The Fight: Norman Mailer (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Dearborn, Mary V. (1999). Mailer: A Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780395736555. OCLC 237367900. Vidal said, “I never actually disliked Norman, not really. So now the feud – for what it was worth – was officially over. This was fine with me, as long as I didn’t have to read another of his books.” The pair would do several fundraising events in their last decade, and the truce held. Lennon, Donna Pedro (2018). Lucas, Gerald R. (ed.). Norman Mailer: Works and Days (Revised, Expandeded.). Atlanta, GA: The Norman Mailer Society. ISBN 978-1-7326519-0-6. Maidstone is a sometimes hilarious, often boring, but always adventurous ego trip, a very expensive, 110-minute home movie that has been edited, rather fancily, out of something like 45 hours of original footage. That, in turn, prompts the thought that almost anybody should be able to get 110 minutes of something out of 45 hours of anything, even if it's simply the filmed record of a chic, chaotic, seven-day brawl in East Hampton, which is the raw, not-so-base material of Maidstone. [18] stars. The thing about Norman Mailer, in my opinion, is that he sometimes thinks that he is to writing as what Muhammad Ali is to boxing and that he can do no wrong. By being the greatest writer of all time he makes reading a simple thing like a book about a very famous boxing match a more difficult read than it needs to be.

The Fight - Penguin Books UK The Fight - Penguin Books UK

Manso, Peter (1985). Mailer: His Life and Times. New York: Washington Square Press. ISBN 9781416562863. OCLC 1035697738. Norman Mailer, “The Millionaire,” The Fight: Norman Mailer, by Norman Mailer, Vintage International, 1997, p.35-44 A later feud involved Christopher Hitchens, the English journalist and flamethrower who, in his early days as a leftwing polemicist, modelled himself partly on Vidal. “He wants to be me,” Vidal would often say, once designating Hitchens, whom he affectionately called Hitchy-Poo or, more often, The Poo, as his successor. In a witty counter-move, Hitchens printed some words by Vidal on the cover of his memoir, Hitch-22: “I have been asked whether I wish to nominate a successor, an inheritor, a dauphin or delfino. I have decided to name Christopher Hitchens.” The quotation is crossed out, with a handwritten note beside it: “No. CH.”Begiebing, Robert J. (1989). Toward a New Synthesis: John Fowles, John Gardner, and Norman Mailer. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI. ISBN 9780835719476. OCLC 924803474. Now, our man of wisdom had a vice. He wrote about himself. Not only would he describe the events he saw, but his own small effect on events. This irritated critics. They spoke of ego trips and the unattractive dimensions of his narcissism. Such criticism did not hurt too much. He had already had a love affair with himself, and it used up a good deal of love.’ Although he has appeared in an episode of Gilmore Girls, I’ve never actually read anything by Norman Mailer – a relative superstar in the 20th century literary world. One of the defining texts of sports journalism. Not only does Mailer recall the violent combat with a scholar’s eye . . . he also makes the whole act of reporting seem as exciting as what’s occurring in the ring.” — GQ What happened next varies according to the teller, but Austen’s version accords with that of others:

The Fight by Norman Mailer: 9780812986129

Leeds, Barry H. (1969). The Structured Vision of Norman Mailer. New York: NYU Press. OCLC 474531468. And so he brought his remarkable gifts to bear on a boxing match that a great part of the world saw fit to pay attention to, intelligencia saw fit to write about, and fight aficionados talk about forty years later - The Rumble in the Jungle. Norman Mailer takes what is ostensibly a couple of news reports about the iconic 'Rumble in The Jungle' fight and manages to turn it into a compelling narrative. Mailer goes right alongside guys like Hunter S. Thompson in finding a narrative art in journalism that I wasn't aware even existed in the first place. It's not even a report anymore, it's a novel that just happens to be factual.Although I have never been extremely interested in boxing, I have always been intrigued by the Foreman versus Ali Fight for one sole reason: its location. As I read the book, I very soon realized that the location fascinated Mailer even more, and that it would take a prominent place in his narrative of the Fight: because it did not only take place in Mobutu's Kinshasa, but the Fight itself was a gift of Mobutu to the Zairois people. The Fight was an emblem of Mobutu’s revolution. Moreover, I think the points he tries to get across, is that the Fight he was writing about was not only the one between Foreman and Ali. Apart from this fight, he was writing about three additional fights that were taking place simultaneously, albeit in different states of completion: Mobutu's, Ali’s Fight against ‘the system’, and the way boxing as a sport was perceived and performed. In the next three paragraphs I will elaborate a bit on my perception of the Fight's place in these revolutions. Today it seems unlikely, but in 1974 two sporting greats travelled from the United States to Africa, to battle it out in Kinshasa (then in Zaire, but today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.) Challenger Muhammad Ali was to fight George Foreman, an unbeaten fighter, and apparently unbeatable. Before it even happened, the Rumble in the Jungle was hyped as the biggest fight of the decade. It might now be the greatest sporting event of the twentieth century.

