On reading Mailer
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- November
- 12
With the passing of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Norman Mailer at age 84, bookstores and libraries in the lower Hudson Valley are preparing for renewed interest in the works by this venerable author. Some have already experienced new inquiries.
Not all of his titles are still in print, notes Sean Carroll, manager of Borders Books in Mt. Kisco. The store had many of Mailer’s books on hand so by Saturday afternoon when news of his death was reported, staff had assembled a small display. “People are requesting them more. This is what traditionally happens,� said Carroll when I called to ask. Mailer, he added, was still in people’s minds, because he recently published a nonfiction book, “On God: An Uncommon Conversation� and last year had come out with a novel “The Castle in the Forest.� He said the two most popular books, remain “The Executioner’s Song� and “The Naked and the Dead.�
For Roy Solomon, co-owner of Village Bookstore in Pleasantville, his personal favorite is “The Armies of the Night� about the anti-war protest at the Pentagon for which Mailer won a Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately this afternoon the store didn’t have a copy on hand, but had other Mailer tomes.
Ruth Bolin, director of Suffern Free Library, said Rockland County libraries have a total of 50 copies of Mailer’s latest novel and others are also on the shelves. The New City library, she said, had assembled a display of his books. Bolin said her staff hadn’t noticed a particular increase, but she hoped they would soon. “I would encourage people to read him for old time sake. He made quite an impact with his writing years ago,� she added.
This entry was posted
on Monday, November 12th, 2007 at 3:50 pm by Barbara Nackman.
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A municipal reporter for The Journal News since 1997, 
