"By now, philosophically speaking, atheism is more incomprehensible to me than the notion that there's a creator." (N.M.)

In an era dichotomously characterized by a drive toward secularism and a reluctance to completely abandon the concept of God, Norman Mailer's last book effectively outlines his life's effort to "work out his own salvation" and to understand his place in the world.

Presented in an interview format with Michael Lennon, this relaxed work offers Mailer's personal insights into the natures of God, the Devil and humankind, and the roles of each in the universal sense.

In fewer than three-hundred pages, the author concisely visits topics as diverse as free will, life after death, and political philosophy. He even speculates that "good" may not ultimately triumph over "evil," and suggests that neither God nor the Devil are all-powerful or all-knowing. Perhaps, Mailer says, God isn't even all good--he may be 80% good, while the Devil is 80% evil.

As human beings, Mailer suggests, we place a burden too great on God with our expectations that he will always help us, or even that he is always able to answer our most pressing needs. God's power is limited according to Mailer and, often, God fails to understand his own creation.

Obviously, just entertaining these notions meets fundamentalist criteria for pure blasphemy—100%. But it gives us something to think about, because it’s only blasphemous if we believe in that external, personal God. On the other hand, if we believe God is what we make him, then Mailer’s hypothesis seems somewhat ineffectual as an explanation.

Specifically, isn’t God supposed to represent the ideal? Shouldn’t the concept of God embody and encourage human aspiration? And if the ideal is less than perfect, how can it be ideal? If I’m inventing my own God, I’m not sure I want anything less than ideal. Who would aspire to 80% of anything?

By Mailer's approximation though, God is an artist above all else. As an artist, he expresses himself through his creation, but his creation is never complete and, since he has endowed us with free will, we sometimes surprise him. As God learns about us, then, he learns about himself; and as we learn about God, we learn about ourselves.

"On God"--in an approach bold, but not offensive to the more open minded among us--nudges the reader toward curiosity, reflection and introspection. In the end, Mailer even offers his vision of the perfect society: a synthesis of the social, political, economic and religious ideals he suggests would most greatly benefit the human race.

A surprising exit for a former atheist. ( )