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From: vallath@cad.UUCP (Vallath Nandakumar)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer
Message-ID: <39@cad.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-Jan-86 02:34:29 EST
Article-I.D.: cad.39
Posted: Thu Jan  9 02:34:29 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 10-Jan-86 00:36:19 EST
References: <467@lzaz.UUCP>
Organization: U. C. Berkeley CAD Group
Lines: 23
Keywords: Anybody read it?
Summary: Another poor soul

In article <467@lzaz.UUCP>, vas@lzaz.UUCP (V.SNYDER) writes:
> 
> Has anybody read this book by Norman Mailer called Ancient
> Evenings?  I am currently **trying** to read it.  The language
> is very hard to follow easily and I understand why it is.  It's
> supposed to be the way the Egyptians spoke.  One thing that
> confounds me is that there is so much male buggery in it.  Why?
> It seems to be a power thing.  Apparently the men/gods believe
> that if they inflict themselves in this manner on all their
> male friends or enemies, they get more macho!!  Am I getting
> the drift or what?

The book was horrible.  Believing it to be a historical
novel, I tried to read it, and couldn't really understand
the complications in it.
As far as most of the sexual details go, my feeling is that
they are either the author's own fantasies or his attempt
at titillating the reader!  I doubt whether the ancient Egyptians 
had such an obsession with such unusual sexual practices.

And it was supposed to be his magnum opus!

Vallath Nandakumar