Norris Church Mailer (1941–2010)

Honest, gripping memoir from the last wife of Norman Mailer who, by herself, is an amazingly talented artist, actress, and writer.

Theirs is not the all-American love story, but it is an accurate portrayal of two people struggling to reconcile their differences, forgive betrayals, and embrace each other "for better or for worse."

The humanity in this book is worth reading. Norris has a gift of the artist's eye for the perfect image. Her style is very different than Mailer's, but it is engaging and moving all the same.

If you are looking for a great memoir about what it means to try to love the one you married for over 30 years, this is the book for you. There are no easy answers, but a lot of sharing and caring and honesty from a woman who has been there and done that.… (meer)

I think apart from one or two characters, everyone in this book was nice. Loads and loads of really nice characters getting along together. Even the nasty ones had a nice side. In such a book I would have expected little tension and few reasons to read to the end, but that’s not the case. After a slowish start, this really builds momentum, and became unputdownable. One of the most graphic accounts of the Vietnam War experience I have read, and a whodunit that would be hard to guess. It was like climbing down a worm-hole right back to the 1960s. A really great read.… (meer)