learning channel's documentary on Gary Gilmore so that you can see the actual charectors faces. I can't realy say much about this book that has not been said already. It has appealed to so many readers of different genre, that there is a safe chance that it will appeal to you. I would also reccomend reading "under the banner of heaven" as well. The two books though seperate in time frame and subject compliment each other on hte subject of Utah mormanism. I could not pu tthis book down and neglected many other projects to finish it.

If you are an aspireing journalist or writer, beware- this book will cause you to reconsider your vocation as you probably cannot write, research, interveiw, or compile a flowing timeline this well. Give up now.

This is easily Mailer's most readable work. Unlike much he wrote, this hasn't aged badly or ceased to be relevant. One could argue whether real writers need to see their face in the media as much as Mailer did-he was the anti-JD Salinger. Possibly the reason Executioner's Song stays so fresh is Mailer's co-writer. Laurence Schiller did the vast majority of the interviews and grunt work so the rock star had something to work with. And he did a stunning job too.And his name's not even on the new cover. That's inappropriate. A major work.

This book is about nothing less than Human Nature and America. There is so much in this book to treasure that I would have to agree with other reviewers that it could have gone on twice as long.
Mailer's incredible book does two things. First it uses an epochal event to paint a portrait of America at a certain point of time. Most notably, to me at least, it captures (1)the hypocrisy of America's growing focus on Law & Order at a time when it reinstituted capital punishment and (2) the capitalist greed that epitomized the fierce contest for Gilmore's life story.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, Mailer capitalizes on fascinating factual occurrences to tell stories that no novelist could dream up. Gilmore is a character that seems so intelligent, carefree and fun to be around that you just want to throw your arms around him...until he resorts to brutal, random and inexplicable acts of violence. The affection keeps coming back until you once again remember his visious acts. No author could have dreamed up a character that stirs so much ambivalence in the reader. As for Gary and Nicole's romance, who could have dreamed up the twists and turns -- the suicide pacts, Nicole's institutionalization, the difficulty of the relationship in person contrasted with its ease when the two are separated. Finally, no author could create such a complete look inside the criminal mind without having complete access to an actual criminal.
Sorry if I was long-winded. This book is a true treasure.

book 1 is terrific. it's book two that i have a problem with. as other reviewer's have said, there are hundreds of pages here of mindless minutia. i especially get bored with all of the reporters and the whole money war with abc and whoever else wants to cover the story and the hiring and firing of lawyers. and there's exclusive interviews. and thousands upon thousands of dollars being given to gary and passed out amongst his friends, relatives and fans. the interviews are recorded and are quite interesting. there is some important information scattered through book two, but the author's desire to make this the greatest crime epic results in hours of boredom. i am at page 942 and i am so burnt out on the novel. it is a chore to finish. but i must get to the execution. im sure there will be some mindless drivel after the execution. there are so many characters when it comes down to gary gilmore's legal defense and the reporters and the ones he trusts and distrusts----you would need to literally take notes in order to keep a frame of reference for each of these characters. i find myself scratching my head while trying to understand the importance of many of these characters. so basically the interviews and gary's subliminal letters to his lover nicole are essential to the story from book 2. it seems like the author is trying really hard to bury capote's "in cold blood". he actually succeeds at this task; this must be the greatest true crime epic ever written. perhaps some will appreciate mailer's insane attention to detail. he certainly uncovers every stone. but in the end, ill be glad that i read it.

The story, people, events, and style of this book were absolutely haunting to me. At times I read it and felt utterly depressed at the way the events would spiral into a downward pit of despair for many of the people. However, that's not to say that I didn't like the book - I did. Immensely. I almost couldn't put it down from the very start, and Mailer's vivid descriptions were so well-done I could visualize almost everything. The explorations into the inner workings of various institutions, from the prison system to the Hollywood-TV-media world, were fascinating, and of course, the central story is well-written and utterly gripping. I urge anyone to read this...the story of Gary Gilmore and the people whose lives he influenced will stay with you long after you have finished.

Riveting from beginning to end. I read it when I was 18 or 19 and could not put ot down. Fascinating study of the criminal mind, told by a master storyteller. Read it, you won't regret it. So much better than any movie could ever be.

Gary Gilmore is released from prison and thanks to his cousin Brenda in Utah, who agrees to co-sponsor him along with her parents Vern and Ida, he has a place to live and a job. Gary has been in prison many years, a lot of it in solitary, he says. He doesn't really know or care how to act in the civilized world: what he wants, he takes.

He is not having very good luck with women as he is rather blunt, making it clear that he is only interested in one thing. Then he meets Nicole, a not very bright (quit school in seventh grade) young lady who has been married three times and has two children (one of them not by a husband). She describes her first husband as a big immature clunk. Nicole has had a terrible life - she was molested by her father's best friend "Uncle Lee" (which she thinks may have caused her to become a slut), put into the loony bin and then married off by her father at age fourteen to the "immature clunk" who is over twenty (he makes a living by stealing from vending machines). Nicole is a bit spacey to say the least, and she is taken in by Gary's line that he knew her in a previous life. Nicole is used to going from guy to guy to guy (or girl), even while she is supposedly with one guy, so it doesn't really matter to her. She knows Gary "boosts" from stores - she has too, and stolen from her schoolmate's lockers while she was in school. Gary doesn't think work is important, and neither does she....Nicole worked briefly as a maid, and then a sewing machine operator, but of course had to quit the sewing job because she wanted to stay home and dream about her new man. She collects welfare and got more money than she should have, therefore enabling her to buy a neighbor's Mustang. Gary later buys a Mustang as well, but as soon as he sees a white pickup, he wants that instead.

I think it's funny how Nicole claims that she found the little house in Spanish Fork and moved in all by herself, while one of her exes, Jim Barrett. later says he found it and they moved in together...until he left (but of course, kept coming back). It's more likely Barrett is telling the truth, since it does seem he found several places for Nicole to live, not to mention moving all her stuff for her. Another one of those he said/she said: Nicole's mother, Kathryne describes her three month courtship with Nicole's father Charley as chaste - not even kissing. Then one day they up and decide to get married (just knowing to go to Elko, Nevada) and Kathryne talks her mother into taking them. Sure. Kathryne was fourteen and Charley was sixteen. Charley's version sounds closer to the truth: Kathryne told him she was pregnant and they must marry. She wasn't really pregnant at the time, but then she did get pregnant. So they stayed together, although he filed for divorce many times. So what kind of upbringing could Nicole have had? She said her father was taking her into bars when she was twelve.

Barrett, Nicole's second ex-husband describes Gilmore as "that old scroungy madman, Gary Gilmore." Barrett has sex with (and takes the virginity of) Nicole's fifteen year old babysitter, after just walking into the house in Spanish Fork. Next time he has sex with Nicole (she's still with Gary) he's saying that "sex was like a sacred thing to him, a way to express a feeling."

Pete Galovan, who lives behind Vern's house and does odd jobs for him, tells Gary's cousin Toni that Gary was talking to her daughter in a rather overly familiar way, and he didn't like the looks of it. Gary blew his top over this and wanted to fight Pete. He hit Pete from behind, which Vern was not impressed with. Pete wants to file charges, but is talked out of it by Nicole (who describes Pete as a "big plain old oaf"), who threatens to kill him if he does. "Your man's far gone. He's a killer, I believe." To his ex-wife, Pete said, "It's a certainty. He's going to kill me. Me or somebody else." If only someone had listened to Pete.

