First Review!

The Deer Park

Norman Mailer

When I began reading this book, I was pretty excited because of the literary status of Norman Mailer. In order to save money this summer, I decided to get a library card. The only issue with that, however, is that many times the books I want to read are checked out. When I saw this on one of my weekly trips to the "book renter," I snatched it up as quickly as I could.

I am more familiar with Mailer's work by name (mostly his name, not the titles of his work). This is my first book by Mailer, so though I know he is a part of that famous group of American elite, I wasn't sure why. After reading I can certainly understand why he is a great writer, but this book was not the tour de force I was expecting.

As you can see by the picture above, his name is bigger than the title of the book. I'm not sure if this is a Freudian slip of some sort, but the book seems primarily to rely on Mailer's status instead of the content. It's almost as if the publisher is saying, "Look what we got!"

The premise is fairly interesting. A former Air Force pilot, Sergius O'Shaugnessy, comes to California after winning $14,000 at a poker game in Japan. Since he is suddenly rich, he decides to stay at the resort Desert D'Or. While there, he meets a famous director on the steep side of his career toward obscurity. The reason for this, we learn, is that he has been accused of working for the Communist party and has been blacklisted. These two become friends and travel to a variety of lavish parties in the area. While the story becomes more complicated because of the relationships to minor characters throughout, suffice it to say they meet two ladies who capture their interests. Charles Eitel (the director) meets Elena, who is a lowly dancer who is also "experienced" in the language of love. She was the former mistress of one of Eitel's friends. Sergius meets Lulu, a famous actress who is also astoundingly beautiful, and effectively fits the stereotype of a starlet. Prissy, demanding, affectionate at times, and also promiscuous when the opportunity presents itself and it will benefit her social stature.

After Mailer sets the scene, the rest of the book becomes a tedious romp through the intricacies of relationships. However, in both cases, these couples are dating outside of their social station. Eitel at one point asks, "Why would a second rate man date a fifth rate woman?" In Sergius' case, Lulu is clearly above him and many times treats him that way. Eventually, the Hollywood life (in this book called the capital) gets the best of them. They misuse one another, but then feel bad about it and make up. And so it goes, ad infinitum.

I won't spoil the end here. All I can say is that I was confused. To Mailer's credit, I think this is actually one of the strongest point of the book because I feel it accurately reflects how relationships affect real people. Many times, we are left with mixed feelings about how that relationship has influenced our lives. Are we better off because of it or did the relationship hurt us? There are ups and downs in any relationship, and Mailer captures those moments perfectly. While there is no concrete resolution, I don't think it needed one. Life goes on, and sometimes the best way to move forward is to leave those people in the past. Those people were there, but now they are gone.

In addition, there are some gorgeous passages about the human condition here. The conflict that occurs in any relationship, how to address it, the spark between new lovers, and then finding what else is there when the spark fades. These are not admirable characters, but they are human characters with flaws and weaknesses.

The most difficult part of the book for me was keeping the narrator straight. I believe Sergius is the narrator, although the book follows Eitel frequently through very intimate scenes. Is Sergius omniscient? Is he making it up? Or did the narrative shift to Eitel? I never figured it out, so I just learned to take the narrative at face value, or perhaps as an objective omniscient narrator not actually participating in the action.

While I can certainly appreciate Mailer's talent (especially concerning dialogue, which is top notch in this book, and writing and explaining difficult emotions in new ways), a lot of reading this book is drudge work. As in real life, characters weave in and out of the story line in various capacities. But, there is really no driving force behind any of the action. The book is primarily dialogue-driven (both through internal monologues and character conversations), but I never had a sense that the book was approaching any end. Ultimately, that is what bothered me the most about it. It could have gone on forever, but instead, it just ends because the narrator (whoever that is) decides it's time.

I would certainly be interested in reading other Mailer books. He seems to have a special aptitude for capturing humanity without resorting to cliche, which is probably one of the most difficult things a writer can do. Also, the book was realistic, as life does not lead up to some revelation or epiphany that ties everything together nicely. But, at the end, I felt rather dissatisfied. This book absolutely has its moments, but most of your reading time will be spent mining them.

Rating: 3/5