Becoming Mailer

Violence, Ego, Guilt, Courage

Abstract

This review examines Norman Mailer in Context, edited by Maggie McKinley. Situating the volume within the long trajectory of Mailer scholarship, the review argues that McKinley’s collection represents a mature and consequential synthesis of decades of critical work while also marking a decisive recalibration of Mailer studies for the twenty-first century. Through sustained engagement with key thematic clusters—violence, masculinity, existentialism, politics, sexuality, criminality, and artistic ego—the review highlights how individual contributors illuminate Mailer’s evolving intellectual commitments and moral contradictions across fiction, nonfiction, film, and public life. Particular attention is given to the volume’s treatment of Mailer’s fascination with political charisma, his theories of masculine identity, and his lifelong effort to reconcile artistic courage with ethical responsibility. The review concludes that Norman Mailer in Context functions both as a capstone to prior scholarship and as a generative framework for future inquiry, especially in light of contemporary debates surrounding gender, power, and the cultural legacy of transgressive artists.