I hate to be gross, but that certainly was a mighty hurl upon Mr. Mailer. Absolutely withering, though I can’t say really unjustified! Anyone else, and I would say you were unfairly trashing a dead man. I can’t help to think though that it is fair that Norman receive such blistering criticism from somewhere, after a life of unrelenting nastiness. I do believe you’ve hit upon most of the major points. After all, there will never be another chance to tell Mailer to “Fold it five ways and put it where the moon don’t shine.”

Unfortunately, I have waded my way through a few of the mans works, or parts at least. I often found the perverse point of view so heavily applied as to be an overwhelming distraction. I often wondered if the primary appeal for many people was the pompous bombast, especially in his later work.