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A review by rmardel
The Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer
3.0
I enjoyed reading this book, although it was admittedly a little difficult to get started and I can completely understand the some of the criticisms. Although the novel is supposedly about the youth of Hitler and he became the person whom history remembers, I really felt that the young Adolf was the least interesting part of the book. Knowing what we know about history, and given modern theories of psychological development, there was nothing particularly new or revelatory about that part of the story. The novel is, however, and excellent story about the strengths, weaknesses, failings, and squabbles of a late 19th/early 20th century german peasant family and this is fascinating reading.
I also enjoyed the narrators various digressions and comments although I thought Mailer was trying to channel CS Lewis here, and I think Lewis's devil was far more disconcerting. This devil shows very a very human tendencies in his need to justify and explain his activities, partly understandable because he was supposedly corporeal during part of the novel, but not completely so as the novel is supposedly dictated well after the fact.
Mailer writes well. He seems to pull off a rather difficult technique built around a difficult premise well. It is not perhaps the best choice for someone seeking a quick read, but it does pay off for anyone willing to put in the time.
I also enjoyed the narrators various digressions and comments although I thought Mailer was trying to channel CS Lewis here, and I think Lewis's devil was far more disconcerting. This devil shows very a very human tendencies in his need to justify and explain his activities, partly understandable because he was supposedly corporeal during part of the novel, but not completely so as the novel is supposedly dictated well after the fact.
Mailer writes well. He seems to pull off a rather difficult technique built around a difficult premise well. It is not perhaps the best choice for someone seeking a quick read, but it does pay off for anyone willing to put in the time.