83.7

“Norman Mailer Finally Delivers the ‘Big One.’ ” Article-interview by Digby Diehl. Los Angeles Herald Examiner, 23 February, Sec. C, pp. 1, 6. The last and best article on the Lotos Club luncheon. Diehl covers most of the same ground as the others, but also includes Mailer’s comments on the complexity of the ancient Egyptian language, his effort to remove anachronisms, and his plan, later dropped, to use Ancient Evenings (83.18) as the first volume in a trilogy: “After this novel, the next one will be set in the future, although not conventional science fiction, I hope. And the third one will take place in the contemporary era.” When asked how this novel, 11 years in the writing, ranks with his others, he says, “This is my best book, or I’ve been married to the wrong woman for 11 years.” See 83.2–83.5, 83.22.