The Castle In The Forest - Hardcover

Mailer did Jesus in THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE SON; now he plumbs the psyche of history's most demonic figure in this chilling fictional chronicle of Hitler's boyhood ... a somber, compelling portrait of a monstrous soul (PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY)

The premise would be intriguing whoever the author, but with Mailer at the helm it promises to be enthralling (HERALD Books for 2007)

Fearless and fanciful (OBSERVER Books for 2007)

Mailer has become a contemporary figure of myth, a great American icon who is venerated and reviled but impossible to ignore (OBSERVER)

Who was Adolf Hitler? It's a question writers have been trying to answer for more than sixty years. But after thousands of biographies, histories, novels, and films, many fundamental questions remain: How do we explain Hitler's hatred? Where did it come from? Could it happen again? Norman Mailer sets out to respond to these and other crucial aspects of Hitler's personality in his immensely readable new novel. Spanning three generations, and a hundred years of history, the book brings to life the Hitlers - grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and, ultimately, young Adolf - in an energetic and wildly entertaining family saga. Mailer recounts the marriages, incestuous couplings, estrangements, afflictions, and deaths that lead to the birth of little Adi in 1889. Told in the voice of a narrator who in time reveals himself as an assistant to the devil, this playful yet profound novel blends fact and fiction in an incomparable family tale that will cause the reader to re-examine his preconceived ideas about Hitler and the nature of his evil.