What do you think?
Jack and Norman: A State-Raised Convict and the Legacy of Norman Mailer's "The Executioner's Song"
This is the story of an author and his apprentice. It is the story of literary influence and tragedy. It is also the story of incarceration in America.
Norman Mailer was writing The Executioner’s Song, his novel about condemned killer Gary Gilmore, when he struck up a correspondence with Jack Henry Abbott, Federal Prisoner 87098-132. Over time, Abbott convinced the famous author that he was a talented writer who deserved another chance at freedom. With letters of support from Mailer and other literary elites of the day, Abbott was released on parole in 1981.
With Mailer’s help, Abbott quickly became the literary “it boy” of New York City. But in a shocking turn of events, the day before a rave review of Abbott’s book, In the Belly of the Beast, appeared in The New York Times, Abbott murdered a New York City waiter and fled to Mexico. Eerily, like Gary Gilmore in Mailer’s true-life novel, Abbott killed within six weeks of his release from prison.
Now Jerome Loving explores the history of two of the most infamous books of the past 50 years, a fascinating story that has never before been told.
Norman Mailer was writing The Executioner’s Song, his novel about condemned killer Gary Gilmore, when he struck up a correspondence with Jack Henry Abbott, Federal Prisoner 87098-132. Over time, Abbott convinced the famous author that he was a talented writer who deserved another chance at freedom. With letters of support from Mailer and other literary elites of the day, Abbott was released on parole in 1981.
With Mailer’s help, Abbott quickly became the literary “it boy” of New York City. But in a shocking turn of events, the day before a rave review of Abbott’s book, In the Belly of the Beast, appeared in The New York Times, Abbott murdered a New York City waiter and fled to Mexico. Eerily, like Gary Gilmore in Mailer’s true-life novel, Abbott killed within six weeks of his release from prison.
Now Jerome Loving explores the history of two of the most infamous books of the past 50 years, a fascinating story that has never before been told.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published February 21, 2017
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 13, 2017
This book isn't worth reviewing. It was poorly pieced together, the continuity totally lacking.
There are no "normal" good intent/ good will humans, neither in giving or in taking in any minor portion within this book. Norman Mailer being no exception to that category.
What did I get out of this book? Mainly and repeated prison experience tales (crime and trial) in which the inmates and the author (seems he does this at least twice) blame society and "rich people" for all their troubles and transgressions. And then in one case after being let out after years and years, the convicted murderer that has been "forgiven" through parole does a stabbing death murder within a very short time. AGAIN.
A library friend asked me to read this in order to get a non-fiction pick for her group. This was not the one I suggested she might choose.
It doesn't seem, to me anyway, that this author believes humans have much of any personal responsibility toward the onus and outcome for their own behaviors at all or the outcomes for others. But that it is all about society as a whole giving to THEM the best outcomes that is essential.
There are no "normal" good intent/ good will humans, neither in giving or in taking in any minor portion within this book. Norman Mailer being no exception to that category.
What did I get out of this book? Mainly and repeated prison experience tales (crime and trial) in which the inmates and the author (seems he does this at least twice) blame society and "rich people" for all their troubles and transgressions. And then in one case after being let out after years and years, the convicted murderer that has been "forgiven" through parole does a stabbing death murder within a very short time. AGAIN.
A library friend asked me to read this in order to get a non-fiction pick for her group. This was not the one I suggested she might choose.
It doesn't seem, to me anyway, that this author believes humans have much of any personal responsibility toward the onus and outcome for their own behaviors at all or the outcomes for others. But that it is all about society as a whole giving to THEM the best outcomes that is essential.
