Advertisements for Myself

"The best work in this volume is two short stories. 'The Language of Men' tells of the problems of an army cook who has an abstract passion for excellence as well as a need for the approbation of the indifferent men who eat his food. His war with them and himself and his will to excel are beautifully shown and in many ways make one of the best stories of its kind I have read, certainly preferable to Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea', which is resembles in theme. But where Hemingway was pretentious and external, Mailer is particular and works with gentle grace from within his characters. The other story, 'The Patron Saint of Macdougal Alley,' is a wildly funny portrait of an archetypal drifter, and I think it is of permanent value...."Mailer, Norman is the author of 'Advertisements for Myself', published 1992 under ISBN 9780674005907 and ISBN 0674005902.