But no one did, least of all Nicole. When Gary starts to hit her and drink all the time, Nicole gets fed up and moves out (Barrett helps her). This drives Gary nuts. He picks up April, her younger sister, and tries to have sex with her while taking her around while he robs and murders one of the men. He had to produce some cash to pay for the white truck (which he already has), or it will be repossessed. He later says he killed the two men so that he wouldn't kill Nicole, but I don't believe that. He could have killed Nicole (probably by battering her to death) and still shot those men.

Nicole wanted some time to cool off, but once Gary's arrested she is completely smitten by him again. He writes lovey-dovey letters and she is swept away, even trying to commit suicide so that they can be together. Her kids are unimportant to her. They have never been important, she just drags them here and there, dumps them off on anybody, and I really wonder if they ever got anything to eat (Gary did steal some bananas for them).

It never seems to occur to Nicole that if she had stayed with Gary, he would have continued to beat her, drink and be as disgusting if not more, than all the other men she'd been with. The bloom would have been off the rose for good, and she would have gone on to other fish in the sea (a lot more quickly than she did). Gary probably would have beaten her up pretty good if she had stayed with him, perhaps even killed her. But since she really didn't care about living, did it matter?

Nicole also does not seem to care at all that Gary shows NO remorse for killing the two young men, leaving young wives and little babies. Like her own children, other people are not important. All Nicole cares about is Gary, Gary, Gary. She is mesmerized by his words. Gary is a pretty good writer and a good artist. Nicole is wondering "What is the point of it all?" and Gary guides her into his beliefs. She's just young and impressionable.

Gary tells his cellmate that he would not accept an insanity defense. When they run all kinds of tests on him to make sure he isn't insane, he's unhappy that he is not found to be, but reasons that the doctors are being paid by the State of Utah, and that's why they don't. Then for some odd reason, he thinks his lawyers will try for an insanity defense. Since he's been judged sane, of course they don't, and he's angry. The rules do not apply to Gary. He should have special privileges. When his cousin Brenda called the police on him (he called her after the second murder because he accidentally shot his thumb, and it hurt), he did not think that was right at all. Brenda should have let him get away with two murders, because she's his cousin. What kind of family member would do such a thing, Gary cannot understand. He can understand himself committing murder, but never that.

The book is well written, with lots of views from different people that knew Gary: Nicole, of course, Gary's mother, his cellmate, his cousin Brenda, his employer and co-workers, his lawyers (not very interesting) and more. But the book is far too long. Whole sections regarding Dennis Boaz and Lawrence Schiller could have been cut out.

I never liked Gary or felt the least bit sorry for him. Did Prolixin given to him in the prison change him? Some said it did. But I'm sure he knew exactly what he was doing. He just thought he'd be smart enough to get away with it, or that people would be afraid of him and lie for him. He even yawns fiercely! (According to Dennis Boaz).

I thought a BIG book would keep me occupied for a good, long time, and how could I go wrong with a Pulitzer prize winning author?
Well...I definitely went wrong with THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG!!! The people are horrible even though the writing is superb. The evening news is filled with shootings, murders, dreadful crimes of all kinds....so, it that is something which you find appealing, save the money, turn on the TV, and skip reading books like this.

Not a dull page in the book. Gary Gimore was executed in Utah, by the firing squad, in 1977 after the death penalty was reinstated. Norman Mailer in an incredibly researched book writes Gimore's compelling story. Gilmore grew up in a prison life and he knew that he would never change no matter how many people tried to help him. He could cope in prison but not in the real world as is true of so many prisonmates. He argued for the death penalty rather then rot in prison. He forced society to examine it's own laws and it's own conscience but it is not a sympathetic character study for he killed 2 people in a meaningless robbery. Read this incredible book then watch the movie with Tommie Lee Jones.

Hands-down the finest piece of journalism I have ever read. The story of Gary Gilmore has a practically infinite number of issues and sub-issues and Mailer just nails them all with a towering, Pulitzer-worthy effort. Rather than ramrod his own personal opinions, Mailer allows the Legal system, the Penal system, and the Media to define themselves.
Perhaps the most gripping theme of the book is its portrayal of ordinary people performing under extraordinary pressure, especially Gilmore himself, who combines a fascinating dichotomy of homicidal violence with deep and intelligent introspection, and under extreme duress shows himself to be a man of unwavering and unimpeachable principle.
Tirelessly researched and written in a reserved and simplistic manner, the book is simply astonishing.

In 1976, thirtyish Gary Gilmore was released from an Indiana prison after serving twelve years for a robbery conviction. He moved to Utah to live with his uncle, aunt and his cousin Brenda. Gilmore meets and falls in love with single mom of two widow Nicole Barrett. Like his family especially Brenda, Nicole tries to help him, but in spite of his high IQ and caring people he continues to brawl just like he did at Marion and robbed stores. On two consecutive nights Gilmore kills a person during a robbery. He is arrested and convicted of a capital offense. His lawyer Lawrence Schiller appealed the death sentence, but Gilmore demanded the state execute him by firing squad. On January 17, 1977, Gilmore is executed as the first person killed by a state in almost a decade.

This is a reprint of a great true crime tale with its insightful look at the effect of institutionalization (half of Gilmore's life was inside) as the government-prison industrial complex prefers warehousing to educating; the right to die (Gilmore's lawyers appealed without his consent) with the Utah court ruling as judicial grounds for others who choose death (not just prisoners), and the true value of the death penalty. The first section focuses in Gilmore's life before the homicides with much of his time in detention facilities and his final months of freedom in Utah. Part two centers on the trial and Gilmore's quest for the state execution. Using interviews with 360 degrees of Gilmore contacts, court and police documents, and the defense attorney's notes, but with no communication with the defendant, Norman Mailer's work remains relevant today.

Harriet Klausner

I started reading "The Executioner's Song" after completing Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banners of Heaven," a largely scathing account of the history of the Church of Latter-Day Saints and the culture of violence it has spawned during its 150 year existence. While Gary Gilmore isn't a Mormon, most of the story takes place in Utah, and many of the characters are Mormons, which shapes to some degree their views of the death penalty as a necessary "blood atonement" for murder.
I ended up plowing through the entire book in two weeks--that's how compelling a story Mailer paints in this lengthy, but engaging true-crime fiction hybrid. As others have mentioned, it's the first-half of this book that is the true masterpiece, the frenzied tale of the few months between Gilmore's release from prison and his cold-blooded murder of two young Mormon men, told in spare and unadorned prose. I was stunned by the level of detail he employs, and unlike some who found it tedious, thought that it brought the characters to life in a way I have rarely encountered in either fiction or non-fiction. While the second half of the book is somewhat overly drawn out, his portrayal of the marketing of the Gilmore myth (which, ironically, Mailer is involved in himself) is worth the time.
"The Executioner's Song" is full of people and moments told with a clarity that makes it unique and memorable.

The book is similar to Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." It is a fictional description of an actual crime. One guesses that it is 90% non-fiction with short fictional bridges inserted to complete the story.

