Mailer is not too offensive. He is just boring. He is a turgid writer. When I was in grad school 50 years ago there were a few profs who thought Mailer was the greatest contemporary writer--the main Mailer cultist was Richard Poirier--but most of Mailer's books are unreadable,. The exception is "The Naked and the Dead."
Mailer is not too offensive. He is just boring. He is a turgid writer. When I was in grad school 50 years ago there were a few profs who thought Mailer was the greatest contemporary writer--the main Mailer cultist was Richard Poirier--but most of Mailer's books are unreadable,. The exception is "The Naked and the Dead."
I got into him this year, but I loved Prisoner of Sex, the ali-frazier books is great, so is Naked and The Dead. I agree with you about his Oswald book and Armies of The Night is overrated, but if you give me three books I love I'm with you.
I did like parts of "Armies of the Night." I could not read the Prisoner of Sex. I never tried to read the Ali-Frazier book. The last book I read by him was "The American Dream."
Mailer is not too offensive. He is just boring. He is a turgid writer. When I was in grad school 50 years ago there were a few profs who thought Mailer was the greatest contemporary writer--the main Mailer cultist was Richard Poirier--but most of Mailer's books are unreadable,. The exception is "The Naked and the Dead."
I got into him this year, but I loved Prisoner of Sex, the ali-frazier books is great, so is Naked and The Dead. I agree with you about his Oswald book and Armies of The Night is overrated, but if you give me three books I love I'm with you.
I did like parts of "Armies of the Night." I could not read the Prisoner of Sex. I never tried to read the Ali-Frazier book. The last book I read by him was "The American Dream."