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An American Dream
An American Dream | Norman Mailer
2 posts | 4 read | 7 to read
In this wild battering ram of a novel, which was originally published to vast controversy in 1965, Norman Mailer creates a character who might be a fictional precursor of the philosopher-killer he would later profile in The Executioner's Song. As Stephen Rojack, a decorated war hero and former congressman who murders his wife in a fashionable New York City high-rise, runs amok through the city in which he was once a privileged citizen, Mailer peels away the layers of our social norms to reveal a world of pure appetite and relentless cruelty. One part Nietzsche, one part de Sade, and one part Charlie Parker, An American Dream grabs the reader by the throat and refuses to let go. Praise for An American Dream "Perhaps the only serious New York novel since The Great Gatsby."--Joan Didion, National Review "A devil's encyclopedia of our secret visions and desires . . . the expression of a devastatingly alive and original creative mind."--Life "A work of fierce concentration . . . perfectly, and often brilliantly, realistic [with] a pattern of remarkable imaginative coherence and intensity."--Harper's "At once violent, educated, and cool . . . This is our history as Hawthorne might have written it."--Commentary Praise for Norman Mailer "[Norman Mailer] loomed over American letters longer and larger than any other writer of his generation."--The New York Times "A writer of the greatest and most reckless talent."--The New Yorker "Mailer is indispensable, an American treasure."--The Washington Post "A devastatingly alive and original creative mind."--Life "Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance."--The New York Review of Books "The largest mind and imagination [in modern] American literature . . . Unlike just about every American writer since Henry James, Mailer has managed to grow and become richer in wisdom with each new book."--Chicago Tribune "Mailer is a master of his craft. His language carries you through the story like a leaf on a stream."--The Cincinnati Post
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Reviewsbylola
An American Dream | Norman Mailer
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I‘ve wanted to read Mailer for a long time. This is one of the only Mailer‘s I own and it fits the prompt of #selfishlove, as the protagonist is running amok in NYC after murdering his wife. Used to a high class lifestyle, he is now a fugitive in a town that used to bow down to him. If you‘ve read this, what did you think? Any Mailers I should move to the top of my list? #aprella

emilyhaldi Love this cover 😍😍😍 7y
MicheleinPhilly I‘ve never read Mailer but I‘ve had this one on my shelves forever. 7y
JanuarieTimewalker13 I read the behemoth called Harlot‘s Ghost! I liked it but it had long, drawn out periods. I really enjoyed Why Are We At War? 7y
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Reviewsbylola The description of this sounds right up your alley. @emilyhaldi 7y
Reviewsbylola I will def have to look those up! @JanuarieTimewalker13 7y
Cinfhen The tagged book sounds really good!! I‘ve never read this author, either!!! My bookclub might approve 🤔 7y
Mdargusch Sounds really good! 7y
arubabookwoman It‘s long but I really liked #OswaldsTale, fictionalized life of Lee Harvey Oswald. I also loved the massive #TheExecutionersSong, which is NF. May want to reread that someday. 7y
Reviewsbylola I think I would love Oswald‘s Tale and I definitely want to read The Executioner‘s Song. @arubabookwoman (edited) 7y
Meredith3 Sounds very good! 7y
Billypar I only read one- The Castle in the Forest, but I world definitely recommend it. It gives an account of Hitler growing up as a child and definitely takes some unexpected narrative turns. 7y
Reviewsbylola Ooooh that sounds good! Thanks @Billypar 7y
ValerieAndBooks Looks good! I want to try his fiction and @Billypar ‘s rec looks good too. I‘ve only read this one non-fiction of his: 7y
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CherylDeFranceschi
An American Dream | Norman Mailer
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Every year in June there was a giant, tented book sale just a few blocks from where we lived. It would be stifling inside the tents, with the heat and the lack of air circulating, but that old-book smell was redolent. There were 3 or 4 tents, and we were allowed to choose anything we wanted. As I got older, I would go armed with a list. Sadly, the last one was in 2011. 😢Every June I miss it all over again. #used books #Augustofpages

BethFishReads Dangerous event 8y
WordWaller Aww, that's so sad that they stopped! Similarly, I've been going to the Half Price books giant sale of the year which they hold at our fairgrounds in the fall. I always walk out with a huge bag (or two!) 8y
CherylDeFranceschi @BethFishReads Sadly, not anymore. 8y
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CherylDeFranceschi @WordWaller That sounds pretty fabulous! 8y
Hooked_on_books So sad it's over, but that picture makes me drool! 8y
TheLondonBookworm That sucks but your photo is smashing. 8y
ScrappyMags That pic is complete book porn. 😍😍😍 8y
CherylDeFranceschi @Hooked__on__books @ScrappyMags @TheLondonBookworm Thanks, guys. It was incredible! Like a mile of tables. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Where is this? We need to plan a Litsy book field trip and all go! 8y
Dragon So sorry they stopped the sale 8y
ValerieAndBooks Love the pic!! 8y
quirkyreader The Methodist church near me has a book sale in a tent along with a fish fry. I get my books before I get my chips. 8y
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