March 19, 2017
Although based on a sad story, Jerome Loving's book Jack and Norman makes a good read. Loving, a noted American literature scholar, gives an account of the unusual interaction between Norman Mailer and a convict named Jack Henry Abbott. Abbott's letters about his prison experience were informative for Mailer as he was completing The Executioner's Song, his Pulitzer Prize-winning book about another troubled convict, Gary Gilmore. In turn, Abbott's correspondence with Mailer informed his book, entitled The Belly of the Beast. Despite the literary talent that drew Mailer to try to help Abbott, the convict's chance at freedom and success was short-lived. In a scenario that is disturbingly similar to that of Mailer's subject Gilmore, once freed, Abbott committed a heinous crime and went back to prison for the remainder of his life. Jack and Norman is a well-researched work about literary history and criminal justice, and Loving's telling of the story re-creates the sensational dynamic of the tragedy. Although this book about prison culture may not be for everyone, for this reader, it was definitely a good read. [Posted to Goodreads 19 March 2017.]
July 4, 2018
"Jack and Norman” — could be the title of an Odd Couple-ish farce, except that this is a tragedy, not light farce. Jack Abbott, self-described “state-raised convict,” and Norman Mailer, self-described, well, just say he thought of himself as the most important writer of his generation (and who knows, maybe he was). The ghost of Gary Gilmore hovers over the narrative, and maybe the title ought to have been, “Jack, Norman and Gary.” And if you (rightly) think that a bit cluttered, then consider that Jerome Loving has explicitly set himself the task of narrating a story of: “literary influence and tragedy”; the “blow-by-blow” of a “state-raised convict” as filtered through “Billy Budd”; “an army drunk” and “a Eurasian prostitute”; the trajectory of a writer geared “to write the Great American Novel”; and lastly, “incarceration in America.” In, mind you, 207 pages.
The idea behind the book is truly inspired. Mailer’s influence almost matched his outsized ego. Then again, without that ego to propel him, he would have been a one-hit wonder ("The Naked and the Dead”), washed up following the successive disasters that were “Barbary Shore” and “The Deer Park.” But by the time he conceived of “The Executioner’s Song,” about Gilmore, he was back on top of the literary world, via classics such as “Armies of the Night.” Mailer may have regarded himself a prisoner of sex (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/…/norma...), but Abbott was a non-metaphorical prisoner whose life story had some parallels to Gilmore. Abbott also apparently (I haven’t read any of his work) possessed significant literary talent. Mailer and Abbott became pen pals, Mailer figuring Abbott could help him understand Gilmore better. Mailer also recognized Abbott’s potentially prodigious writing talent and threw his weight behind Abbott’s release on parole. (What is it with intellectuals and their fascination with psychopaths, anyway? Someone ought to write a book on that.) Mailer no doubt perceived that Abbott boiled with anger — how could he not? — but Mailer utterly failed to see that Abbott had poor impulse control, if he had any at all. Unlike soup and sandwich, rage and impulsivity don’t go well together. And given that Abbott had killed one man in prison, and quite nearly killed another, it’s hard to know just what Mailer was thinking. Inevitably, Abbott killed again, very soon after his release. Butchered Richard Adan is more like it, pounced on him from behind and sliced him up. Adan never had a chance.
I said the book's idea was “inspired.” But the execution (no pun intended) leaves a lot to be desired. In particular, Loving paid scant attention to the trial, but it almost certainly offered a wealth of material. Abbott was charged with murder but convicted only of manslaughter, which is to say, he was partially acquitted. All the sympathy lay, at least seemingly, with the victim: what did the jury see in a vicious, unprovoked attack that shifted that balance, if only slightly? I had Edward Bunker, and his “Education of a Felon” in mind as I read this book. Bunker, too, was a “state-raised convict,” the youngest inmate ever to "matriculate" (if that is the word) at San Quentin. A powerful writer himself, he was also a thrill-seeker, an adrenaline junkie, given to violence, an escapee. But when he, at long last, and with more than a bit of luck, managed to legitimately attain freedom, he grasped it with both hands, and became successful. (Aside: “Straight Time,” which Bunker had a hand in writing, is a powerful movie and one of Dustin Hoffman’s best, perhaps most underrated, performances.) Mailer might have benefited more from seeking Bunker’s counsel rather than Abbott’s in trying to understand Gilmore. In any event, Bunker said that, though he personally didn’t like Abbott, he thought that Abbott was indeed “afraid” and genuinely believed that Adnan “was going to attack him.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/8ce1...…). Bunker wasn't there, but if anyone might know what shape to give Abbott’s vortically rageful thoughts it’d be Bunker. And that belief, unreasonable as it clearly was, would if genuinely held get the charge down to manslaughter. Surely, that is what the jury concluded. How and why they reached that conclusion deserves a whole lot more attention than Loving affords.
