The
Executioner’s Song
By Norman Mailer
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize 1980
No matter how you feel about the death penalty and
its use in the United States, it is hard not to be moved by the story of Gary
Gilmore. Gilmore, in 1977, became the first man to be executed since the death
penalty had been reinstated. He had been released from prison just a few months
prior to the crimes that he committed which got him sent to death row, and less
than a year before he was ultimately executed by firing squad. Norman Mailer’s
incredibly long detailed work stands as both a monument to the power of
creative non-fiction as a means of both storytelling and documentation, as well
as providing a frank appraisal of how certain personalities can affect change
in the legal system.
Gilmore, as a character, is not very likeable or
trustworthy. If you don’t know what happens after he is released, reading The Executioner’s Song—especially the
first half—could be initially tedious. If you are familiar with the case (and
since most of the book hinges on something that happens about halfway through
so if you want to be completely surprised stop reading now) Gilmore’s actions seem
more troubling and, well, sad than tedious. Gilmore lies to others constantly,
both for expedience, but also as a kind of tick when lying can serve no good
possible purpose. He drinks, spends money extravagantly, and does not live up
to his responsibilities. It is easy to dislike him. It is also easy to
understand that at the age of 36 Gary was essentially a child who went from a
rigid society with very permanent and obvious boundaries to a society where the
boundaries were all intangible. Seeing how Gary responds to the outside world
it is obvious that this will all come to a bad end.
But Gary has good points too. He loves his family,
even though he is not always honest with them. He looks for employment, even
though his work ethic is sporadic and tends to peter out after the initial
challenge of the position goes away. And, most significantly, he falls in love
and has a relationship that above all else is rooted in an attempt by both
parties to make the other happy. Okay, there is also physical and emotional
abuse, and Gary does convince his girlfriend, a young woman named Nicole Baker,
to attempt suicide.
Gilmore’s ultimate failure to reconcile his desires
with the demands of a society he does not understand leads tragically to the
murder of a hotel employee and gas station attendant. Both men were married.
Gilmore robbed the cash registers of these two establishments and came up with
a fairly insignificant amount of cash.
Mailer’s novel is, despite its length, a rather
quick read. The first part of the novel deals with Gilmore’s release from
prison and his failure to reintegrate into society. The second part of the
novel deals with the trial and media circus that follows Gilmore’s decision to
demand he be executed. I enjoyed the novel both for its simplicity in
presentation of the facts, as well as the way Mailer is able to provide both
suspense and emotional complexity to a rather difficult situation.
Coming soon: Rabbit, Run by John Updike
