The Executioner’s Song (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Norman Mailer
- First Published: 1979
- Type of Plot: Nonfiction novel
- Time of Work: April, 1976, to January, 1977
- Setting: Utah, Oregon, and California
- Principal Characters: Gary Gilmore, Nicole Baker Barrett, Brenda Nicol, Bessie Gilmore, Dennis Boaz, Lawrence Schiller
- Genres: Long fiction, New Journalism
- Subjects: 1970’s, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Prisoners, Murder or homicide, Capital punishment, California, West, U.S., Robbery or robbers, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, Biography
- Locales: California, Oregon, Utah
The Novel
Described on its cover as “a true life novel,” The Executioner’s Song focuses on the last nine months in the troubled existence of Gary Gilmore, who, at the time Mailer wrote the book, was the first criminal executed in the United States in more than a decade. After spending nineteen of his pathetic thirty-five years behind bars, Gilmore finally faced a firing squad at Utah State Prison at 8:07 a.m. on January 17, 1977. Although generous with background information, Mailer concentrates on the details of this one man’s life between his release on parole...
[The entire page is 2174 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
