About a week after they had come back, a load of mail came to the island. They were the first letters the men had received in several weeks, and for a night it relieved the changeless pattern of their lives. One of the infrequent rations of beer was given out the same night, and the men finished their three cans quickly, and sat about without saying very much. The beer had been far too inadequate to make them drunk; it made them only moody and reflective, it opened the gate to all their memories, and left them sad, hungering for things they could not name.

— Norman Mailer

Any war that requires the suspension of reason as a necessity for support is a bad war.

— Norman Mailer

As many people die from an excess of timidity as from bravery.

— Norman Mailer

Boredom slays more of existence than war.

— Norman Mailer

Every time I move I squash something said Loathsome.

— Norman Mailer

Faction is that hybrid of documented fact and novelistic elaboration.

— Norman Mailer

Great hope has no real footing unless one is willing to face into the doom that may also be on the way.p.207

— Norman Mailer

Harsh words live in the dungeon of the heart

— Norman Mailer

How his hatred seethed in search of a justifiable excuse.

— Norman Mailer

I don’t trust compliments. I’ve been getting them for years. Sometimes I deserve them, sometimes I didn’t. But generally when people give you compliments there’s one of two things wrong with them. Either they’re false, or what’s worse is they’re sincere. They really mean the compliment. And then they’re offering you their loyalty. And I’m kind of a stingy… Well, I don’t necessarily want to give all that loyalty back. So either way, let’s skip the compliments.

— Norman Mailer