Tough Guys Don't Dance: A Novel

by Norman Mailer
Tough Guys Don't Dance: A Novel  
published 2002 by Random House
first published 1984
binding Hardcover
isbn 0375508740   (isbn13: 9780375508745)
pages 240
description A dark, brilliant novel of astonishing pitch, set in Provincetown, a “spit of shrub and dune” captured here in the rawness and melancholy ...more
date added
12-18-06



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David
David rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
10/11/07

Read in September, 2007
Ok, yes. This book has a veneer of misogyny, but truly the real issue here is not a hatred of women but a willful misunderstanding of women. This book’s only concern is masculinity; the women here are presented only as noir femme fatales or gun molls. To take great offence at Mailer's disparaging such mythical creatures is akin to being frustrated at the mischaracterization elves or unicorns. This is the nature of the genre. What made this book worth reading (for me), was the application of Ma...more
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Lorileinart
Read in January, 1986
While not considered to be Mailer's best work, it is nevertheless my favorite. If I could offer this bit of advice: read it like you are watching a black and white film noir movie on a dark and rainy night. It's meant to be digested that way, only you won't get that until you've read it a number of times. Mailer explores marriage, homosexuality, marriage AND homosexuality, among other erotic notions, on the back roads along Cape Cod.
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Wally
Wally rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
06/04/07

Is this where Mailer asks the question, why do gay men congregate in cities with giant phallic monuments? I can't remember.
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Sara
09/04/07

bookshelves: mi_reads
Having read this book, i felt violated. gratuitous profanity and sex. a waste of Mailer's talent and intelligence and obvious display of his misogyny. It was, however, a page-turner, so I finished it quickly!
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Joe
Joe rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
12/05/07

Read in December, 2007
a funny, bloody 80s noir with a reprint of updike's long and ridiculous description of a vagina. (which mailer and his character greatly admire.)
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Cheri
Cheri rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
07/07/07

bookshelves: ick
It wasn't the misogyny, the machismo, or the overblown prose. There is just noir out there that is so much better and more original.
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Mike
Mike rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
02/01/08

Read in August, 2005
Norman Mailer is one of my favorite authors but this one he must have written more-so drunk than usual because it's really sub-par
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dishonore de
bookshelves: booksiwillneverread
a present for my then future mother-in-law. was she trying to say something about my predilection for tango ?
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Mathew
Mathew rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
07/18/08

Read in January, 2000
This was interesting. I think it's about smoking pot. Honestly, I'm not so sure, though.
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Josh
Josh rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
06/09/08

Somewhat of a murder mystery. Kinda cool. Norman Mailer tries to be such a man's man.
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Sdugre
Sdugre rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
08/06/07

Read in July, 2007
Mailer has an annoying pedantic tone. Don't know why I keep reading him.
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Patrick
Patrick rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/07/08

honestly got it because it has one of the best titles ever. decent book
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stedmo
stedmo rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/27/08

Read in January, 1982
characters at the there most extreme limits
fantastic one liners
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Ben
Ben marked it as to-read
02/23/08

bookshelves: to-read
I haven't read this yet, but the movie is pretty entertaining.
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Barbara
Barbara rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
02/06/08

The only book I've ever thrown in the rubbish
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Matthew
Matthew marked it as to-read
01/28/08

bookshelves: to-read
Big Project
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Jessica
Jessica rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
08/28/08

 

Thiago
Thiago marked it as to-read
09/02/08

bookshelves: own, to-read
 

Todd
Todd rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
09/03/08

 


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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.37 (201 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.36 (174 ratings)
number of reviews: 16






other editions

Tough Guys Don't Dance (Paperback)
Tough Guys Don't Dance (Mass Market Paperback)
Tough Guys Dont Dance (Hardcover)