The novel is a re-telling of the Gary Gilmore story. Mailer won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, but the book is not a work of fiction. The story is about Gary Gilmore's release from prison on parole in Utah, the two murders that he commits, the trial, and then his execution by a firing squad in 1977.

Mailer relies heavily on the notes of Larry Schiller who was present in Utah. Schiller was a Los Angeles based producer working for ABC at the time. He flew to Utah to cover the story in 1976 after Gilmore's arrest. He set up an office in Utah with a secretary(s) and stayed there most of the time until Gilmore's execution in January of 1977. After the execution and the release of Gilmore's girlfriend, Nicole, from a mental hospital, Larry rented a house for Nicole in Malibu, California, and interviewed her there. One guesses that Mailer does insert bits of fiction to bridge some missing gaps in the story but overall they must be minor or not material to the story. The basis of the book - or the foundation of Mailer's subsequent work - is Schiller's on the spot fact finding and interviews, both before and after the execution.

Schiller was a producer for ABC news. He rushed out to Utah and he signed contractual agreements with Gilmore and his relatives on their stories. Schiller was the winner of a race among producers to lock up a deal with Gilmore and his family members for exclusive rights to the inside story. Mailer describes the race to get the exclusive in the novel. Representing ABC, Schiller beat out David Suskind and others with a $50,000 cash offer to Gilmore. With this access, Schiller did many interviews, followed the Gilmore saga at close proximity, and made copious notes. He copied letters and documents, and that information is the framework for the book. As the story evolves, the reader realizes that Mailer is re-telling Schiller's story. Mailer does acknowledge this at the end of the book and it is clear to the reader this true story gathered by Schiller is the basis for much of Mailer's "Pulitzer winning fictional novel."

I read this book shortly after Mailer's death to get an idea of his writing style. Mailer has a number of books based on real events. It is not a great work of fiction nor is it what one would think of as creative writing. His style is almost transparent and one does not stop or think too much about the writing. Perhaps that is the strength of the book. It is a description of what one might call American pop culture in or a media event told in a fashion similar to the style of a newspaper story. Incidentally, one reason that the book is 1000 pages is because Mailer has included many letters written by Gilmore to his girlfriend, Nicole, to show Gilmore's state of mind.

Mailer manages to make the 1000 pages fly by. The story is fascinating by most standards. I was not too excited about Mailer as a creative writer or as a man of prose, but was impressed with the end result. The book is very entertaining and the 1000 pages go by quickly. It took less than a week to read.

Recommend: 5 stars.

I first read the Executioner's Song several years ago and was fascinated by it then. I have just read it again and the same holds true now. Nothing that I have ever read before compares with this book.
The true account of Gary Gilmore and those who's lives he forever affected will leave you literally haunted. The true story of one man's attempt to reintroduce himself into society after half a lifetime locked away in the prison system only to commit double murder a short time after he is out of prison. And his personal battle to make the State of Utah execute him only nine months after he was let out of prison is a tragic and gripping portrayal of American History.
Norman Mailer's delivery of this story is more like a window into the actual lives of Gary Gilmore and his girlfriend Nicole. It's not like your reading a book but rather being transported into their realm. I at times found myself completely depressed when reading certain parts of the book. I had to put it down for a time because it was upsetting. The book contains themes that deal with religion, sexual abuse, human rights, the law, suicide, love, and manipulation just to name a few.
I came away with the sense that I knew these people intimately. that I knew their friends and family members.I was caught up in the inner turmoil of the ill fated lovers Gary and Nicole. The last half of the book chronicals the lives of the lawyers, people who worked for the ACLU, and others who become involved with Gary. At times there are so many people involved in the circus like atmosphere that surrounds the case that you easily forget who is who.But this book is based on reality and these people all played a part in the case. Some large and some small.
This book is a keeper for one's bookshelf. An outstanding piece of American Literature from a gifted writer.

A killer killed is "The Executioner's Song" by Norman Mailer.

And how beautiful that is - the ingratiated direness ethereally evoked, the gratuity, the death, gregarious in reaching forth - and reaching forth is book conjecturing not why, but what in personification of that pulchritude... Reaching forth is a book of which warped inimically within are the caricatures and caricatures defiant - the inimitable bindings lyrically straightforward and somewhat forward pursuing, forward persuading in opposition of the seemingly self-defiant length. It conjoins voices, of Gary, prisoner engulfed in treacherous temerity, of Nicole, amorous lover intrigued in that treacherous temerity, of all else treacherous, of all else of temerity...together, together in prison rhymes, together in the "Deep in my dungeon I welcome you here. Deep in my dungeon I worship your fear. Deep in my dungeon I dwell. I do not know if I wish you well."

Singing before living are they.

They are those within those obscurity-drenched travesties, coordinating contorted perspective of subordinate, those "kind of quiet" subordinate matters into something not subordinate. The engulfment of gratuitous, greater realms, stoic disposition set - wrenching are those not so subordinate, whether for life, whether against life. All is abided, whether that malicious mutiny engraved towards one's self, in a book concrete of a topic abstract. Norman Mailer doesn't attempt to explain, but explained it is nonetheless.

It is simplistic- yet sometimes languidly lacking, yet sometimes unfathomably fulfilling in the melancholy mélange of protruding progression. Yet, that song of dire desire is a tempered resolution throughout, ravenously reaping forth of sophistication- the winter, spring, summer, to the harvest of an auspicious autumn. And the accompaniment, the harmonies perhaps discordant, perhaps not always harmonious to that unrelenting song are the details minute, the letters earnestly embodying pernicious pain of unknowing, of knowing too much, of thrusting themselves because they do not know otherwise. The supposed implications, the supposed irrelevancy, of characters are those whose names are forgotten, but not forgettable- intricate to the immense intimacy lead to. And the ifs, the mays, the uhs is treacherous- a travesty turbulent, transcending throughout life unmapped and the inscription further unmapped in chapters, in parts, in books captiously cascading. The sophistication is eminent, if not beginning, then eulogy-enunciating end.

All is worth it. All is together in the "Deep in my dungeon I welcome you here. Deep in my dungeon I worship your fear. Deep in my dungeon I dwell. A bloody kiss from the wishing well." (1050)

It is simple, that condescending way. It is beautiful, that confounding way.

The BEST BOOK I have ever read. I have breathed and lived this book for about two weeks. I keep hearing the song from the new movie out (Meg Ryan, Nicolas Cage-can't remeber the name), anyway, the words are in essance this whole book. It is Gary and Nicole's song.
BUT...I keep finding myself wondering what happened to Nicole? Her kids? Did she ever fall in love again? What about the other characters?
**IF ANYONE HAS ANY INFO about any of the characters, please email me!! ([email protected]).
READ THIS BOOK!! Also, Shot in the Heart by brother Mikal Gilmore. Excellent job, Norman.

For anyone interested in the criminal mind (and although I think it's sick at times, I am), this is an incredible book. The author takes the reader on a journey from the release of Gary Gilmore from prison to the murders he committed, his trial, sentencing and fight for his sentence to be carried out. The author tries to walk through Gilmore's childhood and relationship with Nicole Baker to trace the makings of a murderer. This book reveals a murderer as a human being, albeit not a good one by his own admission. For me, it brought forth the complexities of the human mind and what it is capable of as well the the two-sidedness of the whole death penalty issue.

