The Return of Norman Mailer

Posted on August 30, 2006

After a 10 year absence from book publishing, Norman Mailer is back. The Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author has a new novel coming out in January called The Castle in the Forest (Random House). Mailer's last book, The Gospel According to Mark, was published in 1997.

The new novel tells an account of Hitler. The New York Times reports that the novel is 500 pages long and explores three generations of Hitler's family. This will include some "incestuous relationships and family estrangements."

The snarky "Is Norman Mailer Still Relvant" articles are already popping up in the press, which we find apalling. After all, whether he writes another book or not, he's still a great writer whose work remains relevant.

It will be interesting to see how the new novel fares with the reading public. We think it will do well, especially from fans who have been wondering if he was ever going to publish another book.