The Executioner's Song

By: Norman Mailer

Narrated by: Maxwell Hamilton

Length: 42 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Norman Mailer's Pulitzer Prize-winning and unforgettable classic about convicted killer Gary Gilmore now in a brand-new edition.

Arguably the greatest book from America's most heroically ambitious writer, The Executioner's Song follows the short, blighted life of Gary Gilmore who became famous after he robbed two men in 1976 and killed them in cold blood. After being tried and convicted, he immediately insisted on being executed for his crime. To do so, he fought a system that seemed intent on keeping him alive long after it had sentenced him to death. And that fight for the right to die is what made him famous.

Mailer tells not only Gilmore's story, but those of the men and women caught in the web of his life and drawn into his procession toward the firing squad. All with implacable authority, steely compassion, and a restraint that evokes the parched landscape and stern theology of Gilmore's Utah.

The Executioner's Song is a trip down the wrong side of the tracks to the deepest source of American loneliness and violence. It is a towering achievement - impossible to put down, impossible to forget.

©1980 Norman Mailer (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Helpful Hint for Those Suffering Thru This Narr

In complete transparency, I haven't yet finished this book I'm about half way through it. The story is riveting. The book is so well written. Unfortunately the narrator is almost impossible to listen to. Other reviewers have captured my thoughts about him so I won't repeat them here. Here's some good news though. If you're using the Audible app, you can increase the narration speed up to 1.25 and it's better. It eliminates the ill placed - I guess intended to be - dramatic pauses and even helps a bit with the odd voice inflections. Doesn't do a thing for the mispronunciations though. I guess Scott Brick or some of the other masters weren't available for this Pulitzer Prize winner.....???? Sooooooo disappointed after waiting on this book for so long.

Good Listen

Don't know why there was so much hate in the reviews of the narrator. Yes, it could have been edited better, but I think he did a great job.

one of the best books I have ever listened to!!

this book will be in my heart forever, the guy reading it, did one more sensational jobs!!

Mis-pronunciations abound

While Maxwell Hamilton’s voice portrayal of the people in this book is very good, why was no one on hand to help him with pronunciation? Why were so many mispronunciations left in the final produced recording? The annoyance this causes starts small and keeps growing. You find yourself listening for the mistakes. From simple misses like “Ritter was accused of personal immortality...” to common words, (vestibule, wampum and impugned which is pronounced here as if it rhymes with expunged), to place names (Chartres Cathedral, Wasatch Mountains) to the names of the famous, the mispronunciations just keep rolling.

Thomas Aquinas is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable and a short i. David Suskind’s last name suffers the short i as well. Melvin Belli’s last name is pronounced to rhyme with jelly. And Geraldo Rivera’s first name is pronounced with a hard G rather than an H, over and over and over. With the exception of Aquinas, these people appear again and again in this work, so each represents a series of repeated groan-worthy mistakes. You find yourself tensing for the next blow.

The book itself is ponderously long and would have benefited from aggressive editing. The writing is underwhelming, with ‘real’ and ‘really’ being shamelessly over-used. It is a good tale, worth the telling. I wish it had been done better, and offered here without the bruising number of mispronunciations.

Amazing

I read this book many years ago and thought it was great.

Having listened to this book brings the characters to life.

There are some instances in which the narration could have used some assistance.

Over all just as gripping as the paper book!

Just let them drift away to namelessness instead

Norman Mailer is trying to show us the human being behind the veil of the condemned. I get it. To me, this book reinforces the idea that execution as a penalty for crimes is a bad idea; not necessarily because it's State sponsored revenge, but because of the loathsome circus of human activity that follows a conviction. It felt like walking uphill through cactus to listen to 20+ hours of Gilmore, Gilmore, Gilmore when he murdered two people in cold blood. I was conflicted the entire time because I see myself as a proponent of prison reform and an advocate of rehabilitation, but Gary Gilmore had very few, if any, redeeming qualities. I said aloud multiple times while listening, "Just shoot him already!" I guess that's what Mailer wanted to force the reader to confront: shouldn't even the worst, most disgusting filth be spared from execution because they are human beings? I would have much rather never even heard of Gilmore because he was locked away without any fanfare until he died of old age.

Great story, excellent writing, but the narrator??

This is a well researched book with a great writer and a terrible narrator. Mega thanks to those who suggested bumping up the speed to 1.25, it really did make a difference. So why can't the Maxwell Hamilton person pronounce the word "corollary?" Or "Aquinas"?? Or, omg, Geraldo Rivera? Jeraldo?? Or the famous attorney Marvin "BELLY".. Or Claudine LonGET (hard G)?? And the real questions are these; WHO hires these people and are there NO editors/producers/directors? I get the feeling that this guy was told "Here's your studio, it's all yours, see you in 2 weeks".. Pretty sad. On the upside, the story is well written, and murderer that he was, Gilmore was a well read, intelligent guy with an artistic streak. My next purchase with be Mikal Gilmore's book. Something seriously bad happened in that family. And Maxxy baby, get a different job or at least do a few minutes of research and find out how the people you are reading about pronounce their names..

One Criminal's Death Opens Up The Flood Gates

If you were alive on January 17, 1977 I would be surprised if you were unaware of the execution of Gary Mark Gilmore in Draper, Utah even if you were, like me, residing in another country. It was most disconcerting as it raised the ugly head of execution after a ten year hiatus. However the most shocking part of THIS particular execution was that the convicted criminal was vehemently demanding to die. This was what made it so memorable plus a TV movie was made in 1982 starring Tommy Lee Jones based on this book. Everything I read in the media talked about his request to die with dignity. A privilege denied to his victims. He was portrayed as a man with a problematic past and high IQ. The emphasis on his brilliance always surprised me as if he was so brilliant why didn't he make intelligent choices. He was a convicted criminal who always got caught so I do not think that he was as smart as it was rumored. After seeing the movie I felt sorry for him. This book certainly changed my mind. Norman Mailer has written an unforgettable work. He tells us Gary's story but we learn so much about the victims. He was heartless, killing two young men on two consecutive days. He was also emotionally a teenage who had no self control. We read about his 'great love' Nicole however you question yourself as to why this man had such a penchant for very young promiscuous girls.

This execution opened up the floodgates for well over 1000 people to be executed in subsequent years. These convicted criminals have not gone to their deaths so enthusiastically as Gary Gilmore.

This book does not spare us from the gritty details and I do not recommend that you play this where children can listen as several chapters are filled with foul language (needed to explain the man and his mindset) and sexual details relating to his time in prison and his relationship with his girlfriend.

Yes, it is a 42 hour listen but I felt that it was so worth it. Some books waffle on and can lull you to sleep. This book had me totally engrossed from the first word to the last.

Little bit long but a good

I think I would have preferred to just read the book myself so I could have skipped over some of the language. I get why it was in the book but got kind of tired of some of the language. Yes the reader does mispronounce some things but it didn't ruin the book for me. I did find it was better listening to it at 1.25.

Gripping devastating unforgettable

I find myself thinking about the characters in this book weeks after finishing it. Norman Mailer is a masterful storyteller and develops characters that feel as real as if they you actually know them In life. This book held me in rapt fascination from start to end.