Norman Mailer puts together one of his most successful efforts in this piece of new journalism. Recounting the tale of Gary Gilmore, the first person executed in the United States following the Supreme Court decision legalizing the death penalty, this book goes into Gilmore's life, crime, and thought at length. Mailer's writing is straightforward and engaging, although it rarely reaches the lyrical quality of his very finest prose. Mailer is quite at home with the subject matter, and brings the sordid world of the characters home to the reader. A great book, a disturbing story, and impossible to put down before it's done.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 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. 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. 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. Mailer inserts numerous breaks that allow you to take a breather. I was especially grateful for the breaks in a book over 1000 pages long that frequently plunged me into some pretty dark emotional places. 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. Especially intriguing are examples of Gilmore's artwork and the interview with Nicole Henry (nee Baker).

[...]

Incredible book that I read many years ago, yet it remains in my memory very clear. If I ever I recommend books to anyone, this book is always on the list. Yes it's long, but I love a good, long book. This book was my introduction to Norman Mailer, and it's made me a fan for life. He died recently, so I wanted to look over his works again. I could read this one twice. I don't agree with one review that stated the story lets Gary Gilmore off the hook by placing the blame on everyone and everything but himself for his screwed up life. It's just that he had a screwed up life. That is the story behind the man. Of course he his to blame for his own actions, but we can seek to understand, and we should, what happens to people sometimes in this society of ours. It makes you think about the human condition, human emotion, life, and death. You'll never forget the book once you've read it.

Okay I know this one won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. But anyone who has read it can clearly see it is NOT a novel. And the 1980 movie (filmed in Provo at the Utah State Prison) starring Tommy Lee Jones and Rosanna Arquette is worth watching

Having read more than 150 true crime books, I feel qualified to tell you that Norman Mailer has written the finest, by far, tome of the genre. The story of Gary Gilmore and Nicole Baker reads, at times, like a white trash Romeo & Juliet. The movie of the same title did a great injustice to Gary Gilmore. Yes, he was a thief and a murderer, but he was also an extremely intelligent and artistic man. Gilmore ended up spending 18 of his 36 years institutionalized in one form or another, so when the state of Utah sentenced him to die in 1976 Gary fought to make them follow through with their threat. He, as well as anyone, knew what prison was like and that he wanted no more of that kind of life. This is one of the only 1,000+ page books that left me wanting more when it was over. Mailer had access to nearly everyone needed to pull off this monumental undertaking. The narrative is stripped of frills and the author's opinions are held in check beautifully when you consider the inflammatory nature of the subject matter. Mailer also does an admirable job of letting Gilmore's victims appear as human beings, not merely as the props used by Gilmore to achieve immortality and release. This book has the potential to spark debate on a variety of issues that still make headlines today, such as prison reform, incartceration v. education, the death penalty as a deterrent, right to die. Gilmore's case was monumental in regard to American justice. Gilmore himself was a complex and fascinating individual with underdeveloped emotional control and no social skills to speak of. He was taught how to be an adult in institutions. Mailer does not flinch or miss a single beat. He tells the story of Gary Gilmore and the lives that Gilmore touched and/or destroyed. He does not take any obvious liberties to fit the story to his own beliefs. I was not a fan of Mailer until I read this book. It is one of the top five books I have ever had the privilege of reading.

I first read this book when it first came out back in 1979 when I was 26 and I loved it then. Thirty years later I decide to "do it again" and I was not disappointed. The investment Mr. Mailer devoted to the project is staggering. This particular case entailed much controversy legally, historically, and Mr. Gilmore et al are thoroughly memorable personalities- I later checked him out vis a vis an A&E Biography on youtube.com. The entire situation was stunning as well as its developments. Norman Mailer is an undisputable genius. It all left me breathless.Don't be daunted by the length- it's well worth the time.

Executioner's Song is the story of Gary Gilmore; the first convicted murderer to be executed after the death penalty was restored in the United States. Gilmore, a career criminal who had spent one half of his life incarcerated, had been sentenced to death for robbing and killing two people. He did not want to spend any more time behind bars so he insisted that the State of Utah carry out his sentence.
Norman Mailer makes a verbose attempt to turn Gilmore's story into an epic. Not having much to work with, he exaggerates the story to the point that some claims seem unreal. An example would be Gilmore's mother having had a strong feeling when he was three years old that his life would someday end by execution. Other trivial details include allusions to the Gilmore family being related to Houdini, the great escape artist.
While trying to turn Gilmore's relationship with his lover Nicole, who is a lost and aimless soul with a taste for drugs, into a modern Romeo And Juliet, Mailer is uncharacteristically brief when describing his victims. The story of Gary Mark Gilmore could have been the subject of a fine true crime book. However, Norman Mailer's extra long version turned it into a melodramatic account that does justice to no one.

As I was reading through the book, The Executioner's Song, I was engulfed into the story line to a point where I could feel the events that were hoarding the small town in Utah. At times I felt the frustrations that Gary Gilmore was feeling as he was fighting to sustain his death sentence. I got the feeling that you get when you are fighting for a worthy cause, just there was no way that I could possibly make any difference. That was a very odd feeling which in turn was the reason why I enjoyed reading the book so much.

Normally, once I read a paperback I pass it on for others to read. I have enough books in my house that I don't normally hang onto any paperbacks. This book is the one exception. I wouldn't part with it.
Mailer delivers a top notch story about a true event. Gary Gilmore is not the type of person I think I would ever want to invite home, but I had definite mixed feelings about his execution. I was glad he got what he wanted, I agree that justice was served, but I also feel it was the waste of what might have been a valuable life. Of course, all life is valuable and Gilmore killed two young promising men. As you can tell, this book left me with some conflicting feelings.
Mailer gives us an unvarnished picture of the events that lead to Gilmore's execution. The development of the many characters is convincing, believable and in-depth. Unlike many true life stories, Mailer writes the book so that it reads like fiction. There are some instances of courtroom-like dialogue but the majority of this massive book flows like fiction. A fine example that life can be more interesting than the best fiction, but it takes a great author to do it.

Just re-read this book after a long layoff, it has lost none of its power in the interim. The simplicity of the writing is beautiful; Mailer stays out of the way and lets the story tell itself. This is more than a book about a crime; it is the story of people and how they relate to one another. There is great distance and extreme closeness, and there is evil and stupidity and poignance. This book leaves an impact on the psyche. If you have not read it, you are missing out on a landmark.

this is a book that psychologically messes with my mind. when i was married and i was reading this book he said i turned into a real b**ch. i couldn't not put it down for anything. i was so engrossed in it and it has made a lasting memory for over 20 years. if you are highly impressible don't read it. i loved in a very very weird way. when i saw the movie with tommy lee jones playing gary i couldn't believe. i still can remember parts of it like it was just this year.

