Norman Mailer: the Self-appointed Messiah

Norman Mailer, author of such masterpieces as The Naked and the Dead, The Armies of the Night and The Executioner's Song, died in November 2007 at the age of 84, shortly following the publication of his last novel, The Castle in the Forest. By nature, Mailer was larger than life, and his writing will continue both to disturb and to offer emancipation to his readership. Mailer remains one of the most emblematic literary figures of our time, a fact that cannot be dissociated from the quasi-religious mission he had consciously undertaken from the beginning of his career: to become a prophet, a self-appointed messiah, of his times and of his country. In this penetrating new study, Gwendolyn Chabrier begins her exploration of Mailer's life and work from the perspective of the flowering of Jewish literature in the West in the twentieth century. Dr Chabrier then examines Mailer's relationship with, among other major influences in his life, his mother, his wives, the women's rights movement, his university years, politics, the black community, anti-semitism and racism. Based on a number of personal interviews with Mailer, as well as many years' research, this is an essential book for all who wish a deeper understanding of this iconic American author, his life and goals.