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The Executioner's Song (Arena Books) [Paperback]

Norman Mailer
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
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Book Description

15 Aug 1991 Arena Books

In the summer of 1976 Gary Gilmore robbed two men. Then he shot them in cold blood. For those murders Gilmore was sent to languish on Death Row - and could confidently expect his sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment. In America, no one had been executed for ten years.

But Gary Gilmore wanted to die, and his ensuing battle with the authorities for the right to do so made him into a world-wide celebrity - and ensured that his execution turned into the most gruesome media event of the decade.


Frequently Bought Together

The Executioner's Song (Arena Books) + In Cold Blood : A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences (Penguin Modern Classics)
Price For Both: £16.33

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Product details

  • Paperback: 1072 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (15 Aug 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099688603
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099688600
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 4.9 x 19.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 95,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

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Review

It possesses such truth of feeling, such clarity and conviction of narrative, such a wealth of image and adventure, and such depths of long-held passion that I do believe it is indeed that rarest thing: a classic (John Le Carre )

A deeply unsettling account of a particular ordeal that suggests larger questions: the moralities of power's ends and means, the character of revolutionary fanaticism and the indecipherable humanity that flickers within it...by turns evocative, wise and crisscrossed by fury (New York Times Book Review )

[A] fascinating book, to say the least. Passages of The Gate are riveting, some scenes heartbreaking (Wall Street Journal )

A great writer: in the utterly enthralling story of Gary Gilmore's life and crimes Norman Mailer takes one as deeply into the criminal mind as it is possible to get (Alan Sillitoe )

Book Description

'A harrowing narrative, worthy of a novel by Graham Greene or John le Carre. [It] possesses the indelible power of a survivor's testimony' - New York Times

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Spellbound for a 1000 pages 27 Nov 2003
Format:Paperback
Mailer's tour de force. This monster book (+1000 pages long)tells the true story of an intelligent convict on parole in 1976, falling into his bad ways, and meets destiny calmly.

Mailer tells the story as an old Greek bard - in the end, it seems the only way things could have happened. Mailer gets into the skin of most people involved or related, describes their feelings (perfectly understable), measures the impact on America (wow! a convicted killer demands a right to die, overruling his own defence, apparently supporting the idea behind the penal code etc).

The other main storyline is oddly a love affair (also factual, not fictional) between the convicted and a girl. It is essetially a story of two social drop outs, two drifters but nevertheless really 'gelling' to use a modern term.

Doesn't bore for one bit. Good story on the madness of the US criminal system, the criminals, their families, their victims the press. In a way it shows that people in the end care (mainly about their own interests) and at the same time be totally careless, cyanical. Makes you think about society.

Of course, Mailer being Mailer, a lot of sex, drugs and violence are on the pages, but do not dominate the story.

The whole thing just takes you by the hand & after the 1000-odd pages, a big sigh & many thoughts pass.

Recommended.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Mailers song hits the "high, white note" 9 Aug 2008
Format:Paperback
This jaw-dropping book recieves less than flattering reviews because for some reason people want to be spoon-fed "answers" all the time to people like Gary Gilmore. What Mailer delivers instead is a truly outstanding feat of journalism, far surpassing any fiction, by painstakingly building Gilmores story from thousands of discrete, taut, unsentimental blocks of prose - allowing us to cement them together and giving us room to think for ourselves. Readers expecting Mailer to provide plot, climax, titillation, shocking details or answers as to "why" will rightly be bored, and have missed the point. Mailers neutral measured prose provides just the right angle of entry into a life that was devoid of plot and reason, just action and reaction. It is a clear white light cutting through the interests whose story he tells so skilfully in this book. Yes the length does not help, and you should do yourself a big favour take it on holiday and read it in a long hard week. But do it with an open mind and you will be infinitely rewarded... and glad you did. Unique, and to be treasured.

Once you've read this, grab more gems of late 20th c. American journalism - start with Hunter S Thompsons "The Great Shark Hunt" and Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test".
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional tale of desire to change history 15 Jun 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The executioners song is a compelling tale of one mans desire to end his own life and change the lives of many more forever.

A convicted murderer who had spent many years behind bars tasted freedom, vices and love. Throws them away along with the lives of his family and lover. He continues to control and dominate his lover to the point of her ending her life. He expresses an enormous desire to receive his just reward for killing innocent men and escape forever his torment of prison.

The story doesn't go into why he spent many years in prison prior to being released on parole. This element of his life may have had some impact as to why he did what he did later. The ardous battle with his family and lawyers for him to escape from his prison life ahead of him is compelling. The impact that his actions had on America is unbelievable. His words of just do it explain his casual approach to murder and death but did he do it for attention? The lives of so many have been affected and those close to him are the only ones who can say.

I have read this masterpiece over the last nine years and each time understand a little more. Would his suicide have affected the rest of America as his execution? Control freak or coward? More questions will be raised, reading may supply the answer.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Mailer's Ego Unchecked.
After watching a Sky Arts documentary about the author and having read some of his work over the years, this book appealed to me. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mikey G
3.0 out of 5 stars Norman Mailer
The book was a Christmas present for my son. He said it was easier to read than his first thoughts on viewing such a thick book. He enjoyed the narrative Thank you.
Published 16 months ago by Pat Newton
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
Absolutely one of the most amazing novels in the English language, Norman Mailer was on fire with this one. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Jack
2.0 out of 5 stars Worthy but tedious
I like Mailer. Good writer and has a lot to say about the world we live in. But this one is awfully dull. Talk about the 'banality of evil'! Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2009 by Kevin Pork
3.0 out of 5 stars Good but very long
This is a good book, quite interesting. I didn't know anything about Gary Gilmore other than the song about his eyes before this, I now feel I know more than enough. Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2008 by PJ Sturdee
4.0 out of 5 stars The 1000-page song
`The Executioner's Song` was one of two non-fiction works, along with `Armies of the Night`, that won Norman Mailer the Pulitzer Prize. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2008 by Demob Happy
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant read!
I read this book never wanting it to end. The account of the life and crimes of Gary Gilmore is expertly written. Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2008 by K. Maw
2.0 out of 5 stars The Executioner`s Song is lo-o-o-o-o-o-ng
I agree with earlier reviewers that this book is far too long, especially the second half dealing with all the mundane legal and media business. Read more
Published on 6 April 2007 by Sarah
1.0 out of 5 stars Limited appeal
So, The Executioner`s Song won the Pulitzer Prize, but I suspect that may have been in recognition of Norman Mailer`s exhaustive research and all the time and effort he put into... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2007 by Dr Frank
2.0 out of 5 stars Overrated; the book AND Gary Gilmore
It`s a book people will either love or hate.
[...]

A 300 to 350-page book on the subject might have worked, but, unfortunately, Mailer`s account is just so long and... Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2007 by Nick
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