“Jack and Norman” has received, it should be said, favorable reviews. I can’t say it’s a bad book, only that it falls well short of the lofty, perhaps unattainable, goals Loving set for it. As a reminder of an encounter with tragic consequences it’s much more successful. “There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them”: the quote is often misattributed to Orwell, but it’s pertinent here whatever the origin. Mailer absurdly believed that Abbott’s literary talent made him a good bet. Adan lost Mailer’s wager. If you do read the book, I strongly encourage reading “Education of a Felon” as a sort of companion piece.
The idea behind the book is truly inspired. Mailer’s influence almost matched his outsized ego. Then again, without that ego to propel him, he would have been a one-hit wonder ("The Naked and the Dead”), washed up following the successive disasters that were “Barbary Shore” and “The Deer Park.” But by the time he conceived of “The Executioner’s Song,” about Gilmore, he was back on top of the literary world, via classics such as “Armies of the Night.” Mailer may have regarded himself a prisoner of sex (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/…/norma...), but Abbott was a non-metaphorical prisoner whose life story had some parallels to Gilmore. Abbott also apparently (I haven’t read any of his work) possessed significant literary talent. Mailer and Abbott became pen pals, Mailer figuring Abbott could help him understand Gilmore better. Mailer also recognized Abbott’s potentially prodigious writing talent and threw his weight behind Abbott’s release on parole. (What is it with intellectuals and their fascination with psychopaths, anyway? Someone ought to write a book on that.) Mailer no doubt perceived that Abbott boiled with anger — how could he not? — but Mailer utterly failed to see that Abbott had poor impulse control, if he had any at all. Unlike soup and sandwich, rage and impulsivity don’t go well together. And given that Abbott had killed one man in prison, and quite nearly killed another, it’s hard to know just what Mailer was thinking. Inevitably, Abbott killed again, very soon after his release. Butchered Richard Adan is more like it, pounced on him from behind and sliced him up. Adan never had a chance.
I said the book's idea was “inspired.” But the execution (no pun intended) leaves a lot to be desired. In particular, Loving paid scant attention to the trial, but it almost certainly offered a wealth of material. Abbott was charged with murder but convicted only of manslaughter, which is to say, he was partially acquitted. All the sympathy lay, at least seemingly, with the victim: what did the jury see in a vicious, unprovoked attack that shifted that balance, if only slightly? I had Edward Bunker, and his “Education of a Felon” in mind as I read this book. Bunker, too, was a “state-raised convict,” the youngest inmate ever to "matriculate" (if that is the word) at San Quentin. A powerful writer himself, he was also a thrill-seeker, an adrenaline junkie, given to violence, an escapee. But when he, at long last, and with more than a bit of luck, managed to legitimately attain freedom, he grasped it with both hands, and became successful. (Aside: “Straight Time,” which Bunker had a hand in writing, is a powerful movie and one of Dustin Hoffman’s best, perhaps most underrated, performances.) Mailer might have benefited more from seeking Bunker’s counsel rather than Abbott’s in trying to understand Gilmore. In any event, Bunker said that, though he personally didn’t like Abbott, he thought that Abbott was indeed “afraid” and genuinely believed that Adnan “was going to attack him.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/8ce1...…). Bunker wasn't there, but if anyone might know what shape to give Abbott’s vortically rageful thoughts it’d be Bunker. And that belief, unreasonable as it clearly was, would if genuinely held get the charge down to manslaughter. Surely, that is what the jury concluded. How and why they reached that conclusion deserves a whole lot more attention than Loving affords.