I first read this masterpiece in 1978 I believe - the year it was published. At that time living in the West, the Gary/Nicole saga was fresh in the memory of any American that watched television or read the newspapers. It was impossible to escape. This was my first Mailer and I wondered what more could he bring to this vastly over covered story. By the end of the book, the story that I thought I knew in its entirety took on a whole new array of dimension. As Mailer peeled down layer after layer of the desperate lives and dreams of these doomed lovers, I realized I had known nothing about the "real" Gary Gilmore; and how pathetically hollow, vacant and void our "news" coverage was. Things I had known in black and white, were now multiple shades of gray and as cloudy and hazy as Gary's own recollections of his deeds. After twenty- three or so years, and a few Mailers later, I decided to give it another read to see how it held up. The experience was even more profound the second time around. My feelings about the events and characters had changed somewhat, but reading this book again was as chilling, stirring and disturbing as the first time. Some criticize Mailer's verbosity, but when he describes a room, a bed, a shirt, a house, it's like looking at a multi-layered painting. The more you read, the more you see, and no one else can encompass and transport you the way he does. You can almost smell Gary's rank breath, and feel the vertigo of spilling into the dark, frightening and inevitable climax that you know from the first chapter, he will never escape. Mailer never preaches or tries to inflict his own values or morals upon the reader. He tells it like it is and expects you to be able to draw your own conclusions, and by the range of comments of the readers here, I'd say he accomplishes that quite well. His fascination and attraction to the outlaw/misfit is a theme common to many writers and if you've read Mailer previously you know he could never resist one as complex as Gary. This was the book that only he could have undertaken and written so precisely; so hauntingly true to life. In retrospect, I have to wonder if Mailer realized the enormous social and political impact this event and this book would have on contemporary American history. Never one to shy from controversy; even he must now gasp at how this act of desperation and determination of this one man, Gary Gilmore, changed the direction of our judicial system for the next two decades. I don't understand why every political science student in this country does not know the name of Gary Gilmore and is not required to read this book. Gilmore and the rebirth of capitol punishment will remain synonomous in our American psyche forever. The sense of tragedy and hopelessness is overwhelming from beginning to end. From Gary's early prison days, being tied down on a bed for weeks, being shot up with drugs that destroyed all emotion down to his very soul. They ate away the core of his humanness and the thing that he became was capable of the very same cruelties that he had endured. There are no winners in this disturbing and painful portrait of America. We can only hope we learn and grow from it and prevent the Gary's of the future from the wrath of the demons born and bred on cruelty, apathy and ignorance.

This novel seems to have received mixed reviews from Mailer fans. On the one hand, it's a 1000+ page book written in an unpoetic, detached style; but it's also a story about an incredibly tragic, weak man whose one redeeming act was his realization that he deserved to die. Perhaps this book will make you hate Gary Gilmore, maybe make you pity him, but any reader can see after reading this book that this murderer was jarringly close to being a regular guy. Sure, there's the whole killing thing... but otherwise one must admit to oneself that the line between a cold-blooded murderer and everybody else is a little blurry. As for Mailer's style, the subject of the book facilitates a cool, objective narration; the surgeon-like detail, precision and sterility serve as sort of an ironic commentary on Gilmore's life. It was nowhere as tedious, however, as some other "true-life crime" books I've read where every other sentence is dedicated to meaningless facts; how many centimeters deep a stab wound was, and so forth. Anyway, if you can sit through a book for several weeks, this one is worth it.

Note: The book titles were originally italicized, but on the store.com the italicizing option probably doesn't work, so instead of the titles being in italics, I put them in quotes.

"Executioner's Song" is known as Norman Mailer's award-winning nonfiction novel about the nine months between Gary Gilmore's release on parole and his execution. This book is an exceedingly, perhaps excessively, detailed account of those months, with all sorts of short anecdotes about the day-to-day lives of the people associated with Gilmore, up to and following Gary Gilmore's shocking murders of two strangers one bloody night.

Section One, the first half of the book, starts from Gilmore's release on parole and ends when he returns to prison. It is an exceptional piece of creative journalism, and Mailer does an exceptional job describing the ordinary lives, passions, and beliefs of the small community to which Gilmore returns. The way the author portrayed the small town in Utah is evocative.

The most compelling part is Norman Mailer's portrayal of Gilmore. His analysis on Gilmore's thoughts is one of the best arguments in favor of capital punishment. The descriptions of Gary Gilmore that emerge from the book is not one of the traditional psychopath or the raving serial killer, but one of the more complex, chilling, charming, occasionally violent and irresponsible man full of regrets and passions but also hidden insecurities and deep, dark pits of anger. He's a frightening character because, at a basic level of understanding, he's different; his true thoughts are hidden and so foreign (maybe even to himself) that you can only watch him wriggle toward his inevitable death.

As interesting as the first half of the book is, Section Two really drags. While the first half focuses claustrophobically on Gilmore's small circle of friends, the second half breaks the story up into a variety of storylines: the ongoing lives of Gilmore's family, Nicole's tragic story, the legal story of Gilmore's appeals, the media circus surrounding Gilmore, and so on. However, the problem is that the stories become redundant after the author replays the same themes over and over again. The redundancy is emphasized especially when you get to the legal and media story: the lawyers make the same motions again and again, and the media just goes through several business transactions that, frankly, are boring.

If you have the time and patience, "Executioner's Song" might still be worth a read. If you're short on both, it is highly suggested that you only read the first half up to Gilmore's murders. In the end, all you need to know is that Gilmore was eventually executed.

As I look back on the past year, one of the most unforgettable periods was the week or two in March when I was reading this book. At first, I thought I would never be able to get into it. I could not relate to the characters or their lifestlye at all and found them extremely unsympathetic. However, as I got further into it, this book absolutely possessed me. I still can't explain what it was about it that was so gripping. Gary Gilmore is probably the most fascinating, mysterious, and yet extremely real character I've ever encountered in a book. It was amazing the way he was portrayed like a complete person - neither as a stereotype of depravity nor as an overly sentimental, misunderstood hero. Getting to know the extremely complicated Gary through the course of the book made me realize that no one's life can be defined or explained by a single action, no matter how brutal that action may have been.

When you consider the execution had taken place in 1977, it did take me a very long time to finally get around to reading it despite being a true-crime reader for a great many years and no plans to stop yet. Maybe if I had taken note as to the number of pages, I would have had second thoughts, but I did manage to read through all 1,024 pages which challenged my book light due to its thickness. The absence of photos was disappointing as I like knowing what people look like, and the enormous amount of vulgarity was offensive. While I would expect the sort of criminals depicted in the book to express themselves in such colorful language, I was put off by how much Mailer himself used. There were so many people covered in this tome I would have needed to keep a record in a notebook. The character of Nicole Baker was the one closest to Gary's heart and I did not feel it right how she was prohibited from having any actual contact with him after a certain event took place, and was not even present at the execution or funeral. My book, which I had purchased from Thrift Books, had split in half at pages 402/403 so I will simply dispose of it, not having any intention of reading it again. I did want to mention the robbery at the Hi-Fi shop mentioned. I wish I had noted the first page it was mentioned on, as well as several pages later in the book, but I am familiar with the crime itself. It had taken place on April 22, 1974 in Ogden and was the subject of the book Victim, the Other Side of Murder by Gary Kinder, and the movie Aftermath: A Test of Love starring Richard Chamberlain. Three people were murdered, and both of their killers were executed. I will leave it up to those interested to search for details, but the crime was certainly shocking in its cruelty. I gave The Executioner's Song three stars because I still feel it did not need to be so long and detailed, as well as the lack of photos, and the excessive amount of vulgar language. I am glad I got around to reading it and do not regret my purchase of it.

