The Executioner's Song is an exhaustive 1000-page "true life novel" about the last nine months of Gary Gilmore's life. It starts with Gilmore's release from prison for an armed robbery conviction and ends with his execution for a pair of murders in Utah. Mailer tells the story from the perspective of the many people who encountered Gilmore during that time, using a simple declarative writing style that reflects the point of view of the person whose thoughts are being reported.
The exhaustiveness of the book occasionally leads to it being exhausting -- how many times did Gary steal a six pack of beer? How many lawyers filed suits to prevent the execution? However, Mailer does an excellent job of choosing mundane details and turns of phrase that bring the story and its characters to life. The cumulative effect of all the overlapping perspectives is powerful.
Mailer's flat, unsentimental style really pays dividends in the chapters describing the day of the execution. Things happen fast once the final appeal is rejected, and the characters' emotional states all try to keep up. After the execution itself, we follow Gary's body to the morgue and his friends to a memorial service. The juxtaposition of the brutally physical autopsy and the emotionally spiritual eulogies implicitly makes me think about the meaning of a man's life.
The exhaustiveness of the book occasionally leads to it being exhausting -- how many times did Gary steal a six pack of beer? How many lawyers filed suits to prevent the execution? However, Mailer does an excellent job of choosing mundane details and turns of phrase that bring the story and its characters to life. The cumulative effect of all the overlapping perspectives is powerful.
Mailer's flat, unsentimental style really pays dividends in the chapters describing the day of the execution. Things happen fast once the final appeal is rejected, and the characters' emotional states all try to keep up. After the execution itself, we follow Gary's body to the morgue and his friends to a memorial service. The juxtaposition of the brutally physical autopsy and the emotionally spiritual eulogies implicitly makes me think about the meaning of a man's life.
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