03.7

The Spooky Art: Some Thoughts on Writing. New York: Random House, 31 January. Essays and interviews. 330 pp. $24.95.

Dedication: "To J. Michael Lennon".

Contains excerpts from approximately 190 previously published items by Mailer, plus 50 new items written expressly for this book. The great majority of the questions from interviewers were incorporated by Mailer into his replies.

“ It is interesting that my ceremonial sense intensifies as I grow older, and so I have looked to assemble this book in time for it to come out on January 31, 2003. I will be exactly eighty years old on that occasion. I would hope I am not looking for unwarranted easy treatment by this last remark. Can I possibly be speaking the truth? ” — Norman Mailer, 03.7

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Bibliography

Reviews

• Kakutani, Michiko (January 22, 2003). "Quoting Himself on His Lofty Dreams". New York Times. Negative. See Times' correction in 14.3, 708–10.
• Leonard, John (March 13, 2003). "Don Quixote at Eighty". New York Review of Books. pp. 1–12. Negative.
• Leebrun, Ed (2003). "Review of The Spooky Art". Provincetown Arts. pp. 118–119. Positive.
• Lewis, Roger (March 29, 2003). "Still on His Feet in the Twelfth Round". Spectator. pp. 48–49. Positive.
• O'Connell, Shaun (February 16, 2003). "In 'The Spooky Art', Mailer Shows He Contains Multitudes". Boston Globe. Positive.
• Puckett, Samantha (February 1, 2003). "It's Mailer on Mailer, Not Writing". St. Petersburg Times. Mixed.
• Simon, Jeff (February 2, 2003). "Mailer's Brilliance Endures". Buffalo News. Positive.
• Tarloff, Eric (February 2, 2003). "The Word Game". Washington Post. 8–9. Positive.