The Executioner's SongThe Executioner's Song
Score Classic
What it's about
In 1976 Gary Gilmore was released on parole after most of his life in prisons and moved to Provo, Utah. Within months he had fallen in love, fallen apart and murdered two young men. Sentenced to death, he refused to appeal and demanded to be shot, becoming the first person executed in America in a decade. Norman Mailer tells the whole story, from the people who knew Gilmore to the media circus around his death.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the great works of American true crime. Mailer writes in a plain, flat voice that lets dozens of ordinary people speak for themselves.
You'll love it if you liked
In Cold Blood
Blood Meridian
The StandGood to know
It's more than a thousand pages. It's true, though Mailer called it a novel. The second half is about the lawyers, journalists and deal-making around the execution.
By the numbers
- Readers52 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics93 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller15 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #58 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #164 of the 762 classics we rank
- #514 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
More by Norman Mailer
If you like this, read next
The Color Purple
The Caine Mutiny
East of Eden
I, Claudius
A Room of One's Own
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Quick answers
Is The Executioner's Song worth reading?
Yes. It won the Pulitzer Prize and is one of the great works of American true crime. It ranks #514 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 78.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Executioner's Song about?
In 1976 Gary Gilmore was released on parole after most of his life in prisons and moved to Provo, Utah. Within months he had fallen in love, fallen apart and murdered two young men. Sentenced to death, he refused to appeal and demanded to be shot, becoming the first person executed in America in a decade. Norman Mailer tells the whole story, from the people who knew Gilmore to the media circus around his death.
How long does it take to read The Executioner's Song?
About 28 hours (1109 pages), or about 8 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Executioner's Song won?
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (1980).
What should I read after The Executioner's Song?
If you liked it, try In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy or The Stand by Stephen King.