Memorable Mailer: The Wild Man of Literature Was Obsessed with God

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The news arrived in an early morning phone call from our daughter Jessica, who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., a short subway ride from where Mailer died Nov. 10 in Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital at the age of 84.

Mailer was among my most memorable personal encounters. I interviewed him about a retrospective of his work, The Time of Our Times. We met in Mailer's penthouse suite atop Chicago's Four Seasons Hotel.

I went to the private reception area and was greeted by a cheerful 28-year-old who asked, "How do you spell that?" when I asked to see Norman Mailer. That she did not know Mailer is a commentary on her, but as you will see, was …