On God An Uncommon Conversation

The final book from Norman Mailer, towering figure of American literature, in which he offers his concept of the nature of God "I feel no attachment, whatsoever, to organized religion" wrote Norman Mailer. "I see God, rather, as a Creator, as the greatest artist. I see human beings as His most developed artworks." And in this collection of moving, amusing, probing, and uncommon dialogues conducted over three years before his death, Mailer establishes his own system of belief, one that rejects both organized religion and atheism. He presents instead a view of our world as one created by an artistic God who often succeeds but can also fail in the face of determined opposition by contrary powers in the universe with whom war is waged for the souls of humans. Mailer weighs the possibilities of "intelligent design," at the same time avowing that sensual pleasures were bestowed on us by God; he finds fault with the Ten Commandmentsbecause adultery, he avers, may be a lesser evil than others suffered in a bad marriage; and he holds that technology was the Devil's most brilliant creation. In short, Mailer is original and unpredictable in this inspiring verbal journey, in which "God needs us as much as we need God." Praise forOn God: "[Displays] the glory of an original mind in full provocation." USA Today "[Mailer's] theology is not theoretical to him. After eight decades, it is what he believes. He expects no adherents, and does not profess to be a prophet, but he has worked to forge his beliefs into a coherent catechism." New York "At once illuminating and exciting . . . a chance to see Mailer's intellect as well as his lively conversational style of speech." American Jewish Life

Norman Mailer was born in 1923 in Long Branch, New Jersey, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. In 1955, he was one of the co-founders of The Village Voice. He is the author of more than thirty books, including The Naked and the Dead; The Armies of the Night, for which he won a National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize; The Executioner’s Song, for which he won his second Pulitzer Prize; Harlot’s Ghost; Oswald’s Tale; The Gospel According to the Son; and The Castle in the Forest. Mr. Mailer passed away Saturday November 10th, 2007.


From the Hardcover edition.