> “Norman Mailer was one of the most original and powerful writers of the twentieth century, but he never wrote a truly great novel.”

What a bizarre thing to write about the author of The Executioner’s Song.

I mean it with absolute sincerity when I say in 100 years, The Executioner’s Song will be regarded as the single greatest literary work of the English language.

Greater than Shakespeare, Chaucer, Hemingway, Wallace, Milton, transcendentalists, feminists, poets, colonial philosophers and political scientists.

I mean, is it stupid to try to force rank all English literature? Yes, absolutely.

But if you did, I’m telling you The Executioner’s Song is coming out on top.