"At Tribute, Mailer Children Recall a Family Man," is the NYT headline to the article about the tribute for the late, pugilistic writer Norman Mailer, who had six wives and nine children. It sounds like the Times is a little tentative about which tone to take; one mustn't speak ill of the dead! His family, however, didn't hold back: the photo on the left is of son Stephen lying on the floor, re-enacting a family scene (and presumably, working out some issues.)

Then, stepson Matthew Mailer is quoted as saying, "What's it like being raised by wolves?" Although Mailer regularly boxed with his sons (that really means "I love you") Mailer tried to "to weave together a single family unit from the nine children he raised with an assortment of wives," the Times adds primly. Well, we're sure Mailer did his best, and he's probably enjoying the jocularity, somewhere out there.

At Tribute, Mailer Children Recall a Family Man [Photo by Chester Higgins Jr. for the NYT]