“Jack and Norman” has received, it should be said, favorable reviews. I can’t say it’s a bad book, only that it falls well short of the lofty, perhaps unattainable, goals Loving set for it. As a reminder of an encounter with tragic consequences it’s much more successful. “There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them”: the quote is often misattributed to Orwell, but it’s pertinent here whatever the origin. Mailer absurdly believed that Abbott’s literary talent made him a good bet. Adan lost Mailer’s wager. If you do read the book, I strongly encourage reading “Education of a Felon” as a sort of companion piece.
April 22, 2017
Jack Abbott was a career criminal and killer raised in juvenile detention centers and imprisoned for the vast majority of his life. Mailer was a famous writer who had stabbed his second wife. Abbott had literary aspirations, and Mailer needed verisimilitude for his novel The Executioner's Song. Thus began the "epistolary" friendship of the two writers. What could possibly go wrong?
It turns out, a lot.
They corresponded a great deal, with Mailer encouraging Abbott's writing ambitions. And it turned out Abbott had skill and talent--he completed the bestselling memoir In the Belly of the Beast, about life in prison. Mailer, in turn, produced his best work at the time. But Mailer, who believed artists got special reprieve when it came to moral matters, overstepped by vouching for Abbott to be paroled.
Here, I'd like to say that it's ironic that Abbott really comes off as the most sympathetic person in this situation to me. He was screwed almost from birth and his life is a heartbreaking story of how it goes for kids raised in the system in America. He was raised in juvie centers and was probably "institutionalized" long before he ever made it to prison. And yet. And yet. He tried to overcome. He tried to persevere. His emotional letters to Mailer can hardly be read as manipulative and hardened, the way we might expect from a long-term convict.
It's Mailer that comes off as utterly ... what? As a user. It puts me in mind of Capote, when it becomes clear Capote is using the killers to get more information for the book--and not developing a real friendship with one of them, as one of the killers believes.
But Mailer also comes off as an idiot. It's like all of his philosophies about artists and the "white negro" (artists outside the mainstream) manifest themselves in Jack Abbott just to prove him wrong. What on earth made him think Abbott wouldn't kill again? Abbott's parole lasted six weeks. By the time he was paroled, all the freedom he'd been dreaming of was useless to him--and to everyone else--because it was by then a foreign concept. He had no idea what to do with it. And the damage was done. He would forever react in prison terms. People who had worked in the system could see this. It's like when sanctuary workers plead to keep a tiger born and raised in captivity behind the fence, and one person decides the tiger needs to be "free." Which is really more humane at that point? That's what's so tragic. Abbott really never had a chance. It was inevitable something would set him off and he'd be violent again, and that's exactly what happened.
I don't know what the hell made Mailer believe it would be any other way. Writers can be notorious not only using people for research, but they're also known for over-inflating their own importance when it comes to ideas. Mailer was known for that almost as much as he was known for his novels and for stabbing his wife.
That this book could give me so many emotions--I suppose part of it is because I saw the Ed Bradley 60 Minutes interview with Abbott when I was a kid--is a testament to the writing. But despite Loving's efforts, I don't think Mailer comes off well at all here.
It turns out, a lot.
They corresponded a great deal, with Mailer encouraging Abbott's writing ambitions. And it turned out Abbott had skill and talent--he completed the bestselling memoir In the Belly of the Beast, about life in prison. Mailer, in turn, produced his best work at the time. But Mailer, who believed artists got special reprieve when it came to moral matters, overstepped by vouching for Abbott to be paroled.
