Norman Mailer, 84, author of The Naked and the Dead and numerous other novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Executioner’s Song, died in Manhattan today. According to The New York Times, Mailer was working a new novel, a sequel to 2007’s The Castle in the Forest.

In January of this year, Mailer was the subject of Vanity Fair’s Proust Interview. It’s a pleasure to read in that the author’s wit and precision of thought comes through in every answer. Asked, “What is your idea of perfect happiness?” Mailer responded, “Let the next 35 responses offer their clues. A fool draws a road map to his magic city.”

Asked about his favorite journey, he said, “It used to be crossing the Brooklyn Bridge when homeward bound from a good dinner in Manhattan. Now it’s the sight of Provincetown as one rides up over the last rise and there is the Pilgrim Monument in all its subtle presence.”

When asked what person he most despised, Mailer exhibited his well-known penchant for speaking the plain truth: “Well, it used to be Ronald Reagan. He was the most ignorant president we ever had. Now George W. has appropriated his seat.”
~You can find a complete list of Mailer’s books here.
Listen to an interview with Mailer, taped in 1991, here.
Links to the story:
The New York Times
San Francisco Chronicle
Voice of America