83.18
Ancient Evenings. Boston: Little, Brown, 4 April; London: Macmillan, 26 May. Novel, 709 pp., $19.95.
Dedication: “To my daughters, to my sons, and to Norris.” The copyright page carries this note: “I would like to express my appreciation to Ned Bradford, Roger Donald, Arthur Thornhill, Scott Meredith, and Judith McNally for their assistance and encouragement on this work.” Discarded title: Master of the Secret. The novel’s dates of composition, 1972–1982, are given on its last page.
Rpt: Advance excerpts appeared in Paris Review (82.24), House and Garden (83.9), Playboy (83.17), and, shortly after publication, in Vogue (83.30), again in Playboy (83.28), and in the (London) Sunday Times (83.42); excerpts from three chapters are reprinted in 98.7. See 72.19, 74.10, other 1983 entries.
| “ | This isn’t the big book I promised [in Advertisements for Myself[a]], but it is a big book. I think in a literary sense it’s the most innovative. I think this is far and away the most ambitious novel I’ve ever written. | ” |
| — Mailer, 83.13 | ||
Note
Bibliography
Reviews
- Bloom, Harold (April 28, 1983). "Norman in Egypt". New York Review of Books. pp. 3–4, 6. Mixed. Rpt: Bloom (1986).
- Bourjaily, Vance (July 1983). "Return of the Ancient Mailer". Esquire. pp. 116–117. Positive.
- Bufithis, Philip (1984). "Norman Mailer". In Bruccoli, Matthew. Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook, 1983. Detroit: Gale Publishing. pp. 162–166. Mixed.
- Burgess, Anthony (June 5, 1983). "Magical Droppings". Observer. p. 30. Positive.
- DeMott, Benjamin (April 10, 1982). "Norman Mailer's Egyptian Novel". New York Times Book Review. Mixed.
- Davis, Robert Gorham (May 16, 1983). "Excess without End". New Leader. pp. 14–16. Negative.
- Epstein, Joseph (July 1983). "Mailer Hits Bottom". Commentary. pp. 62–68. Negative.
Essays