Here, I'd like to say that it's ironic that Abbott really comes off as the most sympathetic person in this situation to me. He was screwed almost from birth and his life is a heartbreaking story of how it goes for kids raised in the system in America. He was raised in juvie centers and was probably "institutionalized" long before he ever made it to prison. And yet. And yet. He tried to overcome. He tried to persevere. His emotional letters to Mailer can hardly be read as manipulative and hardened, the way we might expect from a long-term convict.
It's Mailer that comes off as utterly ... what? As a user. It puts me in mind of Capote, when it becomes clear Capote is using the killers to get more information for the book--and not developing a real friendship with one of them, as one of the killers believes.
But Mailer also comes off as an idiot. It's like all of his philosophies about artists and the "white negro" (artists outside the mainstream) manifest themselves in Jack Abbott just to prove him wrong. What on earth made him think Abbott wouldn't kill again? Abbott's parole lasted six weeks. By the time he was paroled, all the freedom he'd been dreaming of was useless to him--and to everyone else--because it was by then a foreign concept. He had no idea what to do with it. And the damage was done. He would forever react in prison terms. People who had worked in the system could see this. It's like when sanctuary workers plead to keep a tiger born and raised in captivity behind the fence, and one person decides the tiger needs to be "free." Which is really more humane at that point? That's what's so tragic. Abbott really never had a chance. It was inevitable something would set him off and he'd be violent again, and that's exactly what happened.
I don't know what the hell made Mailer believe it would be any other way. Writers can be notorious not only using people for research, but they're also known for over-inflating their own importance when it comes to ideas. Mailer was known for that almost as much as he was known for his novels and for stabbing his wife.
That this book could give me so many emotions--I suppose part of it is because I saw the Ed Bradley 60 Minutes interview with Abbott when I was a kid--is a testament to the writing. But despite Loving's efforts, I don't think Mailer comes off well at all here.
January 16, 2018
A nice effort, I learned more about what happened after Abbott's murder of Richard Adan, but the book didn't feel deeply researched or deeply felt. Twice in fact, the author references Wikipedia articles, a source that wouldn't be accepted from a freshman comp student. The entire book felt more like an academic exercise than a work of deep passion.
I could be feeling this way because I just finished re-reading Mikal Gilmore's "Shot in the Heart." A book that is transcendent both in depth of research and feeling. Since that was still sitting at my bedside, I could check the author's citations, and bristled a bit when he described Bessie Gilmore as "psychotic" when it would have been more accurate to clarify that she was likely suffering from severe postpartum depression.
In Gilmore's book he went back and found the men who had been jailed with his brother and interviewed them to determine the veracity of claims that his brother had made. In this book Loving just concedes that Abbott was likely exaggerating but doesn't follow up with evidence from anyone who might know.
He mentions that Abbott was married for a few years after his return to prison, but there are no further details about that relationship, how it ended/how Abbott took the ending of the relationship.
He states more than once that Abbott could have been murdered (rather than committing suicide) -- but he doesn't offer any evidence for this. It seems highly unlikely that enemies would allow him to remain in prison for 20 years before seeking their revenge. He also refers to letters Abbott wrote about trying to hang himself. He was recently denied parole, what seems more likely?
There were a few examples where I thought the author repeated information that he could have safely assumed the reader would remember, since he'd mentioned it before, (ie the murder rumor).
I would really only recommend this to people who have read "Executioner's Song" and "In the Belly of the Beast" or you probably won't get all that much out of it.
I could be feeling this way because I just finished re-reading Mikal Gilmore's "Shot in the Heart." A book that is transcendent both in depth of research and feeling. Since that was still sitting at my bedside, I could check the author's citations, and bristled a bit when he described Bessie Gilmore as "psychotic" when it would have been more accurate to clarify that she was likely suffering from severe postpartum depression.
In Gilmore's book he went back and found the men who had been jailed with his brother and interviewed them to determine the veracity of claims that his brother had made. In this book Loving just concedes that Abbott was likely exaggerating but doesn't follow up with evidence from anyone who might know.
