I hate Norman Mailer. I hate myself for reading The Castle in the Forest. Moreover, I hate myself for thoroughly enjoying The Castle in the Forest. The reason is quite simple: I find myself actually sympathizing with Adolf Hitler.

I'm going to hell for this post.

Comments

[Andi]

Whahahahaha! I felt bad for kinda liking Humbert Humbert. Join the deranged, inappropriate club.

[Nonanon]

Again with the going to hell--perversely, I think it bodes well for you NOT going to hell that you worry about going to hell. :)

I give you points for even reading Norman Mailer at all. And God help us (ha!) yours is the only review that actually made me think I should read The Castle in the Forest. But man, Norman Mailer. I swore I would never read him or John Updike again...I just hate them both SO MUCH.

[Christopher]

I regret to say that I have never read any Mailer yet, but this post makes me want to.

[Brandon]

Andi: Do I get a deranged, inappropriate membership card? ;)

Nonanon: Hitler isn't a guy you're supposed to sympathize with, but Mailer makes you realize--what a concept!--he was a child at one time, with child-like innocence. I'm only halfway through the book, and while it can be hard to stomach--there's rampant incest in it, as well as a bit of bestiality--I keep telling myself, despite my better side, that I'm not supposed to be enjoying a book that, on the surface, is so tasteless. I'm enjoying it in the way a goody two-shoes might enjoy getting his or her first taste of pornography: "I shouldn't be looking, but ... WOW."

Christopher: Oddly enough, while I'm enjoying the book, I'm not sure I would heartily recommend it to everyone. I'm pretty jaded when it comes to the tasteless parts of the book, but I'm pretty disturbed by the fact that Mailer has managed to destroy my concept of Hitler. Moreover, little "Adi," as he's called in the book, isn't really the central character--which, depending on what you're expecting out of the book, can be a huge or a small disappointment--and this takes place during Hitler's childhood, so the plot is almost devoid of Holocaust references and swastikas and the things we associate with him. Mailer forces you to imagine Hitler as a child, and that's like having the proverbial rug yanked out from under your feet.

If you do decide to read it, save yourself fifty pages and skip the coronation of Tsar Nicholas--it's boring and pointless, more filler for Mailer's philosophical ramblings than anything else.

[LK]

I have to agree with Andi on Updike and both of you on Mailer. Yeeuck.