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Literary Giant Dies

Norman Mailer dies less than a month after his book on God is published.
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Novelist and New Journalist Norman Mailer died Saturday morning of renal failure at age 84. A controversial but highly recognized writer, Mailer pushed the boundaries of content and style, even tackling the subject of God and religion in his last work, "On God: An Uncommon Conversation."

ABC said,

"In probing, amusing, and uncommon dialogues conducted over three years but whose topics he has considered for decades, Mailer establishes his own system of belief, one that rejects both organized religion and atheism," according to a statement issued Monday [September 24, 2007] by Random House.

"He presents instead an artistic God who often succeeds but can also fail in the face of contrary powers in the universe, with whom war is waged for the souls of humans."

For more on this writer who helped changed the landscape of both fiction and non-fiction while garnering great praise and criticism, visit these links.

BBC: Obituary

New York Times: "Towering Writer with a Matching Ego Dies at Age 84"

CNN: "The Death of the Literary Lion"

The Guardian: "Mailer's Talent Never as Big as his Ego"

National Post: "The Failed Career of Norman Mailer"

Publisher's Weekly: "On God"

April
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