Norman Mailer’s masterpiece, The Executioner’s Song, is a seminal work of New Journalism. Mailer, among others like, Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson, and Truman Capote, combines a research essay with a novel format. In other words, it’s a non-fiction novel – if there is such a thing. The topic for Mailer’s exploration is the infamous Gary Gilmore. Gilmore is the first man to be executed in the state of Utah since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1975.

Mailer paints a comprehensive portrait of this troubled man. He uses articles, interviews, and thousands of hours of research to construct a narrative of Gilmore’s early life, the family surrounding his life, his love interests, his crime and sentencing, and the lives affected by Gilmore’s actions. All in all, no stone goes unnoticed and unturned in Mailer’s 1,050 page novel of one man’s life. It’s amazing to me, the amount of influence, negative or positive; one man can have over the people that he encounters in his life.

What I enjoyed about the novel was Mailer’s attempt to be evenhanded with his subject. It’s easy to paint a negative portrait of a man who possesses a sociopathic personality, kills two people in cold blood, uses others, and then fights for the death penalty because he can not bear to live in prison for the rest of his life. However, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy at times to Gilmore’s situation. It reminded me too much of the kids that I teach on a daily basis. In the end though, Mailer seems to suggest, like I would, that Gilmore is responsible, but what is the best justice to make him feel responsible? Is it ending his life or is it making him live out the rest of his days behind bars – a fate that Gilmore absolutely despised.