While the length of the book can be a little intimidating, it was definitely worth picking up. Mailer takes an interesting point of view as a writer, by writing this book as a story instead of as if he was interviewing him. This didn't feel like a journalist interviewing a subject, it really did feel like I was right there. This book was also very thought provoking for me, with Mailer's ability to provide keen insight into the lives of people. This was the first Mailer book I ever read, and it definitely has made me want to read more by him. Can't recommend this book enough

Norman Mailer proved himself to be one of the greatest of American writers with this book. In journalistic style, mailer forges into the mind of Gary Gilmore in such a way that we loathe and sympathize with this madman. As a conservative Republican, I found myself bending toward liberal views concerning capital punnishment. This is not the only quality that causes me to understand Mailer as a briliant writer. Seemingly unintentionaly, Mailers forced me to rethink my views about the prison and rehabilitation system here in America. I am not an avid reader, so it took me some time to get through this rather long book. But I never once thought of putting it away. A worthy read indeed.

Oh my God I hated it. It is sorely in need of some serious editing. I gave up on it after listening to the painfully inane dialog for 10 hours. With over 20 hours left to go, I just couldn't take it any more and threw in the towel. I have no idea how this thing won a Pulitzer.

I read Mailers account of the Rumble in the Jungle with Ali and Frazier and fell in love with his style. I have to say, honestly, I did not finish this book. This has less to do with the 1,000 pages (the reading goes very quickly) and more to do with the fact that it seems that we have seen this story again and again. While this may seem harsh, the story seems like nothing more than a written episode of Jerry Springer. What was once sensationally interesting is now sensationally common place. We have all reviled and sympathized with Gary Gillmore on T.V. multiple times a day, while I believe that the story was at one time insightful of a lifestyle that the average reader is not familiar with, it is now tabloided and uninteresting. Unfortunately, I had trouble sympathizing with Gillmore (which I think was the desired response). All I could muster was a distanced pity for this hopeless character. While I have never supported the death penalty, Gary Gillmore did nothing to help the cause. The book seemed outdated, that's all I can say. The reading moved along very well but after a few hundred pages I simply got bored of the characters and their repeated mistakes. Maybe you'll feel differently...

Mailer, perhaps the finest and most powerful author of the century, challenges his readers to reach deep into their souls and inquire whether Gilmore, a convicted murderer, is an evil, manipulative madman or troubled, intelligent human, worthy of our pity. Mailer recounts in great detail Gilmore's dysfunctional yet touching relationship with Nicole, the incident which shocked the country and the historical trial of Gilmore in which he counter-intuitively and with great tenacity fought for his right to die. Mailer narrates this tumultous and shocking event in a style so compelling, readers will be deeply affected by this historically significant incident .

This is easily Mailer's most readable work. Unlike much he wrote, this hasn't aged badly or ceased to be relevant. One could argue whether real writers need to see their face in the media as much as Mailer did-he was the anti-JD Salinger. Possibly the reason Executioner's Song stays so fresh is Mailer's co-writer. Laurence Schiller did the vast majority of the interviews and grunt work so the rock star had something to work with. And he did a stunning job too.And his name's not even on the new cover. That's inappropriate. A major work.

A fascinating, exhaustive (and exhausting) read. It was amazingly well constructed. It left a bad taste in my mouth. It made me think. So it was effective.

MAILER CAN WRITE. WOW, BIG DISCOVERY.
It was amazing how he could write as each particular person would speak. Each person was narrator. The only judgment would have been in Mailer's selection of information to present.

I thought the prison system didn't get nearly enough voice, particularly the Oregon State Penn system or the McLaren Reform School, and I wondered about the details t of Gilmore's early crimes. There just wasn't much detail there.

I also didn't see much depth on the inner workings regarding Kathryne and Charley Baker. But I guess their lifestyles explained a lot. Disconnected parents, hard-partying morons.

SUBJECT MATTER
At page 379, I thought out loud: "I am wasting a good part of my life reading about this worthless man, this total suck on society."

Other thoughts were:

1. For people who think they are going to eradicate poverty and ignorance, this book shows why poverty and ignorance exists. There are bad parents who screw up their children. There is government that encourages poverty through the welfare system that allows people to sit on their asses doing dope, producing children they can't afford, developing a sense of entitlement, and disconnecting from their responsibilities to themselves and their communities.

One other reviewer's title was "Making Gods Out of Gutter Trash." I concur.

2. Some people are screwed up, or stupid, or lazy, or imbalanced. You can spend your life trying to help them, and 99% of the time it won't make a bit of difference, except to diminish the quality of your own life. The helper is the one who will get screwed in the end, like Brenda Nicol or Vern Damico. Unfortunately, some people aren't going to make it in society--depending on what society you live in. If you want to call it falling through the cracks, then OK,

If Gilmore had lived in Nazi Germany in 1936, he probably would have made a great SS leader, since thuggery and sociopathy ruled.

Gilmore knew who he could fool, and he said that he knew how to fool people. The do-gooders at the reform school who hoped to rehabilitate him were the easiest to fool, only second to the family that tried to save him.

You'll notice that the people who tried to save him were NOT his immediate family--not Mikal, who knew enough to steer clear of him. Not Frank Jr. They should have been interviewed about why they didn't try to have him paroled into their care. Answer: Because they knew better.

The people who sponsored his parole were too distant and didn't know him well. They based their decision on letters, assumptions, and old memories.

3. The human race obviously has no idea what to do with people who don't fit in, who are a pox on society. The prison system is a vile, violent place, since it is filled with vile, violent people, who make themselves more vile and violent by association. I'm sure it was primitive in the 1960s and 70s. It's probably primitive today. For Gilmore, there were no systems set up to help a man leave prison life and resituate himself in society. But Gilmore got more help than most people would--from within his family--and he chose not to take advantage of it. He also got breaks from the prison system: 1) paroling him early to go to school, 2) paroling him early with his family as sponsors. Gary Gilmore said he didn't get breaks, but he did.

On the other hand, Gary Gilmore made choices that put him in prison for half his life, and it was unfortunate that his family encouraged his parole. They made the mistake of (much like Mailer did with Jack Abbott), that 1) assuming they could make a difference, 2) thinking he was like them, and 3) not considering the criminal culture he embraced.

I feel sympathy that Gary Gilmore was a sociopath. It is a neurological or behavioral problem without resolution. But once a sociopath does vile things, you have to take him out of circulation. Take. Him. Out.

The most sympathy I felt for Gilmore was when hearing his side of the story regarding the prolixin. But I was curious to hear from the side of those who administered it.

4. At Gilmore's memorial service, everyone blamed the system. They chose to paint a rosy picture of who he was. They chose to forget what--just a few months before--terrified them.

As a sociopath, Gary Gilmore fooled a lot of people. People didn't know better, but they also worked under bad assumptions.

Sociopaths are impulsive, impatient, have a low fear threshold, are thrill seekers, and lack a conscience. Something in their wiring is screwed up. It doesn't matter that Gilmore was intelligent and could draw pretty pictures. Gilmore could have put all that to good use, and he didn't want that. He was above taking the steps (to get a driver's license, to go to school) that would get him good things. He considered the law silly and himself above it.

