A review by cameronius
The Fight by Norman Mailer

3.0

I was somewhat ambivalent about this book for the first 2/3rds. Mailer is circuitous at best in his lead up to the championship fight between Ali and Foreman in Africa, the famous "Rumble in the Jungle." Lots of digressions and dissection of black culture, African culture and the art of boxing itself. I kept thinking this book could never be written today by a white man. But near the end when he gets into describing the fight, round for round, Mailer's brilliance explodes all over the place. I could not put the book down. His recounting is so vivid that once I finished the book I forgot I had not actually watched the fight. This is basically the mix of what you get when you sign up for Mailer: suspect writing, boring parts and total genius.