A complex man. I've hated him and loved him down throughout the years of his writing. And in a loving way, I once invoked his name (and his mother) in a eulogy for my own mother-in-law. He made an impression on me that's for sure. Dead at 84 in New York. A macho man.

Favorite Norman Mailer books: The Executioner's Song and Oswald's Tale.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071110/D8SQS18G0.html

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Oh no!! That's tragic news! A brilliant writer and major inspiration to me over the years!! He will be sadly missed but his countless, exquisitely written tomes will live on.

My faves are The Executioner's Song, Tough Guys Don't Dance, An American Dream and recently Harlot's Ghost...I still have to read Oswald's Tale and his first work The Naked and the Dead still stands as a modern classic.

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

I enjoyed him debating with Gore Vidal back in the day. Some of his quotes the last couple years just didn't sound right. But he was 83 for Goodness sakes.

I love this interview from last year about The Big Empty. That part about women being in control and the marriage quote stuck with me and I've found myself using them in conversation:

"All I'm getting at is that very often, highly sexed people get married in order to have an outlet. [pause] Let me see, I can say something better than that. What a way to end up, huh? You could hang yourself with a sentence like that. [long pause, throat clearing] People, whether highly sexed or not, often need a machine like a relationship, something like an accelerator and a brake. Marriage allows you to do that very well. It's the soft machine of society. "

http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/books/interview_normanmailer/