He was in prison for half his life, so he didn't know how to cope when he got out. But if you listened to the guy, it was obvious that his world view was destructive. His religion was death. He immediately set on a path to "rape bitches," rob banks, steal his employer's truck, boost petty items, and commit murder. If he didn't do all those things, he was thinking about it.

Contrary to what Father Flanagan says, there ARE bad boys. As my Dad once said, "If you are a horse thief, there's a good chance you had a horse thief in your ancestery."

Gilmore told people exactly who he was. Some people just didn't want to listen.

5. I was disgusted that Gilmore's emotions toward his family or Nicole could be described as love. It is even described in the teaser in front of the book (media greed to sell a book?) -- "a love defiant even in death." Oh, crap, people, there was no love to it.

The most accurate emotion that Nicole Baker felt was fear of Gilmore and a panic to escape him. He would have killed her if he reached her during the week she was hiding from him. After the murders, he couldn't kill her, so he convinced her to kill herself. That sure don't feel like love. Funny how she almost died while he continued to live, wasn't it?

By the time he murdered those men, every person who came in contact with Gary Gilmore was fearful of him. Of course, it's easy to come together and sing Kumbaya after he's incarcerated and controlled. He can focus his more civilized attention on people. But don't call his feelings love. Call it manipulation, obsession, or selfishness. He didn't care about Nicole or anyone else who tried to help him.

The people in the prison system, the lawyers on both sides, and his family were torn up and wrestling over his fate. They felt far more than he did. Agree with them or not, roll your eyes at the mistakes made. But they showed the best aspects of a civilized society ruled by law and compassion. He didn't deserve it, but he got it, because the people and the system were civilized. In the end, they did his dirty work for him. He wasn't brave. He wanted the easy way out, and he believed he'd be free in death to arise again.

One woman from Munich -- her husband had died in a concentration camp -- expressed that America was no better than Nazi Germany. Hogwash. Hitler would have wiped out all of Utah just to be rid of their Mormon nonsense.

It was all New Left leanings and people like Norman Mailer that promoted the sainthood of Huey Newton, George Jackson, Gary Gilmore and Jack Abbott. As much as I love Johnny Cash, he chimed in with his damned prison songs to pushed the idea that criminals were saints beaten down by society. It was exactly this kind of thinking that encouraged Norman Mailer to sponsor Jack Abbott. To mistake eloquence and erudition for heart. It is Norman Mailer who got an innocent man killed.

I don't give a damn what Mikal Gilmore writes in Shot in the Heart. Join the club of a billion people who had miserable childhoods. But very few of them go out and kill people in cold blood.

To quote Matthew:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

People who find sympathy or fascination for the underbelly can do so because they haven't lived NEAR the underbelly. I think of Leonard Bernstein mau-mauing his way through his white guilt, sponsoring soires for the Black Panthers.

Those people can be fascinated by COPS or think Dog the bounty hunter is way cool. But many people who've been too near the underbelly just want to get away from it and from those people who live it.

But Mailer was a bit imbalanced himself. He saw himself as some pure trumpet of eloquence and truth. Above it all. He also brutally stabbed his wife. So maybe he relates to convicts and criminals because he is somewhat like them.

That's my 25 cents. And another dollar will get you a cup of coffee.

Few authors could pull this off: to write a book about a crazed sociopath, his grim and pathetic life, his senseless crimes and the legal hassles they trigger and do it all while holding the reader's interest for more than a 1400 pages. Plus Mailer does it all using a clipped, jarring writing style that draws the reader in. It makes for an amazing book. One note: a previous poster made mention of Lawrence Schiller's small contribution to the book. Giving credit where it is due, my understanding is that Schiller did a large part of the homework, long before Mailer ever bought a plane ticket to Utah. Schiller spent months doing the legwork; Mailer contributed the awesome writing (and I'm not even a Mailer fan -- none of his other books even come close!)

This book was my second experience with Norman Mailer's work. There will most definitely be a third. Although it may have been slightly too long, it was nevertheless meticulously detailed. It reads wonderfully as a "non-fiction" novel. After reading this book, I didn't develop much sympathy for Gary Gilmore, but my view of the death penalty has changed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys true crime and history. If you can get through the 1000+ pages the ride will be well worth it. For comparison, Grisham's "The Chamber" was vastly inferior.

Norman Mailer's second book to win a Pulitzer Prize, and it deserves it. The first half is, for the most part, excellent and tautly written. The life of Gary Gilmore is well described, and the detail, care, and research show themselves evidently. In the second half, the parts about Gilmore himself remain deeply fascinating, but the details of the media circus around him, and the lawyers and businessmen who market, remain divided between interesting and deathly boring. The end of the book is well thought out, and Mailer's geinous shows through. A(for the most part) excellent book.

Yes, it was an important event in our nation's history. No one would dispute that, but Mailer's account follows all the wrong roads. Without a better understanding of who Gilmore is and why it's so important for him to assert control over his life, I ended up not caring an awful lot about a guy who didn't seem to care much about anyone but himself.

The best part is the introduction by Dave Eggers, which prepares the reader for this long slough. The writing is original and inventive, but too graphic and detailed for my liking. I felt like I needed to take a shower after the love letters that were more pornographic than intimate. Way too much information. A good editor with a heavy hand would have saved the story from my perspective.

Reading Executioner's Song is an unforgetable experience. Norman Mailer does an excellent job of allowing us to see the humanity of Gary Gilmore. I often hated Gary, other times I wanted to cry out of pity and because the world isn't fair. It wasn't fair to Gary Gilmore or his victims. After reading Dead Man Walking, and this book I am not as supportive of the death penalty as I once was. Actually, I definitely have a problem with it. Thanks Norman Mailer.

mr mailer's style of writing using conjecture to create moments in time in gary gilmore's life left me uninterested. the purpose, im sure was to lead the reader to the cause of the killer's actions but it did not work for me as I found the style of writing non-absorbing and too much of a drag to get through. I put the book down after 100 pages or so.

Be prepared for a long haul....this book is very tedious, and goes into much unnecessary detail. It also characterizes Gary and Nicole's relationship as "loving/romantic". Not so much - more like Gary abused and controlled her! If you are looking for a good "true-life novel" of this sort, stick to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. IF you are looking for a good book about the death penalty and death row, try John Grisham's The Chamber.

Norman executed this book very good. Great insight to Gilmore and his girlfriend. A great portrait of a hapless attempt to bring a maximum security prisoner back into society. How could anybody become acclimated to any evolving culture after a stint at Marion? I had thought it was assumed that no inmate there was trustworthy enough to escape lockdown. I never found out, though, how Gilmore got barbituates, after his first suicide attempt, to give it a second try.

I hesitate to write a less than laudatory review, given all the praise this book has received over the years (not to mention awards). And I must include that this was my first Norman Mailer and maybe third true crime read, so I am familiar with neither. That being said, if you are also unfamiliar and/or not a fan of Mailer or true crime, pick another title. Please. Life is WAY too short for people like you and me to experiment w/ this huge, honker of a story, awards or no.

I definitely enjoyed many parts and was interested in some of the characters (e.g. Gary, Nicole, some of their family), but man, too many parts (those detailing the details of every detail lived by indirect parties like lawyers, journalists and producers involved in the trial) read like, "blah blah blah" after a few paragraphs.