The Fight - Penguin Books UK

But this isn't merely a sports book, I was quite surprised by Mailer's political commentary and astute observations about the state of Zaire. One might say that this book feels like a companion piece to Conrad's original novel about the heart of darkness, and there is a sense that nothing has changed since the days of King Leopold II and the trauma that came with that. It almost seems as if the Zairians traded one dictator for another, except one that doesn't maim them for his own enrichment. Deeply mixed about this book. Mailer's aggressive, deeply masculine prose is perfectly suited to describing physical activity, so the chapters dealing with the actual boxing match are very nearly perfect: exciting, suspenseful, and just breathless enough. Among the very best sports writing that I've read. What a great insight: the deep-down child in awe of what he has become. Remember that next time an athlete (or in this case, the very writer!) refers to themselves in the third person. On two other fighters, "As boxers, Ellis and Liston had such different moves one could not pass a bowl of soup to the other without spilling it."Justin Bozung points out that Mailer's determination to cast non-actors in Maidstone and other films supports his belief that "we are all actors in our daily lives." [3] Mailer's determination to blur reality and fiction as scenarios unfold could only be achieved by capturing true responses to situations. [3] Many of Mailer's casts were chosen from friends who "reflect facets of his persona." [4] Production [ edit ] To me the weakest part of Mailer’s brilliant work is the description of the fight. Words fail to describe the physicality of the match. It cannot give true measure to the weight of the punch, the blow of gloved fist against flesh, the smell of sweat. Boxing is a physical dance, and Mailer can give only an impressionist portrait of how it all went down. That said, he still gives probably the best description of the fight from any writer, and it in no way compromises his narrative. In 1984, Mailer decided to call a truce, inviting Vidal to participate with him in a fundraising event in New York. “Our feud, whatever its roots for each of us,” he wrote to Vidal, “has become a luxury. It’s possible in years to come that we’ll both have to be manning the same sinking boat at the same time. Apart from that, I’d still like to make up. An element in me, absolutely immune to weather and tides, runs independently fond of you.”

Norman Mailer. Neil Leifer. Howard L. Bingham. The Fight Norman Mailer. Neil Leifer. Howard L. Bingham. The Fight

Scott, A. O. (20 July 2007). "Norman Mailer, Unbound and on Film: Revisiting His Bigger-Than-Life Selves". The New York Times . Retrieved 2007-08-03. The best aspect of the book are chapters 13 through 15, the fight itself. Here, the “masculinity” of Norman’s writing shines best, as the reader will feel like he or she is ringside. Not just from the punches or reading about Ali’s famous strategy by leaning on the ropes early, but also from what is said by each fighter and their corners. There are similar segments earlier in the book when Mailer visits each fighter’s training and workouts. Knowing how the fight ends before starting the book, it was amazing to see that some of the popular myths about that fight, such as that Foreman was not prepared, are simply that – myths, not actual events. Vidal lived in New York after the war, as did Capote, and they moved in the same social circle, over which Tennessee Williams presided. “I first met Truman at Anaïs Nin’s apartment,” Vidal recalled. “My first impression – as I wasn’t wearing my glasses – was that it was a colourful ottoman. When I sat down on it, it squealed. It was Truman.” Beginning in 1959, it became a habit of Mailer's to release his periodical writing, excerpts, and the occasional new piece in collections and miscellanies every few years. [36] Not including letters, Mailer had written for over 100 magazines and periodicals, including Dissent, Ladies Home Journal, One: The Homosexual Magazine, Playboy, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Harper's, New Yorker, and others. [37] Title edited and introduced by J. Michael Lennon; contains previously published and original material [30]Dat zijn twee figuren die tot leven komen, en die me – dat weet ik nu al – door Mailers schrijven zullen bijblijven. Het gevecht is een boek waarin een historische gebeurtenis inclusief context krachtig wordt opgeroepen, en ook het soort boek dat nu niet meer snel geschreven zou worden: niet alleen omdat er geen tijdschrift meer plaats biedt aan zo’n enorme reportage, ook omdat Mailer schrijft met een zelfvoldaanheid die tegenwoordig snel zou worden afgeserveerd. At the beginning of the book, he does state that he is going to do this, so it is not unexpected. This will also allow the reader, should he or she wish to continue, to get a different perspective. One part that I did enjoy was when Norman (how he referred to himself throughout the book) went jogging with Ali when the boxer was doing road work. While the pace was slower and he didn’t last the entire length of the run, it was nonetheless something that is not typically found in other books on this fight. What Mailer is trying to capture is the magic that surrounds a big fight: the rituals, the superstitions, the whole game. We still see it today with the UFC. It’s the story which gets built around the fighters and their entourage and the varied characters which the fight attracts. The question then becomes: why do we need to create a narrative? Why can’t the actual fight speak for itself? Maybe because many times it doesn’t. But this time, as everyone knows, it did. It's not until the night of the three month-delayed fight and the twelfth chapter of the book that 'the Fight' really starts living up to its billing. Mailer's account of Ali's sombre dressing room - Bundini like a sulky child because Ali has rejected his choice of robe, Angelo Dundee scoring the soles of Ali's new boots with scissors to roughen them up and give him more of a grip on the canvas - is fascinating. And (courtesy of Plimpton) there's a glimpse into Foreman's preparations, his usual prayer ritual unchanged only because at least some members of team confess to praying not so much for Foreman winning as Ali leaving the ring still alive. Their wrangling continued until Capote, ill from his abuse of alcohol and prescription drugs, died in the late summer of 1984. When Vidal’s editor called from New York with news of his rival’s death, Vidal remarked after the briefest pause: “A wise career move.”