The greatest generation. The two fellas and me

First, an apology. When I wrote a piece last January entitled “Re: a nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn,” I should have used a better heading. It was a pertinent quote in the review. And then came a bit from a review in the New York Times, which I suggest below at (1). What happened to me tonight was a journey in time and I give some sites at (2).

Two literary giants of my generation were being interviewed by a knowledgeable host who really wanted to know why it took them so long to write a book dealing with Hitler. Gunter Grass speaks very good English in a strong voice but has some difficulty hearing so he had a lady to repeat the questions in German. You will be able to read and perhaps hear what he had to say. Then Norman Mailer came in, and they were to have a dialogue. I’m assuming you, who care to, can find the conversation.

Just the three of us. Me and Norman and Gunter. I didn’t know Mr. Grass very well and I would apologize to him if I could see him in person. In very good shape. It’s the first thing we octogenarians think about. After all those years since 1945 the German people have to remember how things turn out, and it will be until his children and grandchildren’s lives are spent, the author says. I nodded back to him. We here are still in the same boat. Don’t we argue and discuss whether America made it too easy on Stalin? Or gloat about the wall falling?

Norman came in with the jacket which he always slouches down into. Take it from someone who knows. Circulation is none too good. He immediately explains that he and Gunter will have to sit close for him to hear. They scoot their chairs and the lady sits between them, back a little so their ears are pretty close together. Mr. Mailor explained that he is about ready to stop making public appearances because he can’t see well either. Among other things, they deal with existentialism. Once starting on that subject, there’s No Exit. Excuse the pun. What I really notice about Norman is how big his ears got when the rest of him shrunk.

In general, as a person with adequate sight and good hearing, I spent most of the time watching their hands. So much better than mine, which can type a few thousand words before icing up. And grateful for it. There was a time a few years back when I could hardly peck out a few sentences for my journal. Glad I can tell you this. Wish I could make it prettier. But in the interest of sharing, here it is. Please see what I saw if you like literature. (Those guys say the era of the novel is over, but don’t take it too seriously.)

(1) I preface this suggestion to read a review of Norman Mailor’s latest book with my own experience. The Naked and the Dead, along with From Here to Eternity and The Caine Mutiny were important to us who waited for World War II novels. And Mailor’s was my favorite. At the time, I realized that more salty language would be the new mode and all the banning of books in Boston would not stop it. I read Naked as soon as I could get a copy at the rental library. And when Deer Park came out I did the same. I didn’t like that work and wrote it off as an attempt at a second novel, even before there was any consensus of its failings by reviewers. A big thing for me was the 1968 Republican presidential campaign, because the main ruckus happened so late that we were in bed. So I enjoyed Armies of the Night. Having not read all his work, I felt obliged to seek reviews. And what I found today was a surprise. This review tells the story of an important part of literature and culture in the past 60 years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/books/review/Siegel.t.html?_r=1&8bu&em...

(2) Here is the site for the New York Public Library
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pep/pepdesc.cfm?id=2678

The 20th Century on Trial
GÃœNTER GRASS & NORMAN MAILER
Interviewed by and in Conversation with Andrew O’Hagan

And here is the announcement at BookTV
http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=8403&SectionName=Public%20L...

Gunter Grass and Norman Mailer interviewed and in conversation with Andrew O'Hagan

Authors: Gunter Grass; Norman Mailer; Andrew O'Hagan

Sunday, July 15, at 12:00 PM

In a program entitled "The 20th Century on Trial" Nobel Prize winning novelist, Gunter Grass and Pulitzer Prize winning author Norman Mailer discuss their life and work with novelist Andrew O'Hagan. Gunter Grass has recently published his memoir, "Peeling the Onion" in which he divulges his participation in the Waffen SS at the age of seventeen. Norman Mailer recently penned his first novel in almost ten years, The Castle in the Forest" which focuses on the childhood of Adolf Hitler. Gunter Grass and Norman Mailer are in discussion at the The New York Public Library in New York City.

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