I recognize the genius of the work. I recognize the appeal to a specific crowd. I also recognize that if it weren't for some stupid compulsion I have to finish any book I start, I would have jumped on the internet around page 350 to skip the journey and get to end.

This book may be the most compelling book I have ever read. I could not stop reading it in spite of bad dreams nearly every night. The characters in this book are portrayed so vividly that you feel you are speaking to them yourself.

An exhasperatingly detailed book that only chronicles the end of Gary Gilmore's life. Does not delve into his childhood or family history. Goes into great detail on things that are of little interest and importance to the overall story. Reads more like a textbook than a biography.

Except for classical or historical novels, I admit that I am not much of a fiction reader. I picked this book up only because Norman Mailer wrote it and because he is understood to be one of America's foremost writer's of fiction. I had read a book by him about Lee Harvey Oswald and was so unimpressed that I have now forgotten its title. It was supposed to be non-fiction, but appeared to me to be anything but.

Anyway, this book was my attempt to give Mailer another chance. It is of course about the brief period of freedom and then the ignominious death by firing squad of one, Gary Mark Gilmore. Charitably, Gilmore can at best be described as the "scum of the earth," having spent most of his life in, rather than out of prison, from crimes as petty as liquor store heists, up to murder.

Whatever literary value this book is supposed to have had, in my mind at least, was lost and over-shadowed by the wanton, random, and utter senselessness and brutality of the murders he committed before he was finally recaptured and executed.

This, his last chance at freedom, was squandered like the rest of his life. Gilmore proved that he was not able to handle life on the outside because he had no idea how to go about it. Unlike his structured life inside, his life outside of prison had no rhyme or reason. What he knew how to do was to create chaos wherever he went.

During his freedom, he was like the ball in a pinball machine, randomly bouncing along a downward obstacle course of life, where he hoped to be able to ring a few bells, hit a few bright lights and make a few noises before the lights were finally turned out on him for good. It seems that the script for the ending of his life had already been written: by him at birth. His life was an existential black hole, without hope.

Somehow, Mailer tried to turn this foreordained tragedy into a love story between Gilmore and "a trailer park loser" named Nicole, but in my view it all was mostly a literary contrivance. This was not a story of hope: from the beginning, we knew there would be only a fiery ending to this saga. All that was left to do was to tie up the loose ends.

The die sending Gilmore's life on its inexorable downward trajectory had already been cast. Instead of "Mark," "tragedy" should have been Gilmore's middle name. Everything he touched turned to death and then to dust. He was, always the walking dead: A zombie brought back to life by Mailer's literary tricks.

Even when he emerged from prison, all of his lifelines, as well as his nine lives, had been used up. He stood face-to-face with the existential precipice: It was "over-the-cliff" for him, and the sooner the better. Did anyone really think that Gary Mark Gilmore was going to live out the rest of his lost freedom and life as a gas station attendant? Better to go out in a blaze of ignominious glory. Which is what he did. Hell, even I could write that story?

The only tension left for the artist to resolve was how many innocent souls would become the victim of this human wrecking ball. If it takes skill to resolve that dilemma, then leave me out. All I can see is the pain of those who died at his senseless hands. If there is art here I am glad I missed it.

One star

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.

I had read "The Executioner's Song" when it originally came out so it was 25 years or so since I'd picked it up. I felt it was almost unreadable. Mailer engages in a rather bland straight-on reporting of the story of Gary Gilmore, trying to make a psychopath understandable and humanize him in some way because he was able to love the pathetically needy 19 year old Nicole. Mailer spends over 1,000 pages spelling all this out, digressing on side stories about the side characters and then focusing a great deal of the book on the Hollywood flack, Lawrence Schiller and his successful bid to buy the Gilmore story. Weary of the slow slog, I found I could skim through pages and skip entire sections this time around and not lose the story. "The Executioner's Song" invariably gets compared to Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" but there can be no real comparison. Capote's work is so lyrical and so superior to Mailer's that it is almost embarrassing. And Capote told his story in about a third of the pages that Mailer required.

I finished this book mostly just to say I did. I lost interest almost immediately, but this is "classic literature" right, so I gave it a chance. This is the most long-winded account I have ever read. Norman Mailer must have been paid per word. I really don't understand the rave reviews, I would never recommend wasting the amount of time it takes to finish this book. The story could be told in ample detail in half the pages. Unless you enjoy reading about people that have nothing to do with the plot of the story, I would avoid this book at all costs...unless you need a doorstop.

'the executioner's song' holds the dubious title of the worst book I ever read cover to cover. seriously. it's tedious, massively overlong, mawkish, trite, trivial and badly written. in fact, it was a milestone in my reading- I never just trusted an author to pull it all together again. now I just drop a book if it's going as badly as this one did.

the only remarkable thing about Gilmore is that he insisted the death penalty be applied to him, even tho it wasn't mandatory in that state anymore. Mailer fails to come to any significant conclusion about this, despite having a whopping 1072 pages in which to do it.

basically, Gilmore is a run-of-the-mill petty criminal, with relationship troubles. he gets caught after killing two men in a botched hold-up. he gets 'life', but instead insists on being executed. he gets executed. the end. there- you don't need to waste your time reading it now- the book draws no further conclusions about his motivation, the ethics of the death penalty, the morals of crime, or indeed anything at all. poppycock.

Gary Gilmore was a piece of common gutter trash. His story was not worth recording. Nicole Barrett was (and presumably is) another scrap of garden-variety white trash whose memory should have been restricted to the 5,000-ish men and women with whom she slept. Mailer speaks of these people with a reverence that I find impossible to understand. The most obscene example of this comes just before Gilmore's execution. Mailer tells of Gilmore asking for water while strapped in his execution chair. This is such a clumsy and distasteful allusion to Christ's being given water by a Roman soldier while hanging on the cross that I can hardly imagine the ego and cognitive distance that would allow such a comparison to be written. Maybe Mailer did not intend it to be such an allusion and I am making too much of it; or, he figured that once anyone got to page 956, or wherever it was, they would be so mind numb from the book's sheer badness that no one would notice. Mailer's own taste in literature comes into question with the repeated (and I do mean REPEATED) use of Gilmore's letters to Nicole. They are juvenile in the extreme - talk of "booties" and what he wanted to do with/to them. In his afterword, Mailer compliments Gilmore's writing and assures the reader (in the passive voice, minus 10 points) that he was true to his writings - lucky for us. Sweet Lord, God, how was this ever inflicted on the world?
This is an awful book. Mailer spends 1056 pages glorifying this human trash and, inexplicably, won a Pulitzer Prize for it. The characters are unworthy of any discussion - let alone this tome. The writing is simple-minded. Certain facts are repeated so often that it brings into question whether this document was edited in any way. I had to force myself to finish reading this book. I held out hope that I could find something, even a single page - failing that a single sentence - that would justify, or begin to explain why this was published in the first place. Despite my best efforts, I could find no such justification. I was even hoping for a clever or touching meaning to the title of the book. Oh, WOW, was I ever let down on this one. The guidelines for submitting reviews on this site include "no spoilers." Consequently, I will not give the name of the executioner's song, but I will say that NWA's "Pop That Coochie" would have been more sentimental.
Do not read this book. Let the list of Gilmore's victims end with me.