The Executioner's Song - Norman Mailer

[Anne]

So, my husband recommended this book to me for this category. I did not realize it was 1100 pages long!!!

However, it was well worth the read. It's the (barely) fictionalized account of Gary Gilmore, the first person executed in the US after a long hiatus, and the circus that surrounded the event. I'd heard of Gary Gilmore, in particular from the song "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" by the Adverts. I did not know the full story until now. While I come away from the story with no sympathy for Gary Gilmore, I have an even greater disdain for the barbarity of the death penalty as a form of punishment.

I highly recommend this book!