Mailer, Norman (Vol. 5) - Mailer, Norman 1923–
Mailer, Norman 1923–
One of the most vociferous and declamatory American social critics of our time, Mailer, a novelist, essayist, and filmmaker, is as eclectic a writer as the controversy his writing incites. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12, rev. ed.)
In a New Yorker interview published after The Naked and the Dead had scored its sensational success, Norman Mailer said of his novel: "It has been called a novel without hope. I think actually it is a novel with a great deal of hope. It finds … that even in man's corruption and sickness there are yearnings and inarticulate strivings for a better world, a life with more dignity." This statement is a remarkable example of how erroneous an artist can be about his creation.
The yearnings and inarticulate strivings of men for a better world of which Mailer speaks are shown in The Naked and the Dead with a sense of hopelessness about their achieving it. This...
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