Don’t mention the dog

‘THERE is always the shock in seeing him again. Women draw an audible breath. Men look down. They are reminded again of their lack of worth.’

The words of Norman Mailer, ladies and gentlemen, the celebrated writer who died last weekend. A lot of his work is pretty hard to get through now — could anyone nowadays read something called ‘The White Negro’ without mopping their foreheads? — though some of his real-life adventures make for an eye-popping read on their own merits.

Married six times, Mailer stabbed one of his wives and spent 17 days in a psychiatric ward.