The Ghosts of Tough Guys

In her recent CrimeReads article, “The Ghosts of Tough Guys Don’t Dance,” Society member Olivia Rutigliano examines Mailer’s 1984 novel and its 1987 film adaptation. She explores how Mailer immerses these works in noir elements—think hard-boiled detectives, femme fatales, and shadowy settings—while also pushing the genre’s boundaries by weaving in horror motifs. Rutigliano’s analysis highlights Mailer’s knack for blending genres to probe the darker facets of human nature. Notably, she presented this paper at the recent Norman Mailer Society conference, sparking enthusiastic discussions among attendees.