In late 2007, I found myself in the middle of a J D Salinger binge. I read 'The Catcher in the Rye', 'Nine Stories', 'Franny and Zooey' and 'Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters' back to back and in some cases, twice over. Almost immediately after reading the last sentence in the last book however, I was done with all things Salinger - like shutting off porn once its purpose has been served. The melancholic nature of the books was what drew me to them, but not finding much breadth beyond that, I was repulsed by the uni-dimensional nature of the work - privileged kids going through an early life crisis. I told myself that If I ever made a few million dollars, but for some reason felt the need to walk into traffic, I'd pick up a Salinger again.
I have neither acquired my first million, nor do I particularly wish to die, but I did read 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' from Nine Stories again yesterday and enjoyed it very much. Although I still think that JDS's works lack variety, what I read has a depth to it that my own words fall short in expressing. My reading list recently has mostly consisted of the non-fiction and stream of consciousness genres, so the simple but striking narrative of 'Perfect Day...' was like a breath of fresh air. Above all however, I love how JDS treats kids.
The profound, muted sadness of a child, be it Sybil or Esme' or Charles, forms the leitmotif of most (all?) of JDS's work. In a time when kids are treated like a fucking cliche', Salinger reminds you to have a heart and show some respect to the newly spawned in your life. His protagonists do not talk down to children, neither do they pander to them. I can't, for example, imagine Seymour pontificating to Sybil, telling her to be nice to animals. He instead finds an elegant way of communicating this to her. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learnt there that could apply to old and young alike, but a tactless word can cause one group more harm than the other.
Steinbeck can write too - link
I have neither acquired my first million, nor do I particularly wish to die, but I did read 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' from Nine Stories again yesterday and enjoyed it very much. Although I still think that JDS's works lack variety, what I read has a depth to it that my own words fall short in expressing. My reading list recently has mostly consisted of the non-fiction and stream of consciousness genres, so the simple but striking narrative of 'Perfect Day...' was like a breath of fresh air. Above all however, I love how JDS treats kids.
The profound, muted sadness of a child, be it Sybil or Esme' or Charles, forms the leitmotif of most (all?) of JDS's work. In a time when kids are treated like a fucking cliche', Salinger reminds you to have a heart and show some respect to the newly spawned in your life. His protagonists do not talk down to children, neither do they pander to them. I can't, for example, imagine Seymour pontificating to Sybil, telling her to be nice to animals. He instead finds an elegant way of communicating this to her. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learnt there that could apply to old and young alike, but a tactless word can cause one group more harm than the other.
Steinbeck can write too - link
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