Mornings with Mailer

February 1, 2010
In 2003, hard at work and happily ensconced at his home in Provincetown, Mass., Norman Mailer invited young writer Raymond, a casual acquaintance, to become his assistant, beginning a relationship that would change Raymond's life and ease the end of the literary icon's. Raymond's responsibilities were varied, including researcher, cook, critic, and technology liaison, enabling him to catalog Mailer's idiosyncrasies in work and home life ("He would suggest I buy the best possible wine for dinner guests and then ask me to make sure we had plenty of Hershey's Bars"). Raymond was clearly enchanted with Mailer, and this intimate but respectful look at Mailer's life is entirely free of mudslinging; Mailer is portrayed as a devoted husband (to sixth wife Barbara), and an indulgent father. Through devoted eyes, Mailer emerges a witty, hard-working, tragic figure: discussing the Norman Mailer Society, he complains that "most authors are dead who have these societies. I feel slightly pushed ahead." Raymond also captures the sobering moments of a legend approaching its end, including a particular moving scene in which the extended family gathers around Mailer in a hospital room, passing around a clandestine rum cocktail.

December 1, 2009
Memories and reflections of a friendship with an American literary giant.

Norman Mailer (1923–2007) seems to fit the idiom"larger than life" more suitably than almost any other literary figure in American letters, an iconic figure who has been both admired and reviled. A two-time Pulitzer winner, National Book Award winner and important voice in the New Journalism movement, he was an often boisterous and controversial figure in political, social and literary circles. Mailer is also known for his role in founding the Village Voice, as well as an unsuccessful primary bid for mayor of New York in 1969. First-time author Raymond, Mailer's personal assistant from 2003 to 2007, reveals a quieter, humbler writer in the waning years of his life at work in his seaside home in Provincetown, Mass. Glimpses of Mailer with his sixth wife, his adult children, friends and fans provide a picture of a more thoughtful, unassuming man. Raymond attempts to show Mailer as an extraordinary friend, father and neighbor, though does little to convince the reader of these qualities beyond superficial, commonplace and often bland descriptions of daily life. The mundane details—e.g., the author's love of borscht and his antipathy toward technology—provide little illumination. Raymond's friendship with Mailer is touching and full of admiration, but the book lacks unique description and details necessary to paint a vivid picture of this distinctive man's life. The author offers few enduring or intriguing insights other than some brief glimpses of Mailer's writing process for recent books like The Castle in the Forest (2007). Raymond's own story is only sketched in with brief interjections that seem more summary than narrative and fail to enrich the story.

Fans of Mailer will be disappointed.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2010
Here, readers will not find a profound dialog between an aging Norman Mailer and an admiring young student la Mitch Albom's best seller "Tuesdays with Morrie". Instead, they will discover an aspiring writer who within a short time is awarded an amazing level of trust by Mailer; his wife, Norris; and important others. Provincetown, RI, was home to the 80 year old when the unmoored Raymond finds himself waiting Mailer's table in a favorite restaurant. Their encounters are described as "happy accidents seasoned with significance" and lead to a proposal that puts Raymond in the Mailer home to assist on a project and "any number of things," including cooking on occasion. Everyday things are scrupulously described"his impeccably groomed fingernails were short but sharp"and tell of Mailer's work and leisure habits, the food he loves and abhors, his aversion to plastic, and of moody rants and quirks. VERDICT While readers may find a very human and always admirable Mailer, an insistent focus on Raymond's own role in Mailer's life undermines the veracity of his recollections.Katharine A. Webb, Ohio State Univ. Libs., Columbus

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