He mentions that Abbott was married for a few years after his return to prison, but there are no further details about that relationship, how it ended/how Abbott took the ending of the relationship.
He states more than once that Abbott could have been murdered (rather than committing suicide) -- but he doesn't offer any evidence for this. It seems highly unlikely that enemies would allow him to remain in prison for 20 years before seeking their revenge. He also refers to letters Abbott wrote about trying to hang himself. He was recently denied parole, what seems more likely?
There were a few examples where I thought the author repeated information that he could have safely assumed the reader would remember, since he'd mentioned it before, (ie the murder rumor).
I would really only recommend this to people who have read "Executioner's Song" and "In the Belly of the Beast" or you probably won't get all that much out of it.
May 14, 2017
Norman Mailer wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Executioner's Song, about convicted killer, Gary Gilmore. During the writing of this book, Mailer struck up a correspondence with prisoner, Jack Henry Abbott, who would go on to write, In the Belly of the Beast. Mailer was successful in getting Abbott released from prison, just as he had been in freeing Gilmore. However, Abbott, just like Gilmore, would go on to kill again.
I wanted to like this book because I'm a fan of true crime books, but I felt this book missed the mark. It was all over the place in terms of timeline and by the end I just wasn't sure what the author was hoping to accomplish when writing this book. It's almost as if he wanted to write about prison reform but needed a hook of a famous author to lure readers in. With the title, I was expecting many more details about Jack and Norman but instead ended the book thinking I really didn't know that much more about them than when I had started reading.
My one positive comment is the book did flow better in the second half than the first.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and that is my honest review.
I wanted to like this book because I'm a fan of true crime books, but I felt this book missed the mark. It was all over the place in terms of timeline and by the end I just wasn't sure what the author was hoping to accomplish when writing this book. It's almost as if he wanted to write about prison reform but needed a hook of a famous author to lure readers in. With the title, I was expecting many more details about Jack and Norman but instead ended the book thinking I really didn't know that much more about them than when I had started reading.
My one positive comment is the book did flow better in the second half than the first.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and that is my honest review.
May 4, 2017
Picked this up when it was displayed at the library as part of my effort to read more non-fiction. It's pretty random but I actually enjoyed it for the most part--plus it was a quick/easy read. I think if you are a big Mailer fan this would probably be super interesting. The main thing I took away from it is that I want to read The Executioner's Song.
Jack Abbott was a life-long convict who "consulted" for Mailer as he was writing The Executioners Song. The book looks not only at how his particular prison experience informed his relationship with Mailer and his work, but also takes the reader through an accessible history of how prisons came to be what they are today and uses Abbott as a way of examining what a life lived in varying forms of imprisonment does to a human being.
Jack Abbott was a life-long convict who "consulted" for Mailer as he was writing The Executioners Song. The book looks not only at how his particular prison experience informed his relationship with Mailer and his work, but also takes the reader through an accessible history of how prisons came to be what they are today and uses Abbott as a way of examining what a life lived in varying forms of imprisonment does to a human being.
July 2, 2017
I received this book through Goodreads giveaway program.
I found this book overall to be an easy read, although it is a little disjointed, resulting in some redundancy. It gives a feeling like someone's telling you an interesting story, and they want to make sure they get all these little points in. They manage to do so, but not in order so a little backstory comes along with it each time.
The other feeling I was given, especially at the end, was of incompleteness. Yes, this is only about the relationship between the two, but it acknowledges it gleaned information from other cited books, and you almost feel like you wished you picked them up first. Or having pictures of Adan's wife, but barely 2 sentences about her. A photo of Christopher Walken and then only stated that he and Susan Sarandon watched the trial, but not much else about the sensationalism created during the trial, only reviewers that were scrambling.
Yes, I did learn a few new things in the book. Yes, it gave me avenues to pursue if I wanted to learn more. It's a great overview of all that can go wrong when people are being played off of each other or to prove a societal point. It sticks to mainly recounting events instead of trying to interject opinions. Although what I'm left with thinking the most, in an offhand remark at the end, is boxing a sport since we don't 'play' it?
I found this book overall to be an easy read, although it is a little disjointed, resulting in some redundancy. It gives a feeling like someone's telling you an interesting story, and they want to make sure they get all these little points in. They manage to do so, but not in order so a little backstory comes along with it each time.
The other feeling I was given, especially at the end, was of incompleteness. Yes, this is only about the relationship between the two, but it acknowledges it gleaned information from other cited books, and you almost feel like you wished you picked them up first. Or having pictures of Adan's wife, but barely 2 sentences about her. A photo of Christopher Walken and then only stated that he and Susan Sarandon watched the trial, but not much else about the sensationalism created during the trial, only reviewers that were scrambling.
Yes, I did learn a few new things in the book. Yes, it gave me avenues to pursue if I wanted to learn more. It's a great overview of all that can go wrong when people are being played off of each other or to prove a societal point. It sticks to mainly recounting events instead of trying to interject opinions. Although what I'm left with thinking the most, in an offhand remark at the end, is boxing a sport since we don't 'play' it?
November 16, 2020
A rich, dense. fascinating book that interweaves the history of prisons in America; American literature from Hawthorne to Melville to Farrell; and the stories of three men: Norman Mailer, notorious American novelist; Gary Gilmore, the murderer and subject of Mailer’s novel The Executioner’s Song; and Jack Abbott, the near-genius killer whose letters describing his prison experience helped Mailer with his book on Gilmore and who, under Mailer’s mentorship, publishes an amazing book of his own on prison life. The most shocking part of this saga is that Abbott, released from prison with Mailer as a sponsor, soon after cold bloodedly murders again.
Loving points out the parallels not only between Gilmore and Abbot, but between Abbott and Mailer, who is fascinated with violence and once stabbed his wife. With all this going on in the book, it is no wonder there is not always a clear lineal narrative, but some circling back and repetition. Throughout, however, one wonders: are Gilmore and Abbott just bad seeds or was the repressive, harsh prison system responsible for their outcome? At times Loving suggests that with a different upbringing—one more like Mailer’s—Gilmore and Abbott might have had less horrific fates. But Jack and Norman is mostly objective and reportorial, leaving those compelling questions for the reader to ponder.
Loving points out the parallels not only between Gilmore and Abbot, but between Abbott and Mailer, who is fascinated with violence and once stabbed his wife. With all this going on in the book, it is no wonder there is not always a clear lineal narrative, but some circling back and repetition. Throughout, however, one wonders: are Gilmore and Abbott just bad seeds or was the repressive, harsh prison system responsible for their outcome? At times Loving suggests that with a different upbringing—one more like Mailer’s—Gilmore and Abbott might have had less horrific fates. But Jack and Norman is mostly objective and reportorial, leaving those compelling questions for the reader to ponder.
February 7, 2018
I was initially excited to read this book, but it took me almost a year to push through it. the beginning was very slow and I had a hard time keeping everyone and their crimes straight. towards the middle the story picks up. I was very interested in how Abbott seems to just be accepted by all the literary types without a second thought. it fascinated me that everyone just ignored what he had been saying about being a "state raised convict" and assumed that because he had a talent for writing this would change him. I thought the author did a wonderful job detailing and foreshadowing this time in Jack's life. the end lost me again and I was just trying to finish the book. I felt like the deterioration of mailer and Abbott's relationship could have been explored so much more but was summed up in about 6 paragraphs. overall the author also missed the boat exploring the relationships causes and effects on both men. I know more about Abbott's time in prison and his inability to take responsibility for his actions, than I do about the true cost and benefit of the two men's relationship.
May 4, 2017
This was a GoodReads giveaway provided for review purposes.
I liked this book okay. It is partly a study of the two principals and their backgrounds. There is a small dose of the prison system. I am confident that I would have enjoyed this book much much more if I had previously read some of the works of both Abbott and Mailer. Without the referenced reading history, it is much harder to get behind this book. It does inspire me to attempt to read Mailer's more established work, but just thinking about how long of a read they are, just does not encourage me.
Have a GoodReads.
I liked this book okay. It is partly a study of the two principals and their backgrounds. There is a small dose of the prison system. I am confident that I would have enjoyed this book much much more if I had previously read some of the works of both Abbott and Mailer. Without the referenced reading history, it is much harder to get behind this book. It does inspire me to attempt to read Mailer's more established work, but just thinking about how long of a read they are, just does not encourage me.
Have a GoodReads.
January 10, 2026
This book is solidly researched. I appreciated the depth of research, the footnotes and list of sources at the end. In my current project I likely will touch on Mailer and The Executioner's Song, so in terms of a source this book will be helpful to me.
While I wouldn't say this book is strictly academic, it leans more toward an academic tone than a compelling narrative. From a writing perspective, the characters and conflict are rich and there's some lost opportunity to take more advantage of that.
While I wouldn't say this book is strictly academic, it leans more toward an academic tone than a compelling narrative. From a writing perspective, the characters and conflict are rich and there's some lost opportunity to take more advantage of that.
August 6, 2017
The book struck me as a collection of notes made by someone in search of a story who hasn't quite found the story they hoped to find. Perhaps the book had to be written because it had been promised and so written it was. At least, I found myself asking more than once what the author was aiming at and I didn't find a clear answer in the pages of this short book. Interesting and not poorly written. Not much of a much.
March 11, 2017
Odd for me to read, since I had barely heard of Norman Mailer's book and never heard of Jack Abbott. Loving adds some unnecessary emotional flourish at times, but the story told remains intact and raises questions about the goals of the American prison system, though I doubt that was the author's intent (though it may have been that of Mailer and Abbott).
March 13, 2017
Confused book that adds little to the story of Jack Henry Abbott and his relationship with Norman Mailer. I was living in New York at the time of Abbot's murder of Richard Adan and it seemed, at the time, just another homicide in a city that was setting its own record for murder rate that year. Violence was way too common in the city back then, and the Adan murder just added to the general sense of malaise that the city was going through. You really had to be there. (Listen to Lou Reed's song "The Gun" from his masterpiece "The Blue Mask" LP for an idea about NYC in 1981). Loving's book gives us nothing in terms of what Abbott's brief life in the NYC of 1981 must have been like and precious little on Mailer's own uneasy relationship with the killer he had helped to free. The author keeps telling us how much Abbott's letters to Mailer helped with his understanding of Gary Gilmore when Mailer was writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Executioner's Song," but does not tell us how. This book made me want to re-read "The Executioner's Song," Mailer's last great book, but even with a considerable knowledge of this unfortunate and tawdry story, "Jack and Norman" left me feeling I knew less about this case after I read this book. His treatment of Ed Bradley's CBS 1982 television interview of Abbott is confusing in the extreme.
June 20, 2017
I won this book through Goodreads. I really enjoyed this book. It was thoughtful and well written. It definitely has made me curious to read the other books that are mentioned. Really enjoyed.
September 4, 2019
Interesting but a bit repetitive.
January 10, 2022
I'm a huge Norman Mailer fan and was looking forward to reading this. Good idea- very poorly executed.
May 13, 2017
It is a good read but just not for me.
December 18, 2017
Content and subject were interesting, but the writing was not good. It was everywhere
April 2, 2017
Disjointed and difficult to follow. The chronology is all over the place.
April 25, 2017
Thought this might be a fascinating read, but found that the emphasis was on the academic. I found the writing dry and frequently repetitive. Almost didn't finish it. Does have some interesting insights